Language: English, Zulu, Afrikaans, Sotho and etc.
Currency: Rand (ZAR)
Calling call: +27
South Africa, officially Republic of South Africa (in Afrikaans: Republiek van Suid-Afrika, in English: Republic of South Africa, along with other official names) is a sovereign country of Southern or Southern Africa whose form of government is the parliamentary republic. Its territory is organized in 9 provinces. Its capital is made up of three cities: Pretoria, headquarters of the executive power; Bloemfontein, seat of the judiciary: and Cape Town, seat of the legislature, and the most populous city in the country is Johannesburg, which is also one of the 40 largest metropolitan areas in the world. It has 2798 kilometers of coastline in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It is bordered on the north by Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, on the east by Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory.
South Africa is known for its diversity of cultures, languages and religious beliefs, for what is known as the nation of the rainbow. Eleven languages are recognized as official by the Constitution of South Africa. Two of the eleven languages are of European origin: Afrikaans, a language that comes directly from Dutch and is spoken by the majority of the white and mestizo population, and English. Although English has an important role in public and commercial life, it is, nevertheless, the fifth language by native speakers. South Africa is an ethnically diverse country. 79.5% of the South African population is black, which is divided into different ethnic groups that speak different Bantu languages, nine of which are official. It also has the largest communities of inhabitants of European and Indian origin, as well as multiracial communities of the continent.
Blyde River Canyon is a massive geological formation in a Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. With a length of 15 mi (24 km) and a depth of 2,640 ft (800 m) Blyde River Canyon is second only to the Grand Canyon in the USA.
Cango Caves are underground tunnels with a total length of 3.3 mi (5.3 km), although only one forth are actually open to the public.
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve is a protected area located 280 km North of Durban in South Africa. It covers an area of 385 sq mi (960 km²).
Tugela Falls is a second largest waterfall in the World after Angel Falls in Venezuela. The best time to visit this magnificent natural wonder is between June and September.
Kruger National Park is a protected area in Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces in the North- east corner of South Africa.
Due to the fact that South Africa has 11 official languages (the
third country in terms of the number of official languages after India
and Bolivia), South Africa has 11 official names:
Republiek van
Suid-Afrika (Afrikaans),
Republic of South Africa (English),
IRiphabliki yeSewula Afrika (Southern Ndebele),
IRiphabliki
yaseMzantsi Afrika (scythe),
IRiphabliki yaseNingizimu Afrika (Zulu),
Rephaboliki ya Afrika-Borwa (Northern Sotho),
Rephaboliki ya Afrika
Borwa (Sesotho),
Rephaboliki ya Aforika Borwa (Tswana),
IRiphabhulihi yeNingizimu Afrika (Swazi),
Riphabuḽiki ya Afurika
Tshipembe (Venda),
Riphabliki ra Afrika Dzonga (tsonga).
Despite such a wide range, some South Africans avoid the use of official
names, preferring to call the country Azania - these are mostly Negroids
who seek to distance themselves from the European colonial heritage.
Iscamto Creole (formerly known as Tzotzital, literally “thieves'
language”), widely spoken among black urban youth in the townships
(large towns with black population) of Gauteng province in the east of
the country (mainly in Soweto), has no official recognition and is
banned school. However, young people often speak Tzotsital better than
their own ethnic languages. From this language comes the name of the
title character of Tsotsi, a South African film that won the 2005
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
South Africa is located at the southern tip of Africa. The length of
the coastline of the country is 2798 km. South Africa has an area of
1'221'038 km² and ranks 24th in the world according to this indicator.
The highest point in South Africa is Mount Njesuti in the Dragon
Mountains.
South Africa has a variety of climatic zones, from the
dry Namib Desert to the subtropics in the east near the border with
Mozambique and the coast of the Indian Ocean. To the east, the terrain
rises rapidly, forming the Drakensberg Mountains and merging into a
large inland plateau called the veld.
On the east coast to 30 °
S. sh. savannah and gallery forests along the rivers predominate, to the
south - subtropical forests and shrubs. The interior is occupied by the
deserted Kalahari savannah, semi-deserts and Karoo deserts.
From
animals there are golden moles, aardvarks, jumping antelope, brown
hyena. Elephants, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, lions, ostriches are more
rare.
