Makhanda, South Africa

"Grahamstown" redirects here. For other uses, see Grahamstown (disambiguation).

This article is about the town in South Africa. For the prophet after whom the town has been renamed, see Makhanda (prophet).

Makhanda Grahamstown
Town
Clockwise from top: Makhanda seen from Fort Selwyn, City Hall, St Andrews College Tower, High Street, Cathedral of St Michael and St George
Flag
Makhanda Location within Eastern Cape Makhanda Location within South Africa Makhanda Location within Africa
Coordinates: 33°18′36″S 26°31′36″E
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
District	Sarah Baartman
Municipality	Makana
Established	1812
Area
• Total	65.1 km2 (25.1 sq mi)
Elevation	580 m (1,900 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	67,264
• Density	1,030/km2 (2,680/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	78.9%
• Coloured	11.3%
• White	8.4%
• Indian/Asian	0.7%
• Other	0.6%
First languages (2011)
• Xhosa	72.2%
• Afrikaans	13.7%
• English	10.8%
• Other	3.4%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	6139
PO box	6140
Area code	046

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Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about 125 kilometres (80 mi) northeast of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and 160 kilometres (100 mi) southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Municipality, and the seat of the municipal council. It also hosts Rhodes University, the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court, the South African Library for the Blind (SALB), a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and 6 South African Infantry Battalion. Furthermore, located approximately 3 km south-east of the town lies Waterloo Farm, the only estuarine fossil site in the world from 360 million years ago with exceptional soft-tissue preservation.

The town's official name-change from Grahamstown to Makhanda was officially on 29 June 2018. The new name of Makhanda was chosen in memory of Xhosa warrior and prophet Makhanda ka Nxele.

In 2025, the city was listed as the country's worst-performing municipality, with levels of infrastructural collapse, and the South African Human Rights Commission began investigating service delivery failures in the ANC-run municipality.