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 »
Industry and trade are much larger in South Africa than in other African countries. South Africa is the largest trading partner of the European Union in Africa, the trade with the EU in different years varied and includes quite different products. Great Britain and Germany are the most important trading partners within the European Union.… Read More »
Girls in Soweto Overcoming poverty and unemployment is a primary goal of the South African government. It is about improving access to water, sanitation, electricity and housing. Millions of people have been provided with houses, water and electricity since 1994, but over 50 percent of society, mostly black people with little education, still live in… Read More »
Cover of the SACU information brochure When compared with international development cooperation, there are special relationships between South Africa and the European Union. The Agreement on Trade, Development and Cooperation (TDCA) has implications for the countries of the “Southern African Customs Union” (SACU), which includes South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini (Swaziland). Non-SACU countries… Read More »
South Africa Society Proportion of literate adults: 87% (according to UNESCO 2018) Major religions: Christianity 75.5%, Hinduism 1.4%, Islam 1.4% Urban population: 66.4% (2018) Life expectancy (female / male): 67.3 (women) / 61.1 years (men) (2018) Gender Inequality Index (GII): Rank 97 of 162 (2018) Number of births per woman: 2.4 (2018) Infant mortality: 36.4… Read More »
FEW poster According to cellphoneexplorer, South Africa is the first African country to legalize same-sex marriages. The relevant law was signed in November 2006 against opposition from conservative religious groups and chiefs. Its umbrella organization used the draft law for the extension of power of traditional authorities (TCB), which had been discussed since 2008, to… Read More »
Old woman with small children Girls in rural households In gender comparisons, South Africa occupies leading positions on the continent and internationally because of its exemplary gender policy. Black women are the main victims of poverty in South Africa. One of the causes of poverty is their low level of schooling, which for older people… Read More »
Official name: Republic of South Africa Area: 1,219,912 km² Residents: 57.73 million (July 2018) Growth of population: 3.21% (2018) Seat of government: Pretoria / Tshwane, (Cape Town, Bloemfontein) Official language: English Regional languages: Xhosa, Zulu, Afrikaans and others Map of South Africa South Africa Location on Map Even the smallest of towns can be… Read More »
AIDS activists HIV / AIDS is a health problem that has a major impact on economic and social development in South Africa. This also applies to neighboring countries in a similar way. That is why the regional development community SADC adopted an HIV / AIDS strategy. This was followed by a regional advocacy strategy on… Read More »