South Africa
The
Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of the
African
continent. It borders the countries of
Namibia,
Botswana,
Zimbabwe,
Mozambique, and
Swaziland.
Lesotho is an
enclave entirely surrounded by South African territory.
South Africa has experienced a significantly different evolution from other nations in Africa arising primarily from two facts;
immigration from
Europe reached levels not experienced in other African communities and a level of mineralogical wealth that made the country extremely important to
Western interests, particularly during the
Cold War. As a result of the former, South Africa is a very racially diverse nation. It has the largest population of people of
Coloured (i.e., mixed racial background),
White, and
Indian communities in Africa. Black South Africans account for almost 80% of the population.
Racial strife between the white minority and the black majority has played a large part in the country's
history and
politics, culminating in
apartheid, which was instituted in 1948 by the
National Party, although
segregation existed prior to that date. The laws that defined apartheid began to be repealed or abolished by the National Party in
1990 after a long and sometimes violent struggle (including
economic sanctions from the
international community) by the Black majority as well as some White, Coloured, and Indian South Africans.
The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a
coup d'état, and regular
elections have been held for almost a century; however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not
enfranchised until
1994. The
economy of South Africa is the largest and best developed on the continent, with modern
infrastructure common throughout the country.
South Africa is often referred to as
The Rainbow Nation - a term coined by
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and later elaborated upon by then-
President Nelson Mandela as a metaphor to describe the country's newly-developing multicultural diversity in the wake of segregationist apartheid ideology.
South Africa will be the host nation for the
2010 FIFA World Cup. It will be the first time the tournament is held in Africa.
South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological sites in Africa. Extensive
fossil remains at the
Sterkfontein,
Kromdraai and Makapansgat caves suggest that various
australopithecines existed in South Africa from about three million years ago. These were succeeded by various species of
Homo, including
Homo habilis,
Homo erectus and modern man,
Homo sapiens.
Bantu-speaking peoples (the term Bantu is a linguistic term not an ethnic one),
iron-using agriculturists and herdsmen, moved south of the
Limpopo River into modern-day South Africa by the 4th or 5th century (the
Bantu expansion). They slowly moved south and the earliest ironworks in modern-day
KwaZulu-Natal Province are believed to date from around 1050. The southernmost group was the
Xhosa people, reaching the
Fish River, in today's
Eastern Cape Province. These
Iron Age populations displaced earlier
hunter-gatherer peoples as they migrated.
The written history of South Africa begins with the accounts of European navigators passing South Africa on the
East Indies trade routes. Subsequent to the first circumnavigation of the Cape in
1488 by the Portuguese Explorer
Bartolomeu Dias a number of shipwrecks occured along the Southern African coast. Along with the accounts of the early navigators, the accounts of shipwreck survivors provide the earliest written accounts of Southern Africa. In the two centuries following 1488 a number of small fishing settlements were made along the coast by
Portugese sailors, but no written account of these settlements survives. In
1652 a victualling station was established at the
Cape of Good Hope by
Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of the
Dutch East India Company. For most of the 17th and 18th centuries, the slowly expanding settlement was a
Dutch possession. The Dutch settlers eventually met the southwesterly expanding
Xhosa people in the region of the
Fish River. A series of wars, called
Cape Frontier Wars, ensued, mainly caused by conflicting land and livestock interests.
To ease Cape labour shortages
slaves were imported from
Indonesia,
Madagascar, and
India. Furthermore, troublesome leaders, often of royal descent, were banished from Dutch colonies to South Africa. This group of slaves eventually gave rise to a population that now identifies themselves as "
Cape Malays," a predominantly
Muslim group.
Cape Malays have traditionally been accorded a higher social status by the European colonists - many became wealthy landowners, but became increasingly dispossessed as
Apartheid developed. Cape Malay mosques in
District Six were spared, and now serve as monuments for the destruction that occurred around them.
Most of the descendants of these slaves, who often married with Dutch settlers, were later classified together with the remnants of the Khoikhoi as
Cape Coloureds. Further intermingling within the
Cape Coloured population itself, as well as with
Xhosa and other South African tribes, now means that they constitute roughly 50% of the population in the
Western Cape Province.
Great Britain seized the
Cape of Good Hope area in 1797 during the
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch declared bankruptcy, and the British annexed the Cape Colony in 1805. The British continued the frontier wars against the AmaXhosa, pushing the eastern frontier eastward through a line of forts established along the Fish River and consolidating it by encouraging
British settlement. Due to pressure of
abolitionist societies in Britain, the British parliament first stopped its global
slave trade in 1806, then abolished slavery in all its colonies in 1833.
