Nestled between the great Orange and Vaal Rivers lies a region, known as the land of the windpomp and krummelpap, which rightfully takes its place as the heart of the country.

The Free State shares its borders with the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, North-West, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu Natal and has Lesotho nestling in the hollow of its bean shape.  The largest part of the Free State is a rolling plain at between 1000m and 1500m above sea level.  The Eastern and Southern regions are hilly to mountainous, with scattered flat-topped hills.

This summer-rainfall region has an average temperature of 23 ºC and gets between 600mm and 750mm rain in the East to less than 300mm in the West.  It can become extremely cold in the winter with heavy frost and the occasional snow and has an average temperature of 7.7 ºC.

Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State, has a well-established judicial, institutional and administrative infrastructure.

The national road, which is the main artery between Gauteng and the Western and Eastern Cape, passes through the middle of the Free State.  The road network density of this region is the third-highest in South Africa.

Known as the “granary of the country”, the cultivated land in this region covers about 3.2 million ha. while natural veld and grazing covers about 8.7 million ha.

These field crops yield almost two-thirds of the gross agricultural income of the Free State, while animal products contribute a further 30%, with the balance coming from horticulture.

About 40% of the country’s potato production comes from the high-lying areas of the Free State, while 90% of South Africa’s cherry crop and the two largest asparagus factories are situated in the Ficksburg district.  In the Eastern Free State, where farmers specialize in seed production, soya, sorghum, sunflowers and wheat are cultivated.

Mining and the manufacturing of products from coal also play a large part in the economy of this region.

 To find out more about the Free State click here!