A man appeared on the territory of the country in
ancient times (as evidenced by finds in caves near Sterkfonteyna,
Kromdray and Makapanshat). Nevertheless, there is very little
reliable information about the early history of this region. Before
the advent of the Bantu tribes (the Limpopo River in the north of
the country, they reached the middle of the 1st millennium AD), this
territory was inhabited by nomadic cattle-breeding tribes Koi-Koin
(Hottentots) and Bushman-gatherers (san). Bantu farmers moved
southwest, destroying or assimilating the local population. Around
1050, archaeological evidence of their presence in the current
province of KwaZulu-Natal belongs. By the time the Europeans
arrived, the Cape of Good Hope area was inhabited by koi-koin, and
the Bantu (braid tribes) reached the banks of the Great Fish River.
Local peoples were familiar with the extraction of metal ores, the
processing and manufacture of tools from iron and copper.
Dutch
The first written mention of the permanent settlement of
the Europeans dates back to April 6, 1652, when Jan van Riebeck, on
behalf of the Dutch East India Company, founded the settlement on
Cape Storm, later called the Good Hope (now Cape Town). In the XVII
and XVIII centuries, colonists from the Netherlands arrived in South
Africa, as well as French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in
their homeland, and settlers from Germany. In the 1770s the
colonists encountered a scythe moving from the northeast. A series
of clashes ensued, known as border (Kafra) wars and caused mainly by
the claims of white immigrants to African lands. Slaves from other
Dutch possessions, in particular, Indonesia and Madagascar, were
also brought to the Cape Colony. Many slaves, as well as the
autochthonous population of the Cape region, mingled with white
colonists. Their descendants are called Cape colored and now make up
up to 50% of the population in the Western Cape.
British
colonization
Great Britain first gained dominance over the Cape
Colony in 1795 during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: then the
Netherlands came under Napoleon’s rule, and the British, fearing
that the French would gain control of this strategically important
region, sent an army to Kapstad under the command of General James
Henry Craig, so that he captured the colony on behalf of the stalter
Wilhelm V. The governor of Kapstad did not receive any instructions,
however, agreed to obey the British. In 1803, the Amiens Peace was
concluded, according to which the Batavian Republic (that is, the
Netherlands, as they began to be called after the French conquest)
left the Cape Colony behind. After the resumption of the war in
1805, the British again decided to capture the colony. As a result
of the battle on the slopes of Table Mountain in 1806, British
troops under the command of David Byrd entered the fort of Kapstad.
The British strengthened their presence on the eastern border of
the Cape Colony, fighting the scythe by erecting forts along the
banks of the Great Fish River. To strengthen their power in these
places, the British crown encouraged the arrival of settlers from
the mother country.
In 1806, under pressure from various
forces within the country, the British Parliament banned slavery,
and in 1833 this provision was extended to the colonies. The
constant skirmishes at the borders, the abolition of slavery and
other disagreements with the British forced many peasants of Dutch
origin (called Boers - from the Netherlands. "Boer", which means
"peasant") to go to the so-called Great Track deep into the
continent, on the high plateau of Veld. There, they encountered the
chieftain Ndebele led by Mzilikazi, a former associate of Chaki who
fled to the west during the so-called mfekan - the resettlement of
peoples caused by internecine wars in Southeast Africa (modern
KwaZulu-Natal province). In the end, the Boers founded their states
in the continental part of South Africa: the Orange Republic and the
Transvaal.
Boer War
The discovery of rich deposits of
diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) on Witwatersrand led to the economic
growth of the colony and an increase in the outflow of capital to
Europe, a sharp increase in immigration to the Boer republics and a
worsening of the situation of the natives. These events, provoked
and encouraged by the British government, eventually led to a
conflict between the British and the Boers. In the years 1880-1881,
the First Boer War broke out, during which the Boers managed to
defend their independence largely due to Britain’s reluctance to
wage a protracted colonial war, since the territories of the Orange
Republic and Transvaal were not of significant strategic interest,
despite the discovery of time deposits of diamonds in the Kimberley
area. The Rand Gold Rush (Johannesburg area) began after the First
Boer War. It should be noted the small number of British colonial
troops in that period. Thus, the annexation of Transvaal by Great
Britain in 1877, which was the direct cause of the war, was carried
out by an English detachment of only 25 people without a single
shot.
At the same time, the British established
themselves in Natal and Zululand, winning the war with the Zulus. In
1899-1902, the Second Boer War took place, in which the Boers,
despite initial successes, still lost to the better trained and
equipped British, who had an overwhelming numerical advantage. After
the defeat of their irregulars, the Boers under the command of Louis
Botha, Jacob DeLaray and Christian De Wet turned to guerrilla
warfare tactics, which the British fought by setting up a network of
blockhouses, rounding up Boer women and children in concentration
camps, or using armored trains to fight against partisans. Under the
terms of the treaty at Vereeniching, the British agreed to pay three
million (actually nine million in compensation) for the ruin of Boer
farms and agricultural land. In addition, blacks were still denied
the right to vote (except in the Cape Colony).
