|
|
|
|
South Africa: The Facts Written by Anna Mracek
Situated at the Southern tip of the African continent, South Africa covers an area just less than twice the size of Texas, or a total of 1,219,912 square kilometers. South Africa has three capital cities: Pretoria is administrative capital; Cape Town, legislative; and Bloemfontein, the judicial. As shown in the above map, these cities are spread out roughly along the country's line of symmetry (running from the southwest to the northeast). South Africa, which completely encloses Lesotho and nearly surrounds Swaziland, is also bordered by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. With the South Atlantic on the west and the Indian Ocean on the east, South Africa is mostly comprised of an interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and a narrow coastal plain. With sunny days and cool nights, South Africa is mostly semiarid, with subtropical weather along the Indian Ocean. Roughly three-quarters of the people of South Africa are black, with the remainder being Caucasian, Colored and Indian. The majority religion is Christianity, but nearly 30% of South Africans still follow their traditional religions. There are eleven official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Twwana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu. The overall literacy rate is just greater than 80%. Having only recently begun to overcome racial strife and injustices as a nation, South Africa's republican government is a triumph in the struggle for equality. There is universal suffrage for everyone over the age of eighteen. Nelson Mandela, the first post-Apartheid president, along with his vice-president and cabinet, make up the executive branch. The Legislative branch consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, which was re-formatted in February of 1997. The Judicial branch consists of a Constitutional Court, a Supreme Court of Appeals, as well as High and Magistrate Courts.
The current South African flag was inaugurated on the 26th of April, 1994 and consists of two equally wide horizontal bands of red and blue, separated by a band of green that splits into a y at the hoist side. Inside the green "Y" is a black triangle rimmed in yellow. The main economic strength of South Africa is its rich mineral deposits, which provide fully two-thirds of the country's exports. South Africa is the world's largest producer of platinum, gold, and chromium. Other industries include automobile assembly, metalworking, textiles, machinery, iron and steel production, chemicals, fertilizers, and foodstuffs. Sources
Also Check Out
|
|