The discovery of
diamonds in 1867 and
gold in 1886 encouraged economic growth and immigration, intensifying the subjugation of the natives. The
Boers successfully resisted British encroachments during the
First Boer War (1880–1881) using tactics much better suited to local conditions. For example, the Boers wore
khaki clothing, which was the same colour as the earth, whereas the British wore bright red uniforms, making them easy targets for Boer
sharpshooters. The British returned in greater numbers without their red jackets in the
Second Boer War (1899–1902), which was largely opposed by the
Liberal Party in the
British Parliament. The Boers' attempt to ally themselves with German
South West Africa provided the British with yet another excuse to take control of the Boer Republics.
The Boers resisted fiercely, but the British eventually overwhelmed the Boer forces, using their superior numbers and external supply chains and
concentration camps as well as the controversial
scorched earth tactic. The
Treaty of Vereeniging specified full British sovereignty over the South African republics, and the British government agreed to assume the
£3,000,000 war debt owed by the Afrikaner governments. One of the main provisions of the treaty ending the war was that 'Blacks' would not be allowed to vote, except in the Cape Colony.
After four years of negotiations, the
Union of South Africa was created from the
Cape and
Natal colonies, as well as the republics of
Orange Free State and
Transvaal, on
May 31,
1910, exactly eight years after the end of the Second Boer War. The newly-created Union of South Africa was a
dominion. In 1934 the
South African Party and
National Party merged to form the
United Party, seeking reconciliation between Afrikaners and
English-speaking 'Whites', but split in 1939 over the Union's entry into
World War II as an ally of the
United Kingdom. The right-wing National Party sympathised with
Nazi Germany during the war, and sought greater racial segregation, or apartheid, after it.
In 1948, the
National Party was elected to power, and began
implementing a series of harsh segregationist laws that would become known collectively as
apartheid. Not surprisingly, this segregation also applied to the wealth acquired during rapid industrialization of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. While the White minority enjoyed the highest
standard of living in all of Africa, often comparable to "
First World" western nations, the Black majority remained disadvantaged by almost every standard, including income, education, housing, and life expectancy. However, the average income and life expectancy of a black, 'Indian' or 'colored' South African compared favorably to many other African states, such as
Ghana and
Tanzania.
Apartheid became increasingly controversial, leading to widespread
sanctions and
divestment abroad and growing unrest and oppression within South Africa. (See also special section on
History of South Africa in the apartheid era.) A long period of harsh suppression by the government, and resistance,
strikes, marches, protests, and
sabotage, by various anti-apartheid movements, most notably the
African National Congress (ANC), followed. In 1990 the National Party government took the first step towards negotiating itself out of power when it lifted the ban on the African National Congress and other
left-wing political organisations, and released
Nelson Mandela from prison after 27 years. Apartheid legislation was gradually removed from the statute books, and the first
multi-racial elections were held in 1994. The ANC won by an overwhelming majority, and has been in power ever since.
Despite the end of apartheid, millions of South Africans, mostly black, continue to live in
poverty. This is attributed to the legacy of the apartheid regime and, increasingly, what many see as the failure of the current government to tackle social issues, coupled with the monetary and fiscal discipline of the current government to ensure both redistribution of wealth and economic growth. However, the ANC's social housing policy has produced some improvement in living conditions in many areas by redirecting fiscal spending and improving the efficiency of the
tax collection system.
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The central area of Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa. |
South Africa has a bicameral
Parliament, comprising the
National Council of Provinces (or upper house) with 90 members, and a
National Assembly (or lower house) with 400 members. Members of the lower house are elected on a population basis by
proportional representation: half of the members are elected from national lists and half are elected from provincial lists. Ten members are elected to represent each province in the National Council of Provinces, regardless of the population of the province. Elections for both chambers are held every five years. The government is formed in the lower house, and the leader of the majority party in the National Assembly is the
President.
Current South African politics is dominated by the
African National Congress (ANC), which received 69.7% of the vote during the last
2004 general election and 66.3% of the vote in the
2006 municipal election. The main challenger to the ANC's rule is the
Democratic Alliance party, which received 12.4% of the vote in the 2004 election and 14.8% in the 2006 election. The leader of this party is
Tony Leon. The formerly dominant
New National Party, who introduced apartheid through its predecessor, the
National Party, has suffered increasing humiliation at election polls since 1994, and finally voted to disband and ironically it chose to merge with the ANC on
9 April 2005. Other major political parties represented in Parliament are the
Inkatha Freedom Party, which mainly represents
Zulu voters, and the
Independent Democrats, who took 6.97% and 1.7% of the vote respectively in the 2004 election.
