About South Africa

Welcome to South Africa
About South Africa
officially Republic of South Africa, republic (1995 est. pop. 45,095,000), 471,442 sq mi (1,221,037 sq km), S Africa. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean in the west, on Namibia in the northwest, on Botswana and Zimbabwe in the north, on Mozambique and Swaziland in the northeast, and on the Indian Ocean in the east and south. The largest city is Johannesburg . Cape Town is the legislative capital, Pretoria the administrative capital, and Bloemfontein the judicial capital.
People
The population of South Africa is 75% black (African) and 13% white (European), with about 9% people of mixed white, Malay, and black descent (formerly called “Coloured” ), and 3% of Asian (mostly Indian) background. Although these ethnic divisions were rigidly enforced under the policy of apartheid [Afrikaans,apartness], racial distinctions are often arbitrary. People of African descent fall into several groups, based on their first language. South Africa has 11 official languages, nine of which are indigenousZulu, Xhosa, Tswana, Sotho, Swazi, Venda, Ndebele, Pedi, and Tsonga. Many blacks also speak Afrikaans (the first language of about 60% of the whites and the majority of those of mixed race) or English (the first language of most of the rest of the nonblacks).About 68% of the population is Christian; major groups include the Dutch Reformed, Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, and Zionist churches.
Resources
The main industrial centers are Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth , Durban , Pretoria, and Germiston . The principal manufactures include processed food, beverages (including wine), textiles, clothing, forest products, chemicals, iron and steel, metal products, machinery, and motor vehicles. South Africa is a world leader in the production of gold, diamonds, aluminosilicates, chromium, manganese, vanadium, and platinum. Other leading minerals extracted are copper ore, coal, asbestos, iron ore, silver, and titanium. Uranium is also mined.
Government
South Africa is a federal state. Until 1994 it was governed by the white minority with minimal mixed-race and Asian representation and virtually no black representation. In Apr., 1994, the country became a fully multiracial democracy, under an interim constitution; a permanent constitution was adopted in 1996. It provides for a strong central government headed by a president, who is elected for a five-year term and serves as both the chief of state and head of government. The bicameral parliament consists of a 400-member National Assembly, which is elected by proportional representation, and a 90-seat National Council of Provinces (formerly the Senate), which is elected by the nine provincial legislatures. Legislators serve five-year terms. The leading political parties are the African National Congress, the predominantly white Democratic party and New National party, and the Zulu-based Inkhata Freedom party.