Independence Day: 06/30/1960 Head of state: Felix Tshisekedi (since January 24, 2019) Head of Government / Prime Minister: Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba (since May 2019) Political system: Multi-party system Democracy Status Index (BTI): Rank 111 of 137 (2020) Corruption Index (CPI): Rank 168 of 180 (2019) Ibrahim Index of African Governance: Rank 47 of 54 (2018)… Read More »
After Mobutu was overthrown on May 16, 1997, the country of Zaire was renamed “Democratic Republic of the Congo”. It then fell into two more devastating wars. The Third Congo War is also known as the African World War. First Congo War 1996 to 1997 Mobutu is overthrown by the rebel coalition AFDL (L’Alliance des… Read More »
Young country, young society In addition to ethnic references, there are two social factors in almost all Kenyans that, despite all the upheavals and modernization tendencies, are indispensable: the family. And the country. What is meant is the land of the ancestors. Some groups have their dead on “tribal lands” bury what is connected,… Read More »
Village in the east of the DR Congo The total population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is estimated at 83.2 million people (2018). Over 10 million live in the capital Kinshasa alone. Calculated over the total area of the country, the population density is 35.8 residents / km². The proportion of the urban… Read More »
Sports: A world power in athletics – marathon under 2 hours The hip bookstore in Nairobi for many years Cricket, rugby, football – a lot of Kenyans are enthusiastic about sports and have long been familiar not only with the domestic Premier League, but also with professional football in Spain, Italy, Germany and of course… Read More »
Living in the green city in the sun Green City in the Sun – the title of a family saga by Barbara Wood became the slogan of the metropolis of Nairobi. Depending on the residential area and social status, the more than three million residents today can enjoy the advantages of the capital, sometimes more… Read More »
Auto, transportation and travel If you come from Germany, you might miss cycling in everyday life. But unfortunately, Kenya’s capital has nothing to do with healthy and environmentally friendly cycling. You have to like it – and the associated risk. If a car, then the question is, which one: For Nairobi and the surrounding area… Read More »
Kenya Everyday Life Currency: Kenya Shilling (KES) Exchange rate: 133.23 KES = € 1 (December 3rd, 2020 Central Bank of Kenya) Time zone: East Africa Time (UTC + 3 hours) Country code (phone): +254 (0) Climate (for capital): warm temperate (Nairobi) Entry Please note: Due to the global corona crisis, changed regulations and sometimes drastic… Read More »
Location of South Africa The Republic of South Africa lies between 22 and 35 degrees south latitude and 17 and 33 degrees east longitude and covers an area of 1,219,912 square kilometers. The country is more than three times the size of Germany. In the north, South Africa borders on Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe and… Read More »
Challenges in climate protection According to insidewatch, South Africa is the country with the highest CO2 emissions in Africa. The Ministry of the Environment has presented a long-term strategy for climate protection and a national strategy for adaptation to climate change, with the aim of the country to embark on a climate-friendly development path. GIZ… Read More »
South Africa has a lively civil society that is repeatedly called upon to assert itself against the ANC’s dominant position in society. She is instrumental in strengthening the constitution and democracy in South Africa. Because of the weak parliamentary opposition parties, this task is very important. In September 2016, for example, political analysts reflected on… Read More »
National symbols National flag of South Africa State coat of arms of South Africa Today’s flag has been in effect since April 1994, the first elections after apartheid (1948-1994). It is a flag that symbolically takes up historical contexts and for whose use there are defined rules. The national coat of arms consists of the… Read More »
South Africa History For many decades, South Africa’s history was shaped by apartheid, anchored in law in 1948, the policy of state institutionalized and systematic racial segregation policy. The country has undergone change since the end of apartheid and the first democratic, free and fair elections in 1994, but the legacy of apartheid has not… Read More »
The British and Boers fought bitterly for control of gold and diamond fields. After the three-year second “Boer War (Anglo Boer War) ” (1899-1902), also known as the South African War and the first Boer War in late 1880 / early 1881, and the Boers’ defeat against the English, the Boer republics became the… Read More »
From resistance to the new state Anti-apartheid struggle In the long history of resistance to apartheid, to the women during all phases actively participated, who conducted massacres of Sharpeville on 21 March 1960 a turning point one. In Sharpeville, the police killed 69 fleeing demonstrators and at least 180 people were seriously injured. The organizations… Read More »