When apartheid ended in 1994, the South African government had to integrate the formerly independent and semi-independent
Bantustans into the political structure of South Africa. To this end, it abolished the four former provinces of South Africa (
Cape Province,
Natal,
Orange Free State, and
Transvaal) and replaced them with nine fully integrated provinces. The new provinces are usually much smaller than the former provinces, which theoretically is in order to give local governments more resources to distribute over smaller areas.
The nine provinces are further sub-divided into 52
districts, six of which are
metropolitan and 46
district municipalities. The 46 district municipalities are further subdivided into 231 local
municipalities. The district municipalities also contain 20 district management areas (mostly game parks) which are directly governed by the district municipalities. The six metropolitan municipalities perform the functions of both district and local municipalities.The new provinces are:
South Africa is located at the extreme south of Africa, with a long
coastline that stretches more than 2,500
kilometres (1,550
mi) and across two
oceans (the
Atlantic and the
Indian). South Africa has a great variety of climate zones, from the extreme
desert of the
Kalahari near
Namibia to lush
subtropical climate along the border with
Mozambique. It quickly rises over a
mountainous escarpment towards the interior
plateau known as the
Highveld. Even though South Africa is classified as
semi-arid, there is considerable variation in
climate as well as
topography.
The interior of South Africa is a giant, mountainous, and sparsely populated
scrubland Karoo plateau, which is drier towards the northwest along the Kalahari desert. In contrast, the eastern coastline is lush and well-watered, which produces a climate similar to the tropics. The extreme southwest has a climate remarkably similar to that of the
Mediterranean with wet winters and hot, dry summers. This area also produces much of South Africa's
wine. This region is also particularly known for its wind, which blows intermittently almost all year. The severity of this wind made passing around the
Cape of Good Hope particularly treacherous for sailors, causing many
shipwrecks. Further east on the country's south coast, rainfall is distributed more evenly throughout the year, producing a green landscape. This area is popularly known as the
Garden Route.
The
Free State is particularly flat due to the fact that the eastern region of the Highveld does not extend as far north as the western region. North of the
Vaal River, the Highveld becomes better watered and does not experience subtropical extremes of heat.
Johannesburg, in the centre of the Highveld, is at 1,740
metres (5,709
ft) and receives an annual rainfall of 760 millimetres (30
in). Winters in this region are cold, although
snow is rare.
To the north and east of Johannesburg, the altitude drops beyond the Highveld's escarpment, and turns into the
Lowveld. The Lowveld has particularly high temperatures, and is also the location of traditional South African
Bushveld. The high
Drakensberg mountains, which form the eastern escarpment of the Highveld, offer limited
skiing opportunities in winter. Many people think that the coldest place in South Africa is
Sutherland in the western
Roggeveld Mountains, where midwinter temperatures can reach as low as –15 degrees
Celsius (5 °
F). In fact, the coldest place is actually Buffelsfontein, which is in the Molteno district of the Eastern Cape. Buffelsfontein
recorded a low of –18.6 degrees
Celsius. The deep interior has the hottest temperatures: A temperature of 51.7 °C (125 °F) was recorded in 1948 in the
Northern Cape Kalahari near
Upington.
[ SouthAfrica.info: South Africa's geography ]South Africa also has one possession, the small sub-antarctic archipelago of the
Prince Edward Islands, consisting of Marion Island (290 km²/112 mi²) and Prince Edward Island (45 km²/17.3 mi²) (not to be confused with the
Canadian province of the same name).
South Africa has more than 20,000 different
plants, or about 10% of all the known
species of plants on
Earth, making it particularly rich in plant biodiversity.
South Africa's most prevalent biome is
grassland, particularly on the
Highveld, where the plant cover is dominated by different
grasses, low
shrubs, and
acacia trees, mainly camel-thorn and whitethorn.
Vegetation becomes even more sparse towards the northwest due to low
rainfall. There are several species of water-storing
succulents like
aloes and euphorbias in the very hot and dry
Namaqualand area. The grass and thorn
savannah turns slowly into a bush savannah towards the northeast of the country, with more dense growth. There are significant numbers of
baobab trees in this area, near the northern end of
Kruger National Park.