The war was
reflected in the famous works of world literature: in the novels of
Louis Boussenard "Captain Head Off" and "The Diamond Thieves", where
the Boers were presented as victims of the violent colonization
policy of Great Britain, and in the historical work of A. Conan
Doyle "War in South Africa", which is more advocating British policy
(despite the author's efforts to be impartial, the book was used by
the British government for propaganda purposes) and in the Russian
novel by an unknown author "Rosa Burger - a Boer heroine, or gold
diggers in the Transvaal".
Creation of the Union of South
Africa
After four years of negotiations, on May 31, 1910, the
Union of South Africa was formed, which included the British Cape
Colony, the colonies of Natal, the Orange River and the Transvaal.
The union became a dominion of the British Empire. In 1914 South
Africa entered the First World War. In 1934, the United Party was
formed, which united the South African Party (pro-British) and the
National Party (Boer). It collapsed in 1939 over disagreements over
whether South Africa should follow Britain into World War II—the
right-wing National Party sympathized with the Third Reich and
advocated drastic racial segregation.
Independence of South
Africa
In 1961, the Union of South Africa became the independent
Republic of South Africa, which left the British-led Commonwealth of
Nations. The withdrawal was due to the rejection of the policy of
apartheid in South Africa by other members of the Commonwealth
(South Africa's membership in the Commonwealth was restored in June
1994).
In 1948, the National Party won the election and
passed some very strict laws restricting the rights of the black
population: the ultimate goal of this policy was to create a "South
Africa for whites", while it was supposed to completely deprive blacks
of South African citizenship.
During apartheid, blacks were
effectively deprived of some or all of the following rights:
for
South African citizenship (in most cases this has become a privilege),
participate in elections and be elected,
freedom of movement (negroes
were forbidden to go out after sunset, and also to appear in "white"
areas without special permission from the authorities, that is, in fact,
they were forbidden to visit large cities, since they were in "white"
areas),
for mixed marriages
to medical care (this right was not
formally taken away from them, but they were forbidden to use medicine
“for whites”, while medicine “for blacks” was completely undeveloped,
and in some areas was completely absent),
for education (the main
educational institutions were in "white" areas),
be hired (employers
were officially given the right to use racial discrimination in hiring).
In addition, during apartheid, communist parties were
banned - membership in the communist party was punishable by 9 years in
prison. The UN has repeatedly recognized apartheid as South African
fascism in its resolutions and called on South Africa to stop the policy
of racial discrimination. However, the Republic of South Africa ignored
these demands. The world community sharply condemned the existing regime
and imposed sanctions on South Africa, for example, forbade
participation in the Olympic Games. One of the consequences of apartheid
was a huge social gap between the descendants of Europeans, who lived
according to the best standards of the Western world, and the majority,
who were in poverty (though not as deep as in many other African
states). All this caused protests, strikes and unrest within the
country, which peaked in the mid-1950s, early 1960s, mid-1970s and
1980s, as well as international anxiety, which threatened the country
with sanctions. In September 1989, Frederick de Klerk was elected
president of the country, who began to take active steps to eliminate
the apartheid system. Many laws were repealed, and Nelson Mandela was
released from prison. In 1994, the first general elections were held,
which were won by the African National Congress, which is still in
power.
At the same time, in South Africa, for decades, very tense
relations have persisted between various racial and ethnic groups that
are not related to the white population of the Republic of South Africa.
Thus, for decades, the conflict between representatives of the black
majority of the country's population and the Indian community continued,
resulting in pogroms and violence against Indians. In the 1940s and
1950s, these events in the province of Natal claimed the lives of
hundreds of members of the Indian community. On January 13, 1949, during
the attacks of the Zulus on the Indian quarters in the administrative
center of the province, Durban, about 150 Indians were killed, several
times more were injured, including women and children. Dozens of
Indian-owned shops, houses and farms were burned, looted and destroyed.
The authorities, including the police and the security service, as a
rule did not intervene in the ongoing bloodshed. Similar events took
place in Durban in the late 1950s, which made it extremely difficult for
Indian and African anti-apartheid organizations to work together.
