South Africa

National Council of Provinces

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
Parliament
Chamber name
National Council of Provinces
Structure & status of parliament
Upper chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
5

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1994
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
African Group

Speaker

Official title
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces
Speaker
Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane (Female)
Date of birth: 03 Sep 1973
Term
15 Jun 2024
Additional information

Elected on 15 June 2024.

Speaker terms

Click for historical data

Secretary general

Official title
Secretary to Parliament
Secretary General
Xolile George (Male)
Term
15 Jun 2022
Notes

Appointed on 15 June 2022.

Official title
Secretary of the National Council of Provinces
Secretary General
Modibedi Eric Phindela (Male)
Term
01 Jun 2010
Notes

Appointed on 1 June 2010.

Members

Statutory number of members
90

Notes:

Appointed members: appointed by parties represented in provincial legislatures.

Other: 36 special delegates representing provincial legislatures.

In addition, not more than 10 part-time representatives designated by local government may participate in the National Council of Provinces, but are not allowed to vote.

Principal mode of designation of members
Appointed
Appointed members
54
Other members
36
Current number of members
54
Men
30
Women
24
Percentage of women
44.4%
Statutory number of members per country 
490
Population (in thousands)
63,212
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
129,004

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
No information available
Youngest member
Naledi Nokukhanva Chirwa (Female)
Youngest member (years)
30
Oldest member
Poobalan Govender (Male)
Oldest member (years)
69
Number of members, by age (2024-06)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 0 3 4 3 14 6 0 0 0 30
Female 0 0 5 6 5 4 4 0 0 0 24
Totals per age interval 0 0 8 10 8 18 10 0 0 0 54
Total <= 45: 18 Total >= 46: 36
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
14.8% 6% 9.3%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
33.3% 13% 20.4%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
No

Notes: Political party quota - 'the provision of a quota of not less than fifty percent of women in all elected structures.

Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No