The People, Country, and Culture of South AfricaWorld Studies

Mr. P’s Take

I spent 6 weeks in South Africa during the summer of 2012 with 24 other teachers from around the U.S.!

I met great people, both from South Africa and the U.S.

I noticed many similarities between the U.S. and South Africa, and some major differences as well.

Bottom line: South Africa is culturally and physically beautiful and very diverse….there is no place else like it!

South African Flag

South Africa

South Africa (Political)

Basics of South Africa

“The Rainbow Nation”

Population: 51,770,00 (2011) (5th largest in Africa)

Land Area: 1,221,037 sq. km (9th largest in Africa) Divided into 9 provinces

Largest Cities Johannesburg (Soweto)

Cape Town (Legislative Capital)

Durban

Pretoria (Executive Capital)

Cape Town (Table Mountain)

A Brief History of South Africa

Pre-1600: SA occupied by various Bantu speaking groups, including Xhosa and Zulu.

1652: The Dutch established the Cape Colony

1806: British take control of the Cape Colony

1931: Union of South Africa is formed; independence from GB

1948-1994: Apartheid Era

1994: End of Apartheid, Mandela elected President

Physical Geography of South Africa

Atlantic ocean to the West, Indian ocean to the East

The Drakensberg mountainsHighest mountain range in Southern Africa

The KarooA dry, semi-desert covering much of

western Africa

South Africa (Physical)

Drakensberg mts.

Cape Aguhlas

Climate of South Africa

Located in the Southern hemisphere, therefore:

Summer= Oct-March Hot, humid, afternoon rain

Winter= April-Sept. Cooler, dry, sunny

Exception: Western Cape has a Mediterranean climate…cool, rainy, cloudy in the winter. Good for growing crops such as wine grapes

Ethnicity in South Africa

South Africa is a multi-ethnic state, meaning people belong to a variety of ethnic groups.

Black (79%) Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi. Tswana

White (9%) Afrikaaners, English, French

Coloured (9%) Mixed race

Indian/Asian (3%) Originally slaves/ laborers from India

Faces of South Africa

Language in South Africa

South Africa has 11 official languages, 2 of which are European (Afrikaans and English).

Xhosa, aka the click language, is widely spoken in certain regions.

English is widely spoken in business and academic settings, but other languages are spoken widely at home.

Language Example

Religion in South Africa

Christianity is the dominant religion in South Africa (80%)

About 1.5% are Muslim

About 1.2 % Hindu (primarily in Durban)

Many South Africans combine Christianity with traditional African Animist beliefs.

South African Churches

Education in South Africa

12 grades, including primary, secondary, and tertiary (college) levels.

Literacy rate is 88%.

Government spends 20% of budget on education

Education of black Africans was stifled under Apartheid.

Many consider the South African system of education to be failing, as most students cannot pass their “Matric” exams and do not graduate.

Typical Classroom

Crazy Guys

Crazy Girls

Computers that work?!?!?!

South African Economy

Largest economy in Africa, considered to be one of the world’s “emerging markets”

GDP per capita: $11,100 (5th highest in Africa, 3rd of large countries)

25% unemployment, live on less that $1.25/day

Major industries include: gold, platinum, diamond mining, tourism, auto assembly, wine.

Diamond Mining

Poorer Area

South Africa Today

While SA has made substantial gains since Apartheid, it still faces some serious problems:

HIV/ AIDS (20% among adults)

Poverty

High unemployment (50%)

Violence, high occurrences of rape

Political corruption/ inefficiency

President Jacob Zuma