[ South Africa Online Travel Guide: Plants and Vegetation in South Africa ]The
Fynbos Biome, one of the six
floral kingdoms, is located in a small region of the
Western Cape and contains more than 9,000 of those species, making it among the richest regions on earth in terms of floral biodiversity. The majority of the plants are
evergreen hard-leaf plants with fine, needle-like
leaves, such as the
sclerophyllous plants. Another uniquely South African plant is the
protea genus of flowering plants. There are around 130 different species of protea in South Africa.
While South Africa has a great wealth of flowering plants, it has few
forests. Only 1% of South Africa is forest, almost exclusively in the
humid coastal plain along the
Indian Ocean in
KwaZulu-Natal. There are even smaller reserves of forests that are out of the reach of
fire, known as montane forests.
Plantations of imported tree species are predominant, particularly the non-native
eucalyptus and
pine. South Africa is one of the worst affected countries in the world when it comes to invasion by alien species with many e.g. Black Wattle, Port Jackson,
Hakea,
Lantana and
Jacaranda posing a significant threat to the native
biodiversity and the already scarce water resources. The original
temperate forest that met the first European settlers to South Africa was exploited ruthlessly until only small patches remained. Currently, South African
hardwood trees like
Real Yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius),
stinkwood (Ocotea bullata), and South African
Black Ironwood (Olea laurifolia) are under government protection.
Numerous mammals are found in the
bushveld habitats including
lion,
leopard,
White Rhino,
Blue Wildebeest,
kudu,
impala and
giraffe. There is a significant extent of the bushveld habitat in the northeast including Kruger National Park and the
Mala Mala Reserve, as well as in the far north in the
Waterberg Biosphere.
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Durban, well-known resort city on the Indian Ocean coast and site of Africa's largest commercial port. |
By UN classification South Africa is a middle-income country with an abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a
stock exchange (the
JSE Securities Exchange), that ranks among the 10 largest in the world, and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centres throughout the region. South Africa's per capita
GDP, corrected for
purchasing power parity, positions the country as one of the 50 wealthiest in the world. In many respects, South Africa is developed; however, this development is significantly localised around 4 areas, namely: Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, and Pretoria-Johannesburg. Beyond these 4 economic centres, development is marginal and poverty still reigns despite Government strategies. However, key marginal areas are experiencing rapid growth recently. Such areas include: Mossel Bay to Plettenberg Bay; Rustenburg area; Nelspruit area; Bloemfontein; Cape West Coast; KZN North Coast amongst others. Large income gaps and a
dual economy designate South Africa as developing. Only Brazil and India show a greater divide between its country's wealthy and poor residents. Consecutive growth rates in the last ten years are helping lower unemployment; however, the economy still has ways to go, and daunting economic problems remain. Other problems are crime, corruption, and HIV/AIDS. At the start of 2000, President Thabo Mbeki vowed to promote economic growth and foreign investment by relaxing restrictive labour laws, stepping up the pace of
privatisation, and cutting unneeded governmental spending. His policies face strong opposition from organised
labour. It is estimated that South Africa accounts for up to 30% of the
gross domestic product of the entire African continent. South Africa is also the continent's largest energy producer and consumer.
The
Rand, the world's most actively traded emerging
market currency, has joined an elite club of 15 currencies - the
Continuous linked settlement (CLS) - where forex transactions are settled immediately, lowering the risks of transacting across
time zones. The South African Rand (ZAR) was the best performing currency against the US Dollar between 2002 and 2005, according to the
Bloomberg Currency Scorecard. The volatility of the
Rand has affected economic activity, with the rand falling sharply during 2001, hitting an historic low of R13.85 to the
United States dollar, raising fears of inflation, and causing the Reserve Bank to increase
interest rates. The rand has since slightly recovered, trading at R5.99 to the dollar as of January 2006 while the South African Reserve Bank's policy of inflation targeting has brought inflation under control. The stronger Rand has however put exporters under considerable pressure, with many calling for government to intervene in the exchange rate to help soften the rand, and many others dismissing staff.
21.5% of the adult South African population have been estimated to be
HIV positive in 2004. The government has recently, after much delay, devoted substantial resources to fighting the epidemic. A recent study from the African Journal of AIDS Research by Thomas Rehle and Olive Shisana showed the infection rate starting to level off, from 4.2% to 1.7% infection rate for 15-49 year olds, and AIDS deaths peaking at 487,320 in 2008.
In 2000 President
Mbeki publicly questioned the importance of HIV in causing
AIDS, controversially suggesting that the main cause was "poverty".
