KwaZulu-Natal is the 7^th biggest province of South Africa by surface area, but the 2^nd-biggest by population after the Gauteng province. KwaZulu-Natal is approximately the same size as Portugal.

Situated on the Indian Ocean coast of the country, it is bordered by Swaziland and Mozambique to the north, Lesotho and the Free State province to the east, and the Eastern Cape province to the south. The province consists of three distinct geographic areas: the narrow lowland area bordering the coast, the rolling hills of the Midlands and the mountainous western border areas, dominated by the beautiful Drakensberg and Lebombo Mountains.

The major cities and towns of the province include Durban, a sprawling metropolitan area with a population of around 4-million people, Pietermaritzburg - the provincial capital, Newcastle, Dundee, Ladysmith and the port city of Richards Bay.

Economically, the province is known for its agriculture, sugar cultivation and milling, aluminium smelting, vehicle assembly, chemical industries, food-processing, paper production, oil refining and textile production.

The province has a number of institutions of higher learning, including the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of Zululand, the Durban University of Technology and the Mangosuthu University of Technology. In addition, KwaZulu-Natal is also home to a number of South Africa’s leading public and private schools.

Well-known as a tourist destination, the climate of the province leads itself to an outdoor, active lifestyle and the provinces hosts a variety of well-known sporting events, the most famous of which include the Comrades Marathon, an ultra-marathon run annually between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, the Durban July horse-race, the Midmar Mile swim, the Dusi Canoe Marathon and the Mr Price Pro, an international professional surfing contest.