South Africa

By Matt Francis, Cade Thompson, Ali Richter, and Ricky Cooks

Important People• Out of South Africa’s 49,991,300 people, here are some important ones:• Nelson Mandela- One of the greatest political figures of all time. He spent 27 years

as political prisoner in South Africa before becoming the country’s 1st black president. He is still the president.

• Basetsana Kumalo- Crowned Miss South Africa in 1994 and in the same year became 1st runner up in the Miss World Pageant.

• Basil Rathbone- A master of the stage. He was in films such as the Mark of Zorro, Captain Blood, and the Adventures of Robin Hood. The climatic sword fight between Flynn and Rathbone is one of the most famous moments in movie history.

Important Places• Pretoria- the Administrative capital• Bloemfontein- the Judicial capital• Cape Town- the Legislative capital• Robhen Island- Where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years• Battle Fields of Route- home to some of the richest hominid fossils in the world• The beaches of South Africa are all popular tourist sites

Economy• The economy of South Africa is very good. It consists of mining, agriculture,

finance, currency, real-estate, tourism, and diamond mining. But mostly the economy is based on foreign trade. The main customer countries are Japan, Italy, U.S., Germany, Great Britain, and Zimbabwe.

Physical Features• Cape of Good Hope• Namib Desert• Table Mountain• Orange R.• Limpopo R.

Human Survival• The less fortunate people in South Africa must catch animals or pick berries for food. For water they

rely on rivers and wells, and grow their own food. They also build their own houses to survive. More fortunate people can go to markets to get their food and water, and have their houses built for them.

Human Impacts• Construction, in the more urban areas.• Diamond Mining, in the center of the country.• Agriculture, for people who grow their own food.• Pollution, mostly in factories.

Career Opportunities• Accounting• Engineering• Agriculture• Government• Military• Medical• Education• Sports• Financial• Services• Science• Technology• Marketing• Manufacturing• Mining

Geographic Factors and Natural Resources

• Gold• Chronium• Copper• Uranium• Coal• Nickel• Salt• Iron• Phosphate• Uranium• Gem diamonds• Natural Gas

Culture

• South Africa’s most popular sports are soccer, rugby, and cricket. Some other significant are swimming, athletics, golf, boxing, tennis, and netball.

• There are many types of music but one of the most unique styles is called Kwaito, which developed in Johannesburg. It is a slow tempo that consists of bass and percussion. Some famous musicians include Brenda Fassie and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Other music includes folk and jive.

• Their ethnic group numbers as of 2001 are 79.4% black, 9.2% white, and 2.6% Asian.• The 11 official languages of South Africa are Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho,

Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu.

Culture• South Africa’s clothing is modern like most Americans, mostly made of cotton. They also wear

traditional African clothing for ceremonies and holidays.• About 80 percent of all South Africans are Christians, and most are Protestants. More than 8

million South Africans are members of African Independent churches, which have at least 4,000 congregations. The denomination generally holds a combination of traditional African and Protestant beliefs. The other large Protestant denomination, the Dutch Reformed Church, has about 4 million members in several branches. Most are whites or people of mixed race.

• Other Protestant denominations in the mid-1990s include at least 1.8 million Methodists, 1.2 million Anglicans, 800,000 Lutherans, 460,000 Presbyterians, and smaller numbers of Baptists, Congregationalists, Seventh Day Adventists, and members of the Assembly of God and the Apostolic Faith Mission of Southern Africa. More than 2.4 million South Africans are Roman Catholics; about 27,000 are Greek or Russian Orthodox. More than 7,000 are Mormons. Adherents of other world religions include at least 350,000 Hindus, perhaps 400,000 Muslims, more than 100,000 Jews, and smaller numbers of Buddhists, Confucians, and Baha'is.

• South Africans eat grown food and market foods. In traditional ceremonies, the women make delicious chickens and bread.

Government• South Africa is a parliamentary democracy and their president is Jacob Zuma. They

have 1 city for each part of the government(administrative, legislative, and judicial). The deputy president is Kgalema Motlanthe. They have a bicameral parliament. The National Council of Provinces has 90 members and the National Assembly has 400 members.

Location• South Africa is in the southernmost part of Africa. Its regions include:• Western Cape• Eastern Cape• Northern Cape• Free State• KwaZulu-Natal• Mpumalanga• Gauteng• Limpopo Province• North West

Borders• South Africa's borders include:• Zimbabwe• Mozambique• Botswana• Namibia• Atlantic Ocean• Mozambique Channel• Limpopo River• Swaziland• Lesotho• Port Elizabeth

Questions 1-5• 1. How many capitals does South Africa have? A.6 B.3 C.1 D.5

• 2. Which of these is a mountain in South Africa? A. Table B. Everest C. St. Helens D. McKinley

• 3. Which of these towns is the Legislative capital? A. Pretoria B. Bloemfontein C. Cape Town D. Durban

• 4. How many official languages do they have? A.16 B.11 C.6 D.9

• 5. Finish this “ The Cape of Good” what?

Questions 6-10• 6. What type of government does South Africa have?

• 7. Name 3 of the 5 colors on the South African flag.

• 8. What borders South Africa to the north?

• 9. True or False? Zulu is one of the official languages.

• 10. How many members does the National Assembly have?

Answers• 1. B• 2. A• 3. C• 4. B• 5. Hope• 6. Republic• 7. red, blue, yellow, green, or black• 8. Botswana• 9. True• 10. 400

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