[ BBC News: Controversy dogs Aids forum ] In 2001 the government appointed a panel of scientists, including a number of
AIDS dissidents (who question the mainstream view on HIV), to report back on the issue. Following their report, the government stated that it continues to base its policy on the premise that the cause of AIDS is indeed HIV.
[ BBC News: South African split over Aids ] The controversy has not abated, and organisations such as the
Treatment Action Campaign continue to mount political and legal challenges to what they claim is the government's slow response to the epidemic.
Refugees from poorer neighbouring countries abound with immigrants from the DRC, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi and many others representing a large portion of the informal sector. With high unemployment levels amongst poorer South Africans,
xenophobia is a very real fear and many people born in South Africa feel resentful of immigrants who are seen to be depriving the native population of jobs, a feeling which has been given credibility by the fact that many South African employers have employed migrants from other countries for lower pay than South African citizens, especially in the
construction,
tourism,
agriculture and
domestic service industries. Illegal immigrants are also heavily involved in informal trading.
[ African Security Review Vol 5 No 4, 1996: Strategic Perspectives on Illegal Immigration into South Africa ] However, many immigrants to South Africa continue to live in poor conditions, and the South African immigration policy has become increasingly restrictive since 1994.
[ Queens College: The Brain Gain: Skilled Migrants and Immigration Policy in Post-Apartheid South Africa ] |
Workers planting on a farm in the central area of Mpumalanga. |
South Africa has a large agricultural sector, and is a net exporter of farming products. There are almost a thousand
agricultural cooperatives and
agribusinesses throughout the country, and agricultural exports constitute eight per cent of South Africa's total exports for the past five years. The agricultural industry contributes to around 30% of formal employment, relatively low compared to other parts of Africa, as well as providing work for casual labourers and contributing towards around 2.6% of
GDP for the nation. However, due to the aridity of the land, only 15% can be used for crop production.
Although the commercial farming sector is relatively well developed, people in some rural areas still survive on
subsistence farming. It is the eighth largest wine producer in the world, and the eleventh largest producer of sunflower seed. South Africa is a net exporter of agricultural products and foodstuffs, the largest number of exported items being
sugar,
grapes,
citrus,
nectarines,
wine and
deciduous fruit. The largest locally produced crop is
maize, and it has been estimated that 9 million tons are produced every year, with 7.4 million tons being consumed.
Livestock are also popular on South African farms, with the country producing 85% of all meat consumed. The dairy industry consists of around 4,300 milk producers providing employment for 60,000 farm workers and contributing to the livelihoods of around 40,000 others.
In recent years, the agricultural sector has introduced several reforms, some of which are controversial, such as
land reform and the deregulation of the market for agricultural products. Land reform has been criticised both by farmers' groups and by landless workers, the latter alleging that the pace of change has not been fast enough, and the former alleging racist treatment and expressing concerns that a similar situation to
Robert Mugabe's land reform policy may develop, a fear exacerbated by comments made by the country's
deputy president.
[ BBC News: South Africans' long wait for land ][ BBC News: SA 'to learn from' land seizures ] The sector continues to face problems with increased foreign competition and crime being two of the major challenges for the industry.
Crime against commercial farmers is often, although not always, racially motivated as many South African commercial farmers are white. The rural farmer population has shouldered a great increase in attacks and harassment and has suffered as many as 1,700
farm murders since the end of apartheid in 1994, and this has caused many commercial farmers to flee the countryside for the protection of the gated communities of the cities and that offered by other nations. The government has been accused of not devoting enough time and money to tackle the problem as opposed to other forms of violent crime, or simply inefficiency and incompetence.
[ The Sunday Times Magazine: Farms of Fear ]Another issue which continues to affect South African agriculture is environmental damage caused by misuse of the land. To reverse the damage caused by land mismanagement, the government have supported a scheme which promotes
sustainable development and the use of natural resources.
[ Department of Agriculture South Africa ] Discrimination in jobs and a high crime rate including farm murders has lead to an emigration of the White South African population to Europe and other Anglo-Saxon countries. This has lead to a great loss of intellectual talent for South Africa.
South Africa is a nation of over 46 million people of diverse origins,
cultures,
languages, and
beliefs. The 2005
Statistics South Africa census provided five
racial categories by which people could classify themselves, the last of which, "unspecified/other" drew negligible responses, and these results were omitted.
[ Statistics South Africa: Census 2001 ] Results for the other categories were
Black at 79.4%,
Caucasian at 9.3%,
Coloured at 8.8%, and
Indian/Asian at 2.5%.