Despite the end of apartheid, millions of black South Africans still
live in poverty. This is due to the fact that due to historical reasons
for the level of education, social responsibility and labor
productivity, the majority of indigenous blacks at the current stage are
objectively unable to meet the standards of a developed post-industrial
society. The level of street crime is extremely high, including the
percentage of serious crimes, however, the authorities refuse to give in
to the wishes of society and introduce the death penalty. True, the
social housing program has yielded certain results, improving the living
conditions of many citizens, which has led to an increase in tax
collection.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the problem of
illegal migration also became very acute in South Africa. After the
abolition of apartheid and a significant weakening of control at
external borders, a flow of illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe, Angola,
Mozambique and other countries of East Africa poured into the country.
In total, in South Africa (at the beginning of 2008), according to
various experts, from 3 to 5 million illegal migrants. The massive
influx of foreigners causes dissatisfaction among the citizens of South
Africa. Claims against migrants are mainly that they take away jobs from
South African citizens, agreeing to work for lower wages, and also
commit various crimes.
In May 2008, mass protests by South
Africans against migrants took place in Johannesburg and Durban. Armed
with clubs, stones, and bladed weapons, groups of the local population
beat and killed migrants. During the week of riots in Johannesburg
alone, more than 20 people were killed, thousands fled their homes.
Migrants were forced to take refuge from angry local residents in police
stations, mosques and churches. The local police actually completely
lost control over the situation and were forced to turn to the president
of the country with a request to involve the army to restore order. On
May 22, 2008, South African President Thabo Mbeki authorized the use of
troops to quell unrest in the country. For the first time since the
abolition of apartheid, the South African army was used against citizens
of their own state.
The consequences of the abolition of
apartheid also affected whites, they began to be persecuted, for their
own protection, Afrikaners began to unite in communities protected by
barbed wire, checkpoints and guards at the entrance. The territories of
the white enclaves are patrolled by self-defense units. But experts note
a continuing increase in the violent deaths of Afrikaners. Fleeing from
arbitrariness, many whites flee to other countries.
Government of South Africa
Form of government
South Africa is a parliamentary-presidential republic. The president in
almost all his decisions on most issues must rely on the support of
parliament. A South African citizen over 30 years old can become a
presidential candidate.
South Africa has a bicameral parliament,
consisting of the National Council of Provinces (upper house - 90
members) and the National Assembly (400 members). Members of the lower
house are elected by proportional voting system: half of the deputies go
on national lists, half - on provincial ones. Each province, regardless
of population, sends ten members to the National Council of Provinces.
Elections are held every five years. The government is formed in the
lower house, and the leader of the party that has received the majority
in it becomes president (now this post is occupied by Cyril Ramaphosa).
South Africa's current ruling party, the African National Congress,
received 65.9% of the vote in the 2009 general election and 66.3% of the
vote in the 2006 municipal election. Its main rival is the Democratic
Alliance party (16.7% in 2009, 14.8% in 2006). The leader of the
Democratic Alliance is Helen Zille. The New National Party, the
successor to the apartheid National Party, declined rapidly after 1994
and merged with the ANC on April 9, 2005. Also represented in Parliament
are the Freedom Party-Inkata (4.6%), representing mainly Zulu voters,
and the People's Congress (7.4%).
ministries
South African
Ministry of Basic Education
South African Ministry of the Interior
South African Ministry of Higher Education and Training
Ministry of
State Enterprises of South Africa
South African Ministry of Health
Ministry of Arts and Culture of South Africa
Ministry of Corrections
of South Africa
Ministry of Cooperative Management and Traditional
Affairs of South Africa
Ministry of Science and Technology of South
Africa
Ministry of Defense and Military Veterans of South Africa
Ministry of Public Works of South Africa
South African Ministry of
the Environment
South African Ministry of Water Resources
Ministry
of Police of South Africa
Ministry of Communications of South Africa
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Fisheries of South Africa
South African Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform
Ministry
of Trade and Industry of South Africa
Ministry of Transport of South
Africa
Ministry of Tourism of South Africa
Ministry of Justice and
Constitutional Development of South Africa
Armed forces
The
National Defense Force was created in 1994 after the first
post-Apartheid national elections and the adoption of a new
constitution, replacing the South African Defense Force (SADF).
Types of armed forces
Ground Forces (Eng. South African Army).
Naval Forces (Eng. South African Navy).
Air Force (Eng. South African
Air Force).
