Free State: quick facts
Capital: Bloemfontein
Languages: 64.2% Sesotho, 12.7% Afrikaans, 7.5% isiXhosa
Population: 2 745 590 (Census 2011)
Share of SA population: 5.3%
Area: 129 825 square kilometres
Share of total SA area: 10.6%
The Free State a province of wide horizons and blue skies, farmland, mountains, goldfields and widely dispersed towns lies in the heart of South Africa, with the mountain Kingdom of Lesotho nestling in the hollow of its bean-like shape.
Between the Vaal River, in the north, and the Orange River, in the south, this immense rolling prairie stretches as far as the eye can see.