| Amathole | |
| Other Name: | Amatola District |
| Settlement Type: | District municipality |
| Seal Size: | 150x100px |
| Coordinates: | -32.5°N 57°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Eastern Cape |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Seat: | East London |
| Parts Type: | Local municipalities |
| P1: | Mbhashe |
| P2: | Mnquma |
| P3: | Great Kei |
| P4: | Amahlathi |
| P5: | Ngqushwa |
| P6: | Raymond Mhlaba |
| Government Footnotes: | [1] |
| Government Type: | Municipal council |
| Leader Party: | ANC |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Khanyile Maneli |
| Leader Title1: | Deputy Mayor |
| Leader Name1: | Nomfusi Winnie Nxawe (ANC) |
| Area Total Km2: | 21595 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 892637 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 97.2% |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 1.5% |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.1% |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 1.0% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 93.6% |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 2.3% |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 2.1% |
| Demographics2 Info4: | % |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 2% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Municipal code |
| Blank Info Sec1: | DC12 |
The Amathole District Municipality (Xhosa: uMasipala weSithili sase Amathole) is one of the 7 districts of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The seat is East London. As of 2011, over 90% of its 892,637 inhabitants spoke isiXhosa. The district code is DC12. Amathole means "calves", the name of the mountain range and forest which forms the northern boundary of the district.[3]
The Executive Mayor of Amathole District Municipality since 2016 is Khanyile Maneli, the Deputy Mayor is Nomfusi Winnie Nxawe and the Municipal Manager is Thandekile Themba Mnyimba.
Amathole is surrounded by:
The district contains the following local municipalities:
| Local municipality | Population | % |
|---|---|---|
| 252,390 | 28.27% | |
| 254,909 | 28.56% | |
| 122,778 | 13.75% | |
| 72,190 | 8.09% | |
| 38,991 | 4.37% | |
| 151,379 | 16.96% | |
The following statistics are from the 2011 census.
| Language | Population | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 817,395 | 93.62% | ||
| 19,647 | 2.25% | ||
| 18,230 | 2.09% | ||
| 5,164 | 0.59% | ||
| 2,637 | 0.30% | ||
| 2,391 | 0.27% | ||
| 2,069 | 0.24% | ||
| 1,741 | 0.20% | ||
| 1,691 | 0.19% | ||
| 1,167 | 0.13% | ||
| 401 | 0.05% | ||
| 345 | 0.04% | ||
| 250 | 0.03% |
| Gender | Population | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 473,389 | 53.03% | |
| Male | 419,247 | 46.97% |
| Ethnic group | Population | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black African | 868,017 | 97.24% | |
| Coloured | 13,133 | 1.47% | |
| White | 8,949 | 1.00% | |
| Indian/Asian | 1,126 | 0.13% |
| Age | Population | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 000 - 004 | 147,098 | 8.84% | |
| 005 - 009 | 192,361 | 11.56% | |
| 010 - 014 | 216,586 | 13.01% | |
| 015 - 019 | 208,995 | 12.56% | |
| 020 - 024 | 146,750 | 8.82% | |
| 025 - 029 | 115,632 | 6.95% | |
| 030 - 034 | 99,327 | 5.97% | |
| 035 - 039 | 96,666 | 5.81% | |
| 040 - 044 | 92,560 | 5.56% | |
| 045 - 049 | 77,430 | 4.65% | |
| 050 - 054 | 59,027 | 3.55% | |
| 055 - 059 | 47,029 | 2.83% | |
| 060 - 064 | 53,352 | 3.21% | |
| 065 - 069 | 38,858 | 2.33% | |
| 070 - 074 | 31,716 | 1.91% | |
| 075 - 079 | 18,830 | 1.13% | |
| 080 - 084 | 15,262 | 0.92% | |
| 085 - 089 | 4,022 | 0.24% | |
| 090 - 094 | 2,026 | 0.12% | |
| 095 - 099 | 559 | 0.03% | |
| 100 plus | 173 | 0.01% |
Election results for Amathole in the South African general election, 2004.
| Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 523,630 | 82.99% | ||
| 50,559 | 8.01% | ||
| 32,467 | 5.15% | ||
| 7,627 | 1.21% | ||
| 4,492 | 0.71% | ||
| 3,680 | 0.58% | ||
| 2,600 | 0.41% | ||
| 795 | 0.13% | ||
| 785 | 0.12% | ||
| 765 | 0.12% | ||
| 740 | 0.12% | ||
| 625 | 0.10% | ||
| 407 | 0.06% | ||
| 400 | 0.06% | ||
| 293 | 0.05% | ||
| 269 | 0.04% | ||
| 257 | 0.04% | ||
| 236 | 0.04% | ||
| 132 | 0.02% | ||
| 109 | 0.02% | ||
| 85 | 0.01% | ||
| Total | 630,953 | 100.00% |
As of January 2024, the municipality is under administration, one of 32 in the country, and three in the Eastern Cape where the provincial executive has intervened due to maladministration[4]