The legal system of South Africa absorbed elements of
three legal families distinguished today at once: Romano-Germanic,
Anglo-Saxon and traditional. In general, Romano-Germanic law prevails in
modern South Africa, that is, there is the rule of law over all legal
decisions and a clear division of law into private and public. The
country has a constitution adopted in 1996. It protects and guarantees
all internationally recognized human rights. But the law of South Africa
has not always been humane and tolerant. For a long time, discrimination
against the black population, called "apartheid", found its
reinforcement in it. As a result of the fall of the political foundation
of apartheid and the subsequent long process of lawmaking in the 1990s,
the legal system of South Africa was completely overhauled, and all
discrimination on the basis of race was excluded from it. In 1994, the
Constitutional Court was established in the country.
Criminal law
South Africa is one of the few countries where English-style criminal
law operates. It is not codified. The judicial system consists of the
following instances: the Supreme Court of Appeal, high courts and
magistrates' courts. The Supreme Court of Appeal is the main court in
South Africa for criminal matters. It is located in Bloemfontein, the
"judicial capital" of the country. Under the apartheid regime, there
were separate local courts for the black population ("courts of
chiefs"), in which judges were also predominantly black. At the same
time, in the general judiciary, the vast majority of judges were white.
Particularly cruel punishments were provided for opponents of the
political regime - up to and including the death penalty. It was allowed
to detain people for 5 days without trial or investigation. After the
fall of apartheid, many norms were revised. In 1994, the Internal
Security Act was repealed, in 1995 the death penalty, and in 1997 legal
flogging. With a revision of the legal system in the 90s, homosexual
marriage was legalized in the country, making it the only country of its
kind in Africa.
Administrative division
Now South Africa is a
unitary state. The territory of the country is divided into 9 provinces
(with their administrative centers):
Western Cape (Cape Town)
Northern Cape (Kimberley)
Eastern Cape (Bisho)
KwaZulu-Natal
(Pietermaritzburg)
Free State (Bloemfontein)
North Western
Province (Mafikeng)
Gauteng (Johannesburg)
Mpumalanga (Nelspruit)
Limpopo (Polokwane)
Until 1994, South Africa was a federation and
was divided into 4 provinces: Cape, Natal, Orange Free State and
Transvaal. This division well reflected the colonial past of the
Republic of South Africa. The first was divided into three parts, the
last - into four, while part of the territory in the north passed from
the Eastern Cape (part of the former Cape) to the North-Western (part of
the former Transvaal). The remaining two have practically retained their
outlines.
In addition, from 1951 to 1994, so-called bantustans
existed in South Africa - autonomies set aside for the residence of
certain nationalities. Outside the bantustans, the rights of the black
population were significantly limited. Four of them received
“independence” (in connection with this, their residents were deprived
of South African citizenship), which, however, was not recognized by any
state except South Africa:
Bophuthatswana (Tswana) - "independence"
since December 6, 1977
Transkei (spit) - "independence" since October
26, 1976
Ciskei (spit) - "independence" since December 4, 1981
Venda (venda) - "independence" since September 13, 1979
Other
bantustans were under the jurisdiction of South Africa:
Gazankulu
(tsonga)
Kangwane (Swazi)
Kwandebele (Ndebele)
KwaZulu (Zulus)
Lebova (Northern Sotho)
Kwakwa (Southern Sotho)
Capital
Pretoria is officially considered the main capital of South Africa,
since the country's government is located there. The other two branches
of government are located in two other cities: Parliament in Cape Town,
the Supreme Court in Bloemfontein. They are also considered capitals.
This is due to the fact that South Africa was originally a confederate
state, in connection with this, during the formation of the Union of
South Africa (from the British possessions with its capital in Cape
Town, the Orange Free State with its capital in Bloemfontein and the
Republic of South Africa (Transvaal) with its capital in Pretoria), the
authorities were evenly distributed among the capitals of the states
included in it.
It is sometimes claimed that Pretoria was renamed
Tshwane. This is incorrect: Tshwane is the name of the city
municipality, an administrative unit that is one level below the
province (in this case we are talking about the province of Gauteng).
The municipality of Tshwane includes the cities of Pretoria, Centurion
(formerly Verwoerdburg), Soshanguwe and a number of smaller areas.
Population
South Africa is the 26th most
populous country in the world with 51.8 million people (July 2010
est.). The number of whites in the country is gradually decreasing
due to their emigration to North America, Europe, Australia and New
Zealand - in 1985-2005, about 0.9 million whites left South Africa,
mostly under the age of 40 and their children. The proportion of the
black population of South Africa is growing due to the influx of
black immigrants from other African countries.
