| Mmabatho | |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa North West#South Africa#Africa |
| Coordinates: | -25.85°N 63°W |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Name1: | North West |
| Subdivision Name2: | Ngaka Modiri Molema |
| Subdivision Name3: | Mahikeng |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 18.47 |
| Population Total: | 38297 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 95.9% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 2.0% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 1.0% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 1.0% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.1% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Tswana |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 89.6% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | English |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 1% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Sotho |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 3.6% |
| Demographics2 Title4: | Xhosa |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 2.8% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 2% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal Code: | 2735 |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 2790 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 018 |
Mmabatho (Tswana for "Mother of the People") is the former capital of the North-West Province of South Africa. During the apartheid era, it was the capital of the former "Bantustan" of Bophuthatswana, separated from the adjacent Mafeking which temporarily remained outside Bophuthatswana.
Following the end of apartheid in 1994, Bophuthatswana was integrated into the newly established North-West Province and Mmabatho was proclaimed the provincial capital. However, Mmabatho's status as the provincial capital was short-lived. Later in 1994, the North West provincial legislature voted to rename the capital to Mahikeng (the town of Mafikeng having been merged with Mmabatho in 1980 and treated as a suburb of Mmabatho between 1980 and 1994[2] [3]), reducing Mmabatho to a suburb of Mafikeng. The city is an enclave within the latter. Mmabatho contains many provincial government buildings, a shopping complex called Mega City and a Sports Stadium formerly called the Independence Stadium. The North-West University, formerly the University of Bophuthatswana, is located in Mmabatho.
Situated just south of the Botswana border, the town is connected by main roads to South Africa's national capital of Pretoria in the east and to Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, in the north. A railway runs north and south from the neighbouring town of Mafikeng. The city is served by Mmabatho International Airport, handling flights to and from Johannesburg.