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Most economic activity is concentrated in the Southern Region (between Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp), Rustenburg and the Eastern Region, where more than 8.,3% of GGP of the province is produced. The Klerksdorp and Rustenburg regions together produce about 67% of the province's GGP while covering 33% of the surface area. Forty-eight percent of the province's population reside here. The People
Of the 3.6 million people in the North West, 65% live in the rural areas. In spite of its small population, it is estimated that 9% of all the poor people in the country live in the North West. The poverty rate is estimated at 57%. As far as educational attainment and skills availability are concerned, the North West lags behind the South African average. The literacy rate is in the region of 57%. As part of the Department of Education's proposed plans for higher education, the existing four higher learning institutions will be merged to form two. Mining Although the platinum province is the third-slowest contributor to South Africa's GDP, it is the dominant province in mineral sales. Mining contributes 35.5% to the economy and 17.8% of total employment in the North West. It makes up 15.5% of the mining GDP in South Africa. The North West is also the dominant province in mineral sales with a contribution of 17.8% to the South African mining sector. Diamonds are mined at Lichtenburg, Koster, Christiana and Bloemhof, while Orkney and Klerksdorp have gold-mines. The area surrounding Rustenburg and Brits boasts the largest single platinum production area in the world. Marble is also mined here. Fluorspar is exploited at Zeerust. Manufacturing Manufacturing is almost exclusively dependant on the performance of a few sectors in which the province enjoys a competitive advantage. These are fabricated metals, food and non-metallic metals. Manufacturing contributes 12.8% of the province's GDP and 9% of its employment opportunities. It provides 1.6% of the South African manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP. Industrial activity is centred around the towns of Brits, Klerksdorp, Vryburg and Rustenburg. The Brits industries concentrate mostly on manufacturing and construction, while those at Klerksdorp are geared towards the mining industry, and those at Vryburg and Rustenburg towards agriculture. Manufacturing is almost exclusively dependent on the performance of a few sectors in which the province enjoys a competitive advantage. These are fabricated metals (51%), the food sector (18%) and non-metallic metals (21%).
The Platinum SDI can unlock further development. It is situated on the Coast-to-Coast highway that links the Port of Maputo in Mozambique to Walvis Bay in Namibia. Approximately 200 potential project opportunities in tourism, manufacturing, agriculture and mining have been identified.
Agriculture Agriculture in the North West is the second most important sector, contributing about 8,6% to provincial GDP and 16,7% to employment. Some 5,3% of the South African GDP in agriculture and 16,96% of total labour in agriculture are based in the North West.
The province is an important food basket in South Africa. Maize and sunflowers are the most important crops. The North West is the biggest producer of white maize in the country.
Some of the largest cattle herds in the world are found at Stellaland near Vryburg, which explains why this area is often referred to as the 'Texas of South Africa'. Marico is also cattle country. The areas around Rustenburg and Brits are fertile mixed-crop farming land.
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