Over the past
two decades, the population of the country has remained almost
unchanged (slight increase) due to high HIV infection, as well as a
decrease in the number of whites. One of the central problems is the
massive spread of HIV infection (mainly among the black population),
in which South Africa ranks first in the world (according to UN data
published in 2003 and 2007), while in terms of infection rate South
Africa The republic is in fourth place (after Eswatini, Botswana and
Lesotho). In total, about 5.7 million people are infected with HIV,
which is 11.7% of the adult population of the country (in 2007).
Because of AIDS, the death rate in South Africa has long exceeded
the birth rate (in 2010, the population decline was 0.05%, with an
average fertility of 2.33 births per woman).
Average life
expectancy: 50 years for men, 48 years for women.
Ethno-racial composition (according to the 2019 census):
black -
80.7%,
colored (mulattoes) - 8.8%,
whites - 7.9%,
Asians -
2.6%.
The first census in 1911 in South Africa showed that
whites at that time were 22%, and by 1980 their figure had dropped
to 18%.
Literacy rate of the population aged 15 and over
(2003 estimate):
men - 87%,
women - 85.7%.
The religious composition of the population is quite
diverse, there is no absolute religious majority in the country,
adherents of various religions and worldviews live: adherents of the
Zionist churches (10%), Pentecostals (7.5%), Catholics (6.5%),
Methodists (6.8% ), Dutch Reformed (6.7%), Anglicans (3.8%), other
Christians (36%), atheists (15.1%), Muslims (1.3%), adherents of other
religions (2.3% ), undecided (1.4%) (2001 data). In South Africa, there
are the Johannesburg and Pretoria and Cape Town metropolises of the
Alexandrian Orthodox Church - about 35,000 believers.
Standard of
living
The average income of the population is approaching the lower
limit of the world average income. However, in general, the economic
situation of society is extremely unstable. The apartheid regime that
reigned here for a long time and the previous colonialism were reflected
in the social and property stratification of society. About 15% of the
population lives in the best conditions, while about 50% (mostly blacks)
live in relatively poor conditions. Not all residents have electricity
and water supply, and poor sanitation in many settlements contributes to
the spread of various diseases. Such sharp contrasts lead to tension in
the social environment. South Africa has a very high crime rate. It is
mainly present in poor areas. The average life expectancy in the country
is only 49 years (in 2012), but it has increased significantly since
2000, when it was 43 years.
In South Africa, unemployment is 40%.
A third of workers earn less than $2 a day. In terms of education, the
country ranks 143rd out of 144. The crime rate is one of the highest in
the world. The number of murders is more than 30 per 100,000 people per
year.
South Africa is the most developed republic on the
African continent. GDP for 2015 amounted to $313 billion according to
the IMF (33rd place in the world) and $350 billion according to the WB
(32nd place in the world). GDP growth was at the level of 5%, in 2008 -
3%. The country is still not among the developed countries of the world,
despite the fact that its market is actively expanding. In terms of
purchasing power parity for 2015, it ranks 30th in the world according
to the IMF (724 billion dollars), according to the World Bank - 29th
(704 billion dollars). It has huge reserves of natural resources.
Telecommunications, electric power industry, financial sphere are widely
developed. As of Q1 2019, South Africa has the highest average wage
among all African countries R20855 (€1324), on par with Taiwan
(NT$47868, about €1368). South Africa did not have a minimum wage. In
November 2018, the President of South Africa signed into law a minimum
wage law. From January 1, 2019, it is R20 ($1.46) per hour and R3500
($256.86) per month. For agricultural workers the rate is R18 ($1.32)
per hour and for domestic workers R15 ($1.10) per hour. Effective March
1, 2022, the minimum wage in South Africa is R23.19 ($1.59) per hour,
R185.52 ($12.72) per day and R4000 ($274.19) per month, and for workers
employed under The Expanded Public Works Program rate is R12.75 ($0.87)
per hour.
Currency: South African rand, equal to 100 cents. There
are coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents, 1, 2, 5 rand,
banknotes - 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 rand.
Main import items: oil,
foodstuffs, chemical products. Main export items: diamonds, gold,
platinum, machinery, vehicles, equipment. Imports ($91 billion in 2008)
exceed exports ($86 billion in 2008).
After (January 1, 1998)
diplomatic relations with China were established, trade with China
increased from $3 billion in 1998 to $60 billion in 2012.
It
ranks 39th in the Forbes ranking of countries for ease of doing
business.
It is a member of the international organization of ACT
countries.
Work force
Of the 54.9 million people in South
Africa, only 18 (not exactly) million people are able to work.
