SOUTH AFRICA
Fast Facts
• capital: Pretoria (Cape Town is the legislative centre)
• population: 48,810,427 (est. July 2012)
• language: IsiZulu 23.8%; IsiXhosa 17.6%; Afrikaans 13.3%;
Sepedi 9.4%; English 8.2%; other 27.7%
• ethnic groups: black African 79%; white 9.6%; coloured
8.9%; Indian/Asian 2.5%
• religion: Zion Christian 11.1%; Pentecostal 8.2%; Catholic
7.1%; other Christian 46.5%; Islam 1.5%
• land area: 1,219,912 km2 water: 2,798 km2
• land elevation: 0 metres – 3,408 metres
• government: republic
• currency: South African rand (1 CAD = 8.04 ZAR)
• The country of Lesotho is in the middle of South Africa
• (estimates for this country explicitly take
into account the effects of excess mortality
due to AIDS; this can result in lower life
expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher
death rates, lower population growth rates,
and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would
otherwise be expected.)
Map of
South Africa
Johannesburg
Durban
Pretoria
Port Elizabeth
Cape Town
Kimberley
History of South Africa
• Civilizations 1000s of years ago
dominated by agricultural
practices and eventually trading.
• First European settlement in South
Africa = Cape Town (1652) by the
Dutch East India Company (created
to supply passing ships, but grew
quickly through Dutch farming and
the addition of imported slaves to
the colony).
• 1700s = colonists and chiefdoms
fought in wars for land and control.
• 1806: Britain occupied the Cape ( international trade).
Throughout the 1800s, European influence spread into the land of
the Zulus.
• 1838: slavery abolished, development of sugar plantations in the
coastal lowlands, large numbers of Indian labourers ‘imported’.
• 1860s: Diamonds discovered near what is now Kimberley (brought
1000s to area and caused civil war over control of resource).
• 1886: Gold discovered (turning point in history for South Africa, as
the British and the Boers (Dutch settlers) went to war again over
control of a resource). 1000s died in British farm burnings and
concentration camps.
• 1910: Union of South Africa (essentially white in terms
of political rights and powers). 1912: black opposition
formed- protest exclusion of blacks from power.
• Job reservation favoured whites and
disenfranchisement of coloured voters fuelled
Afrikaner nationalism.
• After WWII (1948), apartheid – authoritarian racial
segregationist government – solidifying white
power and developing black opposition politics.
• 1950s: concerns with racial purity, prohibited
interracial sex, created racial categorization of
population (pass), and enforced residential
segregation.
• 1960s: Defiance Campaign resisted - nonviolent means
for human rights and non-racialism. By the end of the
decade, black political organizations turned to armed
conflict. Nelson Mandela and others were convicted of
‘sabotage’ and were sentenced to life imprisonment.
• 1970s: resurgence of resistance politics;
anti-apartheid revolt; resistance to white-minority rule.
• 1980s: shaken by scale of protest and opposition, series of
reforms took place; no longer had to carry a pass; support
from the international community and the UN.
• 1990s: unbanned liberation movements; political prisoners
released (Nelson Mandela); first democratic election (1994)
• Mandela = South Africa’s first democratically elected
president; welcomed back into the international community.
'I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in
which all persons live together in harmony and with equal
opportunities... it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.' Nelson Mandela 1963 trial
Culture in South Africa
• South Africa is known as the Rainbow
Country because of its diversity of people,
cultures, and natural scenery.
• It is this reputation, the peaceful transition
to democracy, a president that is targeting
issues, and a bright future that attracts
tourists to the area.
• There is real defined South African culture
due to the different cultural backgrounds of
the people that shaped Africa’s history.
• The Come Home Campaign was launched in
2003 to encourage and assist South African
emigrants to return to and settle in the
country of their birth. (promotes solidarity
and brings back educated and
experienced adults to help society)
SOUTH
AFRICA
HIV/AIDS in South Africa
• Major problem in South Africa; efforts
by local government & nongovernmental agencies to combat
AIDS (awareness, behaviour change,
medical/economic/ social support)
• Estimated 6 million South Africans
expected to die from AIDS-related
diseases in the next 10 years
(currently 5.3 million HIV +)
• The high level of HIV/AIDS in South
Africa can cause problems for the
tourism industry by travellers having
false fears and a negative view about
transmission of the disease
• “As the level of HIV/AIDS infection in South Africa is
very high, you should be cautious about activities
involving the transmission of bodily fluids.” (Travel
Advisory – Gov’t of Canada)
• Transmission -- unprotected sexual intercourse, shared,
unsterilized needles, pregnancy, bodily fluids
• HIV not transmitted through shaking hands, kissing,
coughing/sneezing, toilet seats, giving blood, pools,
sharing food/water fountains, insects
Tourism in South Africa
• With its unique background, culture, and
natural landscape, South Africa’s
tourism industry is growing rapidly.
• South Africa has a well developed
infrastructure, high standards of water
treatment, and modern medical facilities that
would help tourists feel safe and secure.
• Popular attractions in South Africa:
- Kruger Park (game park)
- Table Mountain
- Garden Route (coastal villages and resorts)
- Robben Island (Mandela jail cell)
- beaches
- shopping
Wildlife in South Africa