The People, Country, and Culture of South Africa World 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) (5 th largest in Africa)  Land Area: 1,221,037 sq. km (9 th 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  : 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 mountains  Highest mountain range in Southern Africa  The Karoo  A 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 (5 th highest in Africa, 3 rd 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