iBhayi is a large township near Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It is the second largest township in the Eastern Cape province and the ninth largest in South Africa after Mitchells Plain near Cape Town in the Western Cape.^[2]

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iBhayi
iBhayi Show map of Eastern Cape iBhayi Show map of South Africa iBhayi Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 33.872°S 25.571°E / -33.872; 25.571
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
Municipality	Nelson Mandela Bay
Main Place	Port Elizabeth
Area [1]
• Total	36.06 km2 (13.92 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	237,799
• Density	6,600/km2 (17,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	98.6%
• Coloured	0.9%
• Indian/Asian	0.1%
• White	0.1%
• Other	0.3%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Xhosa	91.5%
• English	3.4%
• Afrikaans	1.5%
• Other	3.5%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	6001

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In January 2023 a residential home in the iBhayi township of KwaZakhele was the scene of the 2023 Gqeberha mass shooting.^[3]

iBhayi (sometimes eBhayi) is a Xhosa word meaning "the bay". Although iBhayi is the name used for the collection of predominantly black townships north of Port Elizabeth, it is also used as a name for the city amongst Xhosa-speaking people.^[4]

iBhayi is a collection of predominantly black townships situated north of the city of Port Elizabeth, similar to how Soweto, south-west of Johannesburg is also a collection of predominantly black townships.^[5]

Most of iBhayi lies east of the R75 except for its northern extensions of KwaDwesi, New KwaDwesi and Masibulele which lie west of the R75.

iBhayi is surrounded by the predominantly Coloured township of Bethelsdorp and the neighbourhood of Algoa Park in the west, Redhouse and Perseverance in the north-east, Swartkops in the east and Deal Party in the south-east.^[6]

The main roads in iBhayi are the R75 to Uitenhage and Despatch in the north and Port Elizabeth in the south and the R367/M19 to Despatch in the north and Swartkops in the south.

New Brighton has been in existence since the region was still farmland and is one of the biggest and oldest settled townships in Ibhayi, while KwaMagxaki township, which was established in 1985, is the second-highest black income suburb. KwaMagxaki is home to a diversified group of professionals, businesspeople and civil servants. ^[7]

• Joe Slovo
• KwaDwesi / New KwaDwesi
• KwaMagxaki
• KwaZakhele
• Masibulele
• New Brighton
• Soweto on Sea
• Struandale Industrial
• Zwide
• Motherwell^[8]

The Ubuntu Education Fund is based in Zwide, and operates a community center which opened in 2010.^[9]

The Struandale industrial area is a popular industrial node in Nelson Mandela Bay located east of New Brighton and is often considered part of New Brighton.^[10]

Notable companies in Struandale include Distell Distribution, DSV Pharmacare, BASF, MW Wheels, Eveready but most importantly the Isuzu automotive manufacturing plant and Ford engine manufacturing plant.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16]}

Continental Tyre and PPC Cement have their manufacturing plants in New Brighton.^[17][18]

• Area: 36.06 square kilometres (13.92 sq mi)
• Population: 237,799: 6,594 inhabitants per square kilometre (17,080/sq mi)
• Households: 63,474: 1,760 per square kilometre (4,600/sq mi)

Source:^[19]