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South Africa - Basic Overview
by Laurence Marks
South Africa was once divided
into two British Colonies, namely the Colony of Natal and the Cape Colony,
and two "Boer" Afrikaner Republics, namely the Orange Free State and the
Transvaal. The Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 after 8 years of
negotiations after the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 - 1902. The Republic of South
Africa as it is today was form in 1961, which covers the southern tip of
Africa and an area of 1,2 million square kilometers.
The country was divided into
9 provinces (states) in 1994 when we had our first democratic elections
and Mr. Nelson Mandela became president. The provinces are: Western Cape,
Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga, North
West, Limpopo and Gauteng. Each province has its own capital and the country
has three capital cities, namely Pretoria the administrative capital, Bloemfontein
the judicial capital and Cape Town the legislative capital.
The population is about 45,3
million people and is made up of 13 different groups, namely the Zulu,
Xhosa, Shangaan, Ndebele, Swazi, Pedi, South Sotho, Tswana, Venda, Khoisan,
Coloured, Asian and White. To mix things up even more, we have 11 official
languages of which English is the most commonly spoken. Afrikaans is mainly
spoken between your white and coloured people and it is derived from Dutch,
German and French.
South Africa has 6 neighbouring
countries, namely Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho and
unfortunately poor old Zimbabwe. Its 2700-kilometer coastline includes
four of Africa's largest harbours - Durban and Richards Bay along the Indian
Ocean and Cape Town and Saldanha Bay along the Atlantic Ocean.
South Africa has a moderate
climate with three rainfall regions, the majority of the country has summer
rainfall, the South Western Cape has a Mediterranean climate with winter
rain and a very small area along the south eastern coastline known as the
"Garden Route" has all year round rainfall. Summer is basically from October
to April and winter is June, July and August.
South Africa has a two tier
government, a national government with a democratically elected president
and each province has its own provincial legislature. Since the political
change of 1994 the South African society has made great strides towards
a democratic, socially more equitable and economically more globally competitive
country. It has, in fact, become a leader in many spheres of international
north-south relations. Recent growth of the South African economy is largely
based on the tourism sector, a gradually diversifying and increasingly
competitive manufacturing sector, value-adding beneficiation of mineral
and agricultural raw materials and a sophisticated trading, financial and
professional services sector. Internationally South Africa can be ranked
amongst "upper middle income countries" like Chile, Portugal, Korea, Malaysia,
Turkey, Brazil and Poland.
About the Author
Laurence Marks has been
a tour operator and guide in South Africa since 1997, he is the owner of:
Website: www.selfdrivesa.com
Website: www.bushsafaris.co.za
He offers safe, interesting, enjoyable and well planned self-drive and
guided tours to Southern Africa, a world class touring destination. Contact
at bush@lantic.net
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