By far the major part of the population classified itself as African or black, but it is not culturally or linguistically homogenous. Major ethnic groups include the
Zulu,
Xhosa,
Basotho (South Sotho),
Bapedi (North Sotho),
Venda,
Tswana,
Tsonga,
Swazi and
Ndebele. Some, such as the Zulu, Xhosa, Bapedi and Venda groups, are unique to South Africa.
Other groups are distributed across the borders with South Africa's neighbours: The
Basotho group is also the major ethnic group in
Lesotho. The
Tswana ethnic group constitute the majority of the population of
Botswana. The
Swazi ethnic group is the major ethnic group in
Swaziland. The
Ndebele ethnic group is also found in
Matabeleland in
Zimbabwe, where they are known as the
Matabele. These Ndebele people are however in effect Zulu people because the language they speak is Zulu and they are the descendants of the Warrior
Mzilikazi who escaped persecution from Shaka to settle in that part of the World. The
Tsonga ethnic group is also found in southern
Mozambique, where they are known as the Shangaan.
The white population descends largely from colonial immigrants:
Dutch,
German,
French Huguenot, and
British. Culturally and linguistically, they are divided into the
Afrikaners, who speak
Afrikaans, and
English-speaking groups originated from British immigrants, although many small communities immigrating over the last century retain the use of other languages. The white population is on the decrease due to a low birth rate and emigration; as a factor in their decision to emigrate, many cite the high crime rate and the government's
affirmative action policies.
The term "
Coloured" is still largely used for the people of mixed race descended from slaves brought in from East and Central Africa, the indigenous
Khoisan who lived in the
Cape at the time, indigenous African Blacks, Whites (mostly the
Dutch/
Afrikaner and British settlers) as well as an admixture of
Javanese,
Malay,
Indian,
Malagasy and other European and Asian blood (such as
Portuguese and
Burmese). The majority speak Afrikaans. Khoisan is a term used to describe two separate groups, physically similar in that they were light-skinned and small in stature. The
Khoikhoi, who were called
Hottentots by the Europeans, were pastoralists and were effectively annihilated; the San, called
Bushmen by the Europeans, were hunter-gatherers. Within what is known as the Coloured community, you will also find some more recent immigrants - Coloureds from the old
Rhodesia (now
Zimbabwe) and
Namibia, as well as immigrants of mixed descent from
India and
Burma (
Anglo-Indians/
Anglo-Burmese) who were welcomed to the Cape when India and Burma received their Independence.
The major part of the
Asian population of the country is
Indian in origin, many of them descended from indentured workers brought in the 19th century to work on the
sugar plantations of the eastern coastal area then known as
Natal. There is also a significant group of
Chinese South Africans (approximately 100 000 individuals).
It may be argued that there is no "single" culture in South Africa because of its ethnic diversity. Today, the diversity in foods from many cultures is enjoyed by all and especially marketed to tourists who wish to sample the large variety of South African cuisine. In addition to
food,
music and
dance feature prominently.
South African cuisine is heavily
meat-based and has spawned the distinctively South African social gathering known as a
braai. South Africa has also developed into a major
wine producer, with some of the best
vineyards in the world lying in valleys around
Stellenbosch,
Franschoek,
Paarl and
Barrydale.
There is great diversity in music from South Africa. Many black musicians who sang in Afrikaans or English during apartheid have since begun to sing in traditional African languages, and have developed a unique style called
Kwaito. Of note is
Brenda Fassie, who launched to fame with her song "Weekend Special", which was sung in English. More famous traditional musicians include
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, while the
Soweto String Quartet performs classic music with an African flavour. White and Coloured South African singers tend to avoid traditional African musical themes, instead preferring more European musical styles including such western metal bands such as
Seether. There is a thriving market for
Afrikaans music, covering all the
genres of Western music.
The country's black majority still has a substantial number of rural inhabitants who lead largely impoverished lives. It is among these people, however, that traditional dance and music survive; as blacks have become increasingly
urbanised and
westernised, aspects of traditional culture have declined. Urban blacks usually speak
English or
Afrikaans in addition to their native tongue. There are smaller but still significant groups of speakers of
Khoisan languages which are not official languages, but are one of the eight officially recognised languages. There are small groups of speakers of
endangered languages, most of which are from the Khoi-San family, that receive no official status; however, some groups within South Africa are attempting to promote their use and revival.
The white minority lead lifestyles similar in many respects to whites found in
Western Europe,
North America and
Australasia.