Unemployed - 23% (in 2008).
65% of the working population is
employed in the service sector, 26% in industry, 9% in agriculture (in
2008).
Branches of the national economy
Extractive industry
South Africa owes much of its accelerated development to its wealth of
natural resources. About 52% of exports are from the mining industry.
Manganese, platinum group metals (Bushveld complex), gold, chromites,
tungsten, aluminoglucates, vanadium and zirconium are widely mined. Coal
mining is very developed - South Africa ranks third in the world in the
use of coal for electricity generation (due to the lack of oil, about
80% of the generation of all electricity in the Republic of South Africa
is based on coal combustion). In addition, the country has concentrated
reserves of diamonds, asbestos, nickel, lead, uranium and other
important minerals.
Agriculture
Since most of the country has
an arid climate, only 15% of its area is suitable for agriculture.
However, it can be said that, unlike most other countries in Africa,
where soil erosion occurs, these 15% are used wisely - advanced
agrotechnical achievements of the Republic of South Africa and the
leading countries of the world are used to protect soils and efficient
agriculture. This led to surprising results: South Africa fully meets
domestic food needs, and is also one of the leading (and by some
parameters, the leading) suppliers of agricultural products - the
country exports about 140 types of fruits.
Winemaking
In South
Africa, there are three zones for winemaking. The Northwest (Northern
Cape) and East Coast (KwaZulu-Natal) are not considered to be the best
wine sources, as they have a very hot and arid climate. But the
South-West of South Africa (Western Cape) has a wonderful climate for
winemaking.
animal husbandry
Meat and dairy production is
concentrated in the north and east of the Free State province, in the
hinterland of Hoteng province and in the southern part of Mpumalanga
province. Meat breeds are common in the Northern and Eastern Cape. The
arid areas of the Northern and Eastern Capes, the Free State and
Mpumalanga have sheep farming areas. Skins of astrakhan sheep are
supplied to the world market.
Goats are bred in large numbers,
mainly - 75% - Angora, whose wool is highly valued in the West (up to
50% of the world's mohair production is in South Africa). The other most
common breed is the Boer goat, which is bred for meat. In terms of goat
wool shearing (92 thousand tons per year), the Republic of South Africa
ranks 4th in the world.
Compared to predominantly extensive sub-sectors such
as cattle and sheep raising, poultry and hog raising are more intensive
and prevalent on farms near the major cities of Pretoria, Johannesburg,
Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.
In recent
years, mainly in the Free State province, ostrich breeding has been
actively developing. The export from South Africa of meat, skin and
feathers of this bird is gradually increasing.
Fishing
In
terms of fish catch (about 1 million tons per year), South Africa
occupies a leading position in Africa. The main fishery objects are
sardines, herring, hake, anchovies, sea bass, mackerel, cod, Cape
salmon, mackerel, monkfish. In addition, shrimp, lobsters, tuna,
lobsters, oysters, octopuses, sharks, whose fins are in demand in
Southeast Asia, as well as the Cape seal are caught. Fishing is carried
out mainly off the western coast of South Africa, washed by the Benguela
Ocean Current, in a fishing zone 200 nautical miles wide. About 40% of
the catch falls on freshwater fish caught in the rivers Elands, Limpopo
and others, as well as by breeding in artificial reservoirs.
Forestry
The main zone is the southern part of the province of
KwaZulu-Natal. Natural forests occupy 180,000 hectares, that is, only
0.14% of the country's territory. Most of the commercial wood comes from
forest plantations, which cover only 1% of the territory of South
Africa. Approximately half of the forest "plantations" are planted with
pine, 40% with eucalyptus and 10% with mimosa. Yellow and ebony, Cape
laurel, assegai and camassi are also grown. Trees reach marketable
condition in an average of 20 years - in contrast to trees growing in
the Northern Hemisphere, where this process lasts from 80 to 100 years.
The annual volume of wood entering the market is 17 million m³. More
than 240 woodworking and timber industry enterprises operate in South
Africa.
Agriculture accounts for 35-40% of all exports, which is
5% of South Africa's GDP.
Tourism
In 2010, 8.1 million
tourists visited the country, and the tourism industry generated more
than $8.7 billion in revenue.
International trade
The foreign
trade of South Africa is very diversified - as of 2010, no country
controls more than 15% of either the exports or imports of the African
state.
Main export partners (2010): China (11.3%), USA (10.1%),
Japan (8.9%), Germany (8.2%), UK (5.1%), India (4.3%), the Netherlands
(3.3%), Switzerland (3.2%), Zimbabwe (2.9%), Mozambique (2.7%).
