Swartland Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Malmesbury is the seat of the municipality. As of 2016, it had a population of 133,762. Its municipality code is WC015. Geography The municipality covers an area of , stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Berg River in the east. To the south it abuts on the City of Cape Town, to the east the Drakenstein Municipality, and to the north the Bergrivier Municipality and Saldanha Bay Municipality. According to the 2016 Stats SA Community Survey the municipality has a population of 133,762 people in 39,139 households. Of this population, 65.1% describe themselves as "Coloured", 15.7% as "Black African", and 18.6% as "White". The first language of 78.13% of the population is Afrikaans, while 12.34% speak Xhosa, 5.14% speak English and 1.20% speak Sotho. The principal town and seat of the council is Malmesbury, which is situated in the south-east of the municipality and has a population (according to the 2011 census) of 25,176. Other large towns are Moorreesburg (pop. 12,877) to the north, and Darling (pop. 10,420) to the west. In the Riebeek Valley north-east of Malmesbury are the sister towns of Riebeek-Kasteel (pop. 4,761) and Riebeek West (pop. 4,350). In the vicinity of Malmesbury there are the smaller villages of Abbotsdale, Chatsworth, and Kalbaskraal, while in the vicinity of Moorreesburg is found the village of Koringberg. Yzerfontein on the Atlantic coast is a fishing village and holiday town. Economic Base Malmesbury is the administrative centre of the Municipality and fulfils an important urban niche in the region and the province. Its high development potential can be attributed to factors such as its relative accessibility along the N7 road/rail corridor; closeness to Cape Town; diversified economic base, which not only accommodates agriculture but also well-developed industrial and commercial sectors; and supportive infrastructure. Malmesbury is home to a number of large companies, as well as regional offices of provincial and national government departments. In 2016 the main contributors to the regional GDP were: Manufacturing (R1,689.0 million or 22.9%), wholesale and retail trade, catering and accommodation (R1,289.2 million or 17.5%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (R1,173.4 million or 15.9%) and general government (R851.0 million or 11.5%). History At the end of the apartheid era, in the area that is today the Swartland Municipality there were municipal councils for Malmesbury, Moorreesburg, Darling, Riebeek-Kasteel, Riebeek West