Despite considerable discrimination under apartheid, Coloureds tend to relate more to white South African culture rather than black South African culture, especially
Afrikaans-speaking Coloured people whose
language and
religious beliefs are similar or identical to white
Afrikaners. A small minority of Coloureds, known as
Cape Malays, are
Muslim.
Asians, predominantly of
Indian origin, preserve their own cultural heritage, languages and religious beliefs, being either
Hindu or
Sunni Muslim, and speaking English, with Indian languages like
Tamil or
Gujarati being spoken less frequently. Most Indians arrived on the famous
Truro ship as
indentured labourers in Natal to work the Sugar Cane Fields. There is a much smaller
Chinese community in South Africa, although its numbers have increased due to immigration from
Taiwan. Since the Taiwanese were classified as White, rather than Asian, under apartheid, they tend to be more culturally similar to whites in many ways than they are to other Asians.
Languages
South Africa has 11
official languages:
Afrikaans,
English,
Ndebele,
Northern Sotho,
Southern Sotho,
Swati,
Tsonga,
Tswana,
Venda,
Xhosa and
Zulu. In this regard it is
second only to India in number. As a result, there are many official names for the country.
The country also recognises eight non-official languages:
Fanagalo,
Khoe,
Lobedu,
Nama,
Northern Ndebele,
Phuthi,
San and
South African Sign Language. These non-official languages may be used in certain official uses in limited areas where it has been determined that these languages are prevalent. Nevertheless, their populations are not such that they require nationwide recognition.
Many of the "unofficial languages" of the
San and
Khoikhoi people contain regional
dialects stretching northward into Namibia and Botswana, and elsewhere. These people, who are a physically distinct population from other Africans, have their own cultural identity based on their
hunter-gatherer societies. They have been marginalised to a great extent, and many of their languages are in danger of becoming
extinct.
Many white South Africans also speak other
European languages, such as
Portuguese (also spoken by Angolan and Mozambican blacks),
German, and
Greek, while many
Asians and
Indians in South Africa speak
South Asian languages, such as
Hindi,
Gujarati and
Tamil.
There are
11 official names for South Africa, one for each of the official national languages. While each language is technically equal to every other, English has emerged recently as the chief-among-peers as it is the most widely spoken language across racial barriers as well as globally, even though it is not the most widely spoken language by population. Afrikaans has been downgraded in order to accommodate other official languages. The South African passport currently has only French and English on the front cover and lists the other official names of South Africa on an inner page.
Crime has been a major problem in South Africa. According to a survey for the period 1998 - 2000 compiled by the
United Nations, South Africa was ranked second for
assault and murder (by all means) per capita.
[ NationMaster: South African Crime Statistics ] On the positive side, total crime per capita is 10th out of the 60 countries in the data set. Nevertheless, crime has had a pronounced effect on society: many wealthier South Africans moved into
gated communities, abandoning the central business districts of some cities for the relative security of suburbs. This effect is most pronounced in Johannesburg, although the trend is noticeable in other cities as well. Many emigrants from South Africa also state that crime was a big motivator for them to leave.
Crime against commercial farmers has continued to be a major problem in the country, and has resulted in thousands either emigrating or giving up the profession. South Africa also has a bad record for
car hijackings.
However, violent crimes such as
murder and
robberies have decreased in recent years, with the year 2004 seeing a drop of 4.6% and 5.3% respectively for these two offences. The rape rate, however, showed no signs of such a slowdown. Recently the government has had a widely-publicised
gun amnesty programme to recall the many weapons still in circulation from previous levels of violence and wars in neighbouring countries like
Mozambique. In addition, it adopted the National Crime Prevention Strategy in 1996, which aimed to prevent crime through reinforcing community structures and helping individuals back into work.
[ Independent Projects Trust: Crime Prevention Projects ]The government is criticised for doing too little to stop crime. Some question the effectiveness of the
South African Police Service, which is known to make use of private security firms to protect its police stations. It must be pointed out, however, that due to the high crime rate in South Africa, many private individuals also make use of these systems.
South Africa's
armed forces, known as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), was created in 1994. Previously known simply as the South African Defence Force (SADF), the new force consists of the forces of the old SADF, as well as the military forces of the organisations fighting for liberation, namely
Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK),
APLA, and the former
homeland defence forces. The SANDF is subdivided into four branches, the
South African Army, the
South African Air Force, the
South African Navy, and the
South African Military Health Services.
In recent years, the SANDF has become a major
peacekeeping force in Africa, and has been involved in operations in
Lesotho, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, and
Burundi, amongst others. It has also participated as a part of multi-national
UN peacekeeping forces.
