Free State & Mpumalanga

The vast grassy plain of the Free State is the agricultural heart of South Africa where more than 70% of South Africa's grain is produced. The Free State is also rich in mineral wealth and the gold mines around the city of Welkom produce 20% of the worlds' gold. Many national parks and game reserves are found in Free State; the most attractive of which is the Golden Gate Highlands National park dominated by strangely eroded sandstone mountains.

The state has historical importance as a Boer frontier. The population of 2.8 million mostly South Sotho-speaking and Afrikaans are centered around Bloemfontein, the provincial capital, and the gold-mining region of Welkom.

To the east of the Free State the province of