South Africa Map

The southernmost country of the African territory is South Africa or the official name of the Republic of South Africa (RSA). It is the second most populous country in Africa following Nigeria, it lies completely south of the equator and is the southernmost country in Africa as well as the world’s southernmost country in the Old World. As you may know, it contains peculiar biomes, and plant and animal species, so it is beyond any doubt that South Africa is a conservation country. The country's population is over 60 million and its area is 1,221,037 square kilometers, thus it occupies 24th place for the number of people.

History:

The following indigenous peoples of South Africa have some of them settled here before the Europeans came to Africa to settle. Some of the oldest established individuals in the territory consisted of the San people and the Khoikhoi people who were both Hunter-gatherer communities as well as being pastoralists in nature. The other early settlers were the Bantu Bantu-speaking people who migrated into the region in the 15th century; 1000 AD introduced the practice of iron-working and settled cultivation.

Exploration of the coastal regions of South Africa by the Portuguese in the end of the fifteenth century can be referred to as the beginning of European settlement of the country. However, the Dutch were the ones to make the first contact with the South Africans and began the permanent European settlement in Cape Town in 1652. The British and other European powers alike also established their colonies in the region something that brought conflict with the native people. In 1867 diamonds were discovered while in 1886, gold and this led to the Anglo-Zulu war and eventually the Anglo-Boer war.

During the middle of the 20th century, the policy of segregation and discrimination by race became official under the apartheid rule. This system was introduced by the National Party government in 1948 which meant racial discrimination in all spheres of life but specifically in education, health, and job support. This was a timeframe with rampant violation of human rights especially by the white minority regime on the black people.

In the struggle against apartheid, several types of resistance were used including non-violent ones as well as disobedience and armed. Notable leaders in the fight against the apartheid regime were Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and Desmond Tutu. Using several influential strategies, which included political engagement and pressure, diplomacy, and the instigation of economic boycotts, the African National Congress (ANC), together with other liberation movements was instrumental in garnering both internal and external support to counter apartheid.

Before the 1990s the ruling party and the opposition entered into power-sharing leading to Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 and a democratic government in 1994. Democracy introduced through elections that occurred on the 27th of April in the year 1994 brought an end to the system of apartheid. South Africa has since begun the process of righting the historical injustices, as well move towards the achievement of equality, though the process is still on with some difficulties.

Culture:

South Africans have diverse and complex ethnicities that constitute nations and tribes and they all have African characteristics that define South African culture. South Africa is a country known for the ethnic and cultural diversity. The black population most of which resides in rural areas of South Africa is economically very vulnerable. The majority of people have a higher standard of living, and culture and the arts, which were sometimes expelled from the country, are growing freely in the comparatively free environment of the post-apartheid era South Africa.

South Africa has a diverse music industry normally associated with jazz, gospel, and African traditional music. It has nurtured talents in different genres and styles including Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela Boy’s Choir; and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Another component of culture in South Africa includes dancing Traditional dancing that is practiced includes the Zulu dance while modern dancing includes the Pantsula.

South African cuisine is relatively cosmopolitan since the country has been established to be home to a multiplicity of cultures. Some of the ever-popular dishes are bobotie which is a spicy meat dish, biltong which is a dried cured beef and chakalaka which is a vegetable relish. The country also has a well-known wine sector; Western Cape is one of the leading wine producers.

Language:

The official languages in South Africa include English, Afrikaans as well as ten other Bantu languages. English is by far the most important language used in official transactions business and commercial activities. Other official languages include Ndebele, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, South African Sign Language, Swazi, Tshivenda, Xhosa, Xitsonga, and Zulu. These are numerous and include multicultural society since all these languages are spoken in the country.

The schools in South Africa have the policy of having more than one language being used in the classroom with the learners being able to learn in their home language in their initial years of school before switching to either English or Afrikaans. This shift towards multilingualism is to maintain many languages while ensuring that persons become fluent in major languages of the world.

Geography:

Home to more than 3000 km of coastline stretching in length, South Africa is situated at the southernmost tip of the African continent. Its very lengthy shoreline begins near the border of the Namib desert on the Atlantic side and goes all along the lower part of the Kenyan coast and down to the Somali-Puntland coast together with Somalia splitting at the horn of Africa and up to the subtropical Mozambique on the Indian Ocean side.

The geographical characteristics include Amy high plateau zone, the mountainous region, and the coastal zone. Drakensberg Mountains is the highest mountain range in the whole of southern Africa, it stretches in the eastern part of South Africa. Among the deserts, the Great Karoo stands out together with the Kalahari desert.

South Africa is divided into three climatic zones; the Mediterranean at the southwestern corner, temperate climate in the interior plateau, and subtropical at the northeastern corner. The weather in the country can be described as a tropical climate; hot and dry as well as cool and wet depending on the area and period of the year.

Economy:

The economy of South Africa is a mixed economy, which is the second largest in the African continent and only comes second to Nigeria. It is a middle-income, emerging market with a rich natural resource base; advanced financial, legal, telecommunications, energy, and transportation infrastructure; the largest stock exchange in the emerging world; and a modern infrastructure to efficiently distribute inventory to most of the major cities within the region.

Mining has long been associated with the South African economy, as it is one of the pillars of the economy since it plays a significant role in generating revenues as well as supplying employment opportunities to the people. Some other significant divisions are the manufacturing division and, the agriculture and services division. The country also boasts itself as the producer of renewable energy mainly in the solar and wind sectors.

Government and Politics:

The country has a system of government known as a parliamentary republic comprising three levels of government together with an independent judiciary department. South Africa has a system whereby the President of the country is also the Premier or the head of government. In South Africa, there is the Parliament, which includes the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The South Africa National Congress or African National Congress (ANC) which was formed in 1912 has been the ruling party since the end of apartheid.

Education:

Education in South Africa is a dualistic system with the states and private institutions contributing to it. Cultural indicators: The basic literacy rate of the country is high and there is provision for compulsory education of the children belonging to the age group of 7 to 15. Higher education is offered in universities, Universities of technology as well as other comprehensive institutions. Some of the information relating to the bigger institutions include; the University of Cape Town and the University of the Witwatersrand which are among the best universities in Africa.

Healthcare:

South Africa has a highly developed system of health care with the majority of the country’s health care providers belonging to the public sector while the private sector is comparatively small and much more rapidly expanding. There is inadequate funding in the public sector and yet it is overworked while the private sector is well endowed and serves the middle and upper classes. The health care services for the people are still inadequate and to address this issue the government aims at establishing National Health Insurance NHI programs.

Transportation:

In terms of infrastructure, Transport in South Africa can be classified as being well developed; this is manifested in road network, railways, ports, and airports. There are 10 International airports in the country and Johannesburg’s Tambo International Airport is the largest. The railway system is central to the largest on the African continent while Durban, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth are among the leading ports in Africa.

FAQs

Q1.What is the official language of South Africa?

There are 12 official languages, including Afrikaans and English.

Q2.What is the capital of South Africa?

Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial), and Cape Town (legislative) are the capitals.

Q3.What is the currency of South Africa?

South African rand (ZAR) is the currency of South Africa

Q4.What is the climate in South Africa?

In South Africa, summer temperatures range from 15°C to 35°C, while winter temperatures range from -2°C to 26°C, depending on the region.