Main import partners (2010): China (14.4%), Germany (11.4%), USA (7.2%),
Japan (5.3%), Saudi Arabia (4.1%), Iran (3.9%), UK (3.8%), India (3.6%),
France (3.0%), Nigeria (2.7%).
Economic policy of the state
The economic policy of the state is aimed at stabilizing the economy.
According to the statistics of The Heritage Foundation, the republic is
in 57th position in the world in terms of economic freedom. South Africa
has a relatively high income tax (up to 40% depending on income level).
culture
The culture of the Republic of South
Africa, due to traditions, is diverse. First of all, it is a combination
of two cultures: traditional and modern.
traditional culture
Many indigenous peoples contributed to it, such as the Bantu, Bushmen
and Hottentots. The protea flower is the national symbol of South
Africa.
Art
During the colonial period, South African
artists, the most important of whom was Thomas Baines, saw it as their
task to carefully convey the realities of the new world in the context
of European culture in order to convey this information back to the
mother country. Only at the end of the 19th century did artists appear,
primarily Jan Wollshenk, Hugo Naude and the sculptor Anton van Wou,
whose goal was to create a new art based on South African (in this case,
Boer) traditions. In the 1920s, Jacob-Hendrik Pirnef brought modernism
to South African art.
In the 1930s, black artists began to come
to the fore. Gerard Sekoto, who lived in France since 1947, and George
Pemba are considered one of the founders of the genre of black urban
art.
A striking representative of the developing musical rap
culture of South Africa is the group Die Antwoord, who call their style
of music zef.
The most popular sports in the country are rugby,
football and cricket. The South African rugby team is one of the
strongest teams in the world, a three-time winner of the World Cup
(1995, 2007, 2019), several times topped the world rankings. Many South
African rugby players are included in international halls of fame. Other
developed sports include swimming, athletics, golf, boxing, tennis,
netball, and the national sport of ringball.
In 1995, South
Africa hosted the Rugby World Cup, which they won by beating New Zealand
in the final.
In 2010, South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup. In
total, the South African team played three times at the World Cup (1998,
2002 and 2010), never leaving the group - 2 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses
in 9 matches. In 1996, South Africa hosted the African Cup of Nations,
and the national team, for the first time in history, playing in the
final stage of the tournament, managed to win. In 1998, South African
footballers took second place in the African Cup of Nations. In the 21st
century, South African football players have never even reached the
semi-finals. Among the most famous football players from South Africa
are Dr. Kumalo, Aron Mokoena, Benny McCarthy, Sean Bartlett, Lucas
Radebe.
At the Olympic Games, representatives of South Africa
have won more than 80 awards, including more than 25 gold medals. The
greatest number of awards was won in athletics, swimming and boxing.
From 1962 to 1990, South Africa, after the resolution of the UN General
Assembly 1761, which condemned the policy of apartheid, was excluded by
the IOC from the Olympic movement, the country's athletes did not
compete at the Games. Athletes from South Africa during this period were
not allowed to other international competitions.
Considered one
of the strongest players in the history of the sport, golfer Gary Player
was voted 8th in 2004 by the 100 Greatest South Africans of History, a
list that also included cricketers, swimmers, footballers, rugby players
and other athletes.
In South Africa, the South African Grand Prix
was repeatedly held: in the period 1934-1939. with the participation of
the world's leading racers of the pre-war period, and from 1962 to 1993
already as part of the Formula 1 World Championship. World-class racing
was held at the East London and Kyalami circuits. South African Jody
Scheckter in 1979, speaking for the Ferrari team, became the first and
only Formula 1 world champion from Africa. True, the stage, held at the
Brands Hatch track, was held as part of the British Formula 1
Championship.
The country hosts an annual multi-day cycling event
that brings together leading athletes from around the world.
The
South African national ice hockey team participated in tournaments of
the second and third divisions.
Every year, since 1921, The
Comrades Ultramarathon has been held in the country. The route, 90 km
long, passes through the territory of the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The
Comrades is the world's oldest and most massive track and field
ultramarathon race. More than 10,000 South African and foreign athletes
successfully completed The Comrades in 2009. Competitions are open to
both professionals and ordinary runners. The 2000s were triumphant for
Russian runners. Such athletes as Tatyana Zhirkova, Leonid Shvetsov,
Oleg Kharitonov, Elena and Olesya Nurgaliyev, Marina Myshlyanova rose to
the podium.