The Free State is a landlocked province in the centre of South Africa, bordered by the Northern Cape to the east, North West to the northwest, Gauteng to the north, Mpumalangs to the northeast, KwaZulu-Natal to the east and the Eastern Cape to the south. To the southeast, the Kingdom of Lesotho nestles in the curve of its bean-like shape. The third largest of South Africa’s provinces after the Northern and Eastern Cape, the Free State has a land area of 129 480 square kilometres, or roughly the size of Nicaragua.

The province is high-lying, with flat and rolling plains through most of the region, rising to over 2 000 metres in the foothills of to the Drakensberg and Maluti Mountains in the east. It is the breadbasket of South Africa, producing over 70% of the country’s grain from its rich soil. Bloemfontein, the provincial capital, is the only major city.

The Free State lies in the heart of the Karoo Sequence of rocks, containing shales, mudstones, sandstones and the Drakensberg basalt forming the youngest capping rocks. Mineral deposits are plentiful, with gold and diamonds being of particular importance, mostly found in the north and west.

Economy
The Free State has the second-smallest provincial economy after the Northern Cape, recording a growth rate of 4.1% during 2007, and 4.2% in 2006. Its economy was valued at R108.9-billion in 2007, when it contributed 5.4% to South Africa’s GDP.

In 2007, the largest industries in the economy were the finance, real estate and business services industry, (16.2%), general government services (13%) and manufacturing (11.9%). Construction had the lowest contribution (1.5%) to GDP at market prices.

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