The department informed the delegation that: . The geographic area of the North West was reduced from 116,883 square km in 1994 to 106,512 square kilometers in 2008 as a result of the boundary re-demarcation in 2005. . This demarcation led to the loss of the Morula Sun Casino and Hotel (total of about R144-million per annum). . The proportion of the provincial population was reduced from 8.3 per cent in 1996 (3,36 million) to 6.7 . per cent (3,27 million) in 2007 as per the recent community survey. . The number of people within the working age of 15 to 65 years increased from 2 million in 1996 to 2,1 million in 2007.