Overview
Mpumalanga is an African-language word, which means "the place where the sun rises", an apt name for this province lying in the (north-) eastern parts of South Africa. It is home to various cultures, tourist attractions and places of significant historical interest.

The province covers 6.5% of South Africa's surface area, which makes it larger than the Netherlands and Belgium combined. Although it features one or two small cities, it has a relatively small population of ± 3 million people. Most live in rural areas. Nelspruit is the provincial capital.

People & languages
Mpumalanga's population is largely SiSwati or isiNdebele speaking, but also has sizable communities of Xitsonga, SeSotho, isiZulu, Afrikaans and English-speaking people. Most people in the province can speak English and foreigners should not experience problems to communicate to locals in that language (in the outlying rural areas this may be less true).

Portuguese is fast becoming an essential second business language due to the province's location to neighbouring Mozambique. Trade between the two neighbours has picked up significantly since the end of Apartheid in 1994.

Attractions
In the tourism sphere Mpumalanga offers something for everyone. It has vast stretches of unspoilt nature and wilderness. Some of the more popular and better known attractions include: the world renowned Kruger National Park (it stretches into the neighbouring Limpopo Province) and private game reserves extending from it; the highlands region - Belfast, Dullstroom & Lydenburg; the gold rush village of Pilgrim's Rest and the very scenic Panorama Route (Blyde River Canyon, Bourke's Luck Potholes, Three Rondavels). On top of scenic or historical guided tours the province also offers a host of adventure activities including white water rafting, hot air ballooning, skydiving, cross-country hiking and guided hiking in game parks to name but a few.

Trade & industry
Mpumalanga is the electrical powerhouse of South Africa and also exports electricity to neighbouring countries. At more than 150m tons annually it mines more than half of South Africa's coal output, most of this coal is exported whilst a large amount of coal is also burnt in its nine huge power stations.

The R35 billion Maputo Corridor initiative between Gauteng and Maputo is re-creating a crucial economic link between the Gauteng Province, South Africa's industrial powerhouse, and the Mozambiquen city's export harbour. The corridor, of which the longest stretch cuts through Mpumalanga, was first established by transport riders in the early 1800's and formalised with the completion of the Pretoria-Maputo railway line in 1892. Its importance has never been realised since due to first the Anglo-Boer War (1899), then Apartheid and the devastating Mozambiquen civil war, which raged in that country 'till the late eighties. The project to revive and enhance the corridor, which includes major infrastructure projects such as new road, rail and telecommunication links, is slowly changing the socio-economic structure of the entire sub-region.

Mpumalanga is also focusing on strengthening its existing industrial success stories. The most advanced of these cluster developments are centred around existing stainless steel plants in Witbank and Middelburg as well as the petrochemical industry in Secunda and Sasolburg (SASOL). The world's fifth-largest stainless steel producer, Columbus Steel in Middelburg, anchors the stainless steel cluster. The provincial economy is almost 10 times larger than Swaziland's and eight times that of Mozambique.

(source: some of the above information was taken from Mpumalanga Tourism Authority's website - May 2004, see link below)