Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

🇿🇦 Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is a metropolitan municipality in South Africa. It is located on the shores of Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape Province and comprises the city of Port Elizabeth, the nearby towns of Uitenhage and Despatch, and the surrounding rural area.

History Established on 5 December 2000, the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality was formed as an administrative area covering Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), the neighbouring towns of Kariega (Uitenhage) and Despatch and the surrounding agricultural areas. Thus included the following cities/towns/villages: • Bethelsdorp • Colchester • Despatch • Port Elizabeth • iBhayi • Uitenhage • KwaNobuhle • Motherwell • Seaview • Swartkops.

Demographics As of the census of 2011, there are 1,152,115 people and 324,292 households in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality.

In the 2007 census, 60.4% of respondents described themselves as Black African, 22.6% Coloured, 16.1% White and 0.9% Indian/Asian.

The largest religious groupings are Christian (89.4% of residents), no religion (6.1%), Muslim (1.5%), Jewish (0.4%) and Hindu (0.3%).

57.3% of the residents speak Xhosa as their mother tongue. Afrikaans is the mother tongue of 29.7%, and English, 12.1%. • 16.0% of all households are single-person. • The average household size is 3.86. • The median age is 26 years. • For every 100 females there are 91.2 males. • 28.2% of the population aged 15–65 is unemployed. • The median annual income of working adults aged 15–65 is ZAR 21 837 ($3,282).

According to the 2009 edition of the municipality's 2006–2011 Integrated Development Plan, manufacturing is the single largest contributor to the local economy (33%), followed by community services (27%). Tourism represents a key sector of the economy that has increasingly contributed to job creation in recent years, thanks in large part to the municipality's seaside location and its abundance of unspoiled beaches, of which four carry Blue Flag status.

100% of households have access to a source of water within a 200 m radius. 91% of households have access to a basic level of sanitation. 100% of households within the urban boundary have access to a basic level of solid waste removal, and 97% of households in formally demarcated municipal residential areas have access to a basic level of electricity. The municipality has 41 permanent and satellite clinics, 13 mobile clinics, eight hospitals, 22 libraries, 31 community and municipal halls, 79 sports facilities, 19 beaches, 18 pools, 273 schools, one university (the Nelson Mandela University), four technical colleges and two Further Education and Training institutions.