| 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 (xh|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 Anele Ntsangani, [] and the Municipal Manager is [Dr Bhekisisa J Mthembu].
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]