Free State (province)

Free State
Zulu	iFuleyisitata
Xhosa	iFreyistata
Afrikaans	Vrystaat
Sesotho	Freistata
Setswana	Foreistata

Free State

*Vrystaat* (Afrikaans)

*Freistata* (Sotho)

*iFreyistata* (Xhosa)

*Foreistata* (Tswana)

*iFuleyisitata* (Zulu)
Free State Vrystaat (Afrikaans); Freistata (Sotho); iFreyistata (Xhosa); Foreistata (Tswana); iFuleyisitata (Zulu);
Province
	Flag Coat of arms
	Motto(s): Katleho ka kopano; (Success through unity)
	Location of the Free State in South Africa
	Coordinates: 28°S 27°E / 28°S 27°E
Country	South Africa
Orange Free State	17 February 1854
OFS Province	31 May 1910
Free State	27 April 1994
Capital	Bloemfontein
Districts	List Xhariep; Mangaung; Lejweleputswa; Thabo Mofutsanyana; Fezile Dabi;
Government
• Type	Parliamentary system
• Premier	Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae (ANC)
• Legislature	Free State Provincial Legislature
Area
• Total	129,825 km2 (50,126 sq mi)
• Rank	3rd in South Africa
Highest elevation	3,291 m (10,797 ft)
Population (2022)
• Total	2,961,864
• Rank	8th in South Africa
• Density	23/km2 (59/sq mi)
• Rank	8th in South Africa
Population groups (2022)
• Black	88.9%
• White	8.0%
• Coloured	2.6%
• Indian or Asian	0.4%
• Other	0.1%
Languages (2022)
• Sotho	72.3%
• Afrikaans	10.3%
• Xhosa	5.5%
• Tswana	5.3%
• English	1.5%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
ISO 3166 code	ZA-FS
GDP	US$20.0 billion
HDI (2019)	0.708; high · 4th of 9
Website	www.freestateonline.fs.gov.za

The Free State (Afrikaans: Vrystaat [ˈfrəistɑːt]; Sotho: Freistata; Xhosa: iFreyistata; Tswana: Foreistata; Zulu: iFuleyisitata), formerly known as the Orange Free State, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called the Orange Free State and later the Orange Free State Province.

^ Census 2011: Census in brief (PDF). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. 2012. ISBN 9780621413885. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2015.
^ "Taking the measure of Namahadi Peak" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Statistical Release - Census 2022" (PDF). statssa.gov.za. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
^ "Provincial gross domestic product:experimental estimates, 2013–2022" (PDF), www.statssa.gov.za
^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.

[cib2011-1] Census 2011: Census in brief (PDF). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. 2012. ISBN 9780621413885. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2015.

[2] "Taking the measure of Namahadi Peak" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2009.

[2022_census-3] "Statistical Release - Census 2022" (PDF). statssa.gov.za. Retrieved 22 August 2024.

[4] "Provincial gross domestic product:experimental estimates, 2013–2022" (PDF), www.statssa.gov.za

[GlobalDataLab-5] "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.

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