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The People, Country, and Culture of South Africa World Studies
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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!
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South African Flag
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South Africa
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South Africa (Political)
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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)
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Cape Town (Table Mountain)
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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
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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
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South Africa (Physical)
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Drakensberg mts.
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Cape Aguhlas
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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
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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
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Faces of South Africa
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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.
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Language Example
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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.
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South African Churches
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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.
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Typical Classroom
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Crazy Guys
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Crazy Girls
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Computers that work?!?!?!
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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.
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Diamond Mining
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Poorer Area
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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
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President Jacob Zuma
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