South Africa undertook a nuclear weapons program in the 70s, allegedly with the assistance of Israel, and
may have conducted a nuclear test over the
Atlantic in
1979, but has since renounced its nuclear program and signed the treaty in
1991 after destroying its small nuclear
arsenal. It is the only African country to have
developed nuclear weapons, and to date is the only country in the world to have voluntarily dismantled its
nuclear weapons programme. The
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) encouraged the country, which had succeeded going nuclear, to turn back.
South Africa has a large, free, and active press that regularly challenges the government, a habit formed during the apartheid era when the press was the medium least controlled by the government. Major
scandals have erupted when the press reported charges of
corruption that were proven to be true in cases such as that of
Schabir Shaik, in which (then) deputy president
Jacob Zuma was implicated, and the corruption allegations that led to the dismissal of
Winnie Mandela from parliament. The government's stance on the
2005 Zimbabwe parliamentary elections and
AIDS have also attracted plenty of coverage.
Even though South Africa now has the most sophisticated media network in Africa, it was one of the last countries in the world to allow
television, with colour TV broadcasts commencing in 1975. By the end of
apartheid in 1994, television networks covered all
urban areas and some less populated areas, while radio networks covered almost all of the country.
During the Apartheid era the majority of commercial and all public-service radio stations and all of the television channels were operated by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), and were subject to strict control and censorship by the government, with a few independent regional stations allowed. The creation of the independent black homelands (or Bantustans) in the 1970s allowed for the establishment of TV and radio stations outside of the control of the apartheid Government. Following the demise of apartheid, the broadcasting industry was de-regulated with many of the commercial regional SABC radio stations and former Bantustan stations privatised and sold to companies and consortiums that were majority owned by black people. Three SABC television channels are in place at present.
An African language channel was introduced to the
SABC in 1981 (during
apartheid) with a second African language channel added later in the decade. The SABC's television monopoly was eventually challenged in 1986 when a new privately owned subscription television network,
M-Net, was launched. M-Net was forbidden to operate a news service.
South Africa currently has two terrestrial free-to-air television networks (SABC and
e.tv), one subscription based terrestrial network (M-Net), as well as has access to satellite television (
DStv) which is operated by M-Net's owners, Multichoice. e.tv is allowed to operate an independent television news service. The SABC broadcasts news and entertainment channels Africa-wide via satellite.
*
A History of South Africa, Third Edition. Leonard Thompson.
Yale University Press.
1 March 2001. 384 pages. ISBN 0300087764.
*
South Africa: A Narrative History. Frank Welsh. Kodansha America.
1 February 1999. 606 pages. ISBN 1568362587.
*
The Atlas of Changing South Africa. A. J. Christopher.
1 October 2000. 216 pages. ISBN 0415211786.
*
The Politics of the New South Africa. Heather Deegan.
28 December 2000. 256 pages. ISBN 0582382270.
*
Times Online[1].
April 2 2006.
*
Making of Modern South Africa: Conquest, Segregation and Apartheid. Nigel Worden.
1 July 2000. 194 pages. ISBN 0631216618.
*
Emerging Johannesburg: Perspectives on the Postapartheid City. Richard Tomlinson, et al.
1 January 2003. 336 pages. ISBN 0415935598.
* "Religion and Politics in South Africa." David Hein. Modern Age 31 (1987): 21-30.
*
South Africa Government Online. Accessed
20 February 2005.
*
SouthAfrica.info. Accessed
12 February 2005.
Government*
South Africa Government Online official government site
*
Parliament of South Africa official site
*
Statistics South Africa official government site
*
South Africa's Official Gateway*
South African Police ServicesNews*
Business Day financial daily
*
Independent Online*
Mail & Guardian daily newspaper
*
News 24*
South African Weather ServiceOverviews*
The Economist/Country Briefings - South Africa*
South Africa's location on a 3D globe (Java)*
BBC News Country Profile - South Africa*
Encyclopaedia Britannica, South Africa - Country Page*[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sf.html CIA World Factbook -
South Africa]
*
Library of Congress Country Study - South Africa data as of November 1994
*
Open Directory Project - South Africa directory category
Tourism*
Welcome to South Africa official South African tourism site*
Maps of South Africa*
The Johannesburg Securities Exchange*
"Today it feels good to be an African" -
Thabo Mbeki, Cape Town,
8 May 1996*
The Council for Geoscience's Geosites Database - just getting started
*South African Business Directory
*South African Information Resource
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