Air pollution over Johannesburg Sewage treatment plant near Cape Town Although there are approaches to clean energy production, air pollution from coal mining, coal-fired power stations and the chemical industry is in some places harmful to the health of children in particular. The poor are particularly affected in parts of Mpumalanga and in metropolitan… Read More »
View of Johannesburg Cape Town City Hall About 66.4% percent of the total population lives in cities. The largest city is Johannesburg with at least 3.8 million residents (interactive city map), it is a city of contrasts. More than 3.5 million people live in Cape Town, closely followed by Durban with around 3.4 million residents;… Read More »
Poster World Climate Summit in Durban 2011 On the occasion of the world climate summit in Durban in November / December 2011, ex-President Jacob Zuma underlined the urgency of action in his opening speech. The knowledge and awareness of the South African population about climate change should be strengthened and sharpened through public activities and… Read More »
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was the first president of democratic South Africa (1994-1999). The lawyer, fighter against apartheid and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1993) is the worldwide symbol for reconciliation politics. Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, and died on December 5, 2013 after a long illness. Various institutions provide information about… Read More »
Parliament in Cape Town – meeting room Form of government, constitution and separation of powers As a major country in African continent according to getzipcodes, South Africa is a presidential democracy with federal elements. The 1996 adopted, widely discussed in the population and valid since February 4, 1997 Constitution for the first time guarantees everyone… Read More »
Rulers and power groups South Africa’s government is a coalition of the so-called Tripartite Alliance (Triple Alliance), which results from the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Trade Union Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU composed). From 1994 until the second free elections in June 1999, South Africa, a… Read More »
Elections – party results between 1994 and 2014 Elections 2014 Apart from a few incidents, the parliamentary elections on May 7, 2014 were free, fair and peaceful. The ANC was confirmed as the ruling party with 62.15 percent of the vote (249 seats). The Demoractic Alliance (DA) remained the strongest opposition party with 22.23 percent… Read More »
Newspaper reader The South African government provides information on legal principles in the media sector. It presents South African laws, agreements of the African Union and international agreements on press freedom, the media landscape in South Africa is outlined and important foreign media with journalists in South Africa are mentioned. There are over 50 (over)… Read More »
Demonstration against violence against women 2 The constitution contains a comprehensive and modern catalog of human rights (“Bill of Rights”). In 1998 the government announced a “National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights” (NAP), which should lead to an improvement in the human rights situation. Problems in the implementation and violations… Read More »
With the change of power from President Mandela to Mbeki, the controversies between the ANC, SACP and the trade union confederation COSATU intensified. Like the SACP, COSATU also supported Zuma in his power struggle with Mbeki. As president, Zuma rejected a reorientation in economic policy. Despite all criticism, the COSATU remained loyal to the ruling… Read More »
SADC member states As a major country in African continent according to ehistorylib, South Africa pursues an active foreign policy. As the richest and strongest country on the African continent, South Africa has a special responsibility to promote peace in Africa. South Africa attaches high priority to relations with other African states, in particular with… Read More »
South Africa Economy Estimated GDP: $ 358.8 billion (nominal) 2019 estimated GTAI Per capita income (purchasing power parity): 6,100 US dollars (nominal) 2019 estimated GTAI Human Development Rank (HDI): Rank 113 (out of 189), 2018 Proportion of poverty (below R 992 per month): 55.5% (2015) Distribution of income (Gini coefficient): 64 (2015) Economy Gold mine… Read More »
Mining Cullinan Premier Mine Agriculture In addition to mining, export-oriented agriculture plays a role in foreign trade. In particular, wine, fruit and vegetables from the Western Cape are among the export goods. Agriculture is also important for supplying its own population and as an employer. Most regions, however, are unsuitable for agricultural production due to… Read More »
Marikana Memorial Ceremony 2013 South Africa is one of the most important mining nations in the world, the world ‘s largest reserves of gold and platinum are stored there, and there are also large deposits of diamonds and coal. Every year South Africa extracts natural resources worth around 75 billion euros and thus accounts for… Read More »
Farmer’s wife with agricultural advisors In no country south of the Sahara is the land more unfairly distributed than in South Africa, a major country in African continent according to dentistrymyth: when Nelson Mandela took office in 1994, 60,000 white farmers owned 87 percent of the arable land. By 2014, 30 percent of the agricultural… Read More »