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South Africa
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South Africa (History)South Africa (History)Bantu-speaking peoples moved into the region from E central Africa about 1500. The first permanent European settlement,Dutch EAST INDIA COMPANY station, was set up in 1652. By 1707 there were about 1,780 freeholders of European descent in South Africa, with about 1,100 slaves. The first of a long series of wars broke out (1779)between the Xhosa people and white farmers, known as Boers, who had moved inland. Britain replaced the Dutch at the Cape in 1795 and was awarded the territory by the Congress of VIENNA in 1814. Disturbed British rule, which accorded legal rights to free blacks and Coloureds and abolished slavery, some 12,000 Boers left the Cape in what is known as the Great TREK (1835-43) into the interior and Natal. Britain annexed Natal (1843), but the Boer republics of Orange Free State and the Transvaal were established (1850s). The discovery of diamonds (1867)Especially of gold (1886) spurred great economic development. Following increasing tension bet
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Economy After the discovery of the Witwatersrand gold reef in 1886, the city of Johannesburg became the focal point of all economic activity in the country, not only mining, and a magnet for indigenous migrant labour. Today, economic activity in the province of Gauteng, with Johannesburg as its hub, accounts for about 40 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This economic predominance has been sustained despite several decentralisation programmes which have included restrictive measures as well as incentives to locate in the less developed regions. The result is that economic deve
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PeoplesThroughout its history, South Africa has been a geographic designation rather than a reflection of a national reality. The result is that today the Republic of South Africa has one of the most complex and diversified population mixes in the world, a rich mosaic of distinctive minorities. This is underscored by the fact that not one of South Africa's major languages is spoken by a majority of all the people. The four major ethnic divisions among black people are the Nguni, Sotho, Shangaan-Tsonga and Venda. Together the Nguni and Sotho account for the largest percentage of the total Black population. The Nguni language group comprises three sub-groups within which a number of ramifications and a large number of subramifications can be distinguished: The Zulus people comprise about 300 tribes who live in Kwazulu/Natal and in some urban areas. According to traditional Zulu religion, Umvelinqangi is the creator of life. His daughter, uNomkubulwana,
LAND.
Area: 1,221,037 sq km (471,445 sq mi).
Capitals: Pretoria (administrative, 1985 pop., 433,059);
Cape Town (legislative and largest city, 1985 pop.,
776,617);
Bloemfontein (judicial, 1985 pop., 104,381).
PEOPLE.
Population (1991 est.): 40,600,000;
density 33.3 persons per sq km (86.1
per sq mi).
Distribution (1989): 56% urban, 44% rural.
Annual growth (1990): 2.7%.
Official languages: Afrikaans, English.
Major religions: traditional African religions, Dutch Reformed
church, Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism,
Methodism, Hinduism, Judaism.
EDUCATION AND HEALTH.
Literacy (1989): whites--virtually 100% of adult population;
blacks--50% of adult population.
Universities (1988);
18.
Hospital beds (1984): 140,791.
Physicians (1988): 22,096.
Life expectancy (1990): women--67;
men--61.
Infant mortality (1990): 52 per 1,000 live births.
ECONOMY.
GNP (1989): $86 billion;
$2,460 per capita.
Labor distribution (1985): agriculture--30%;
industry and commerce--29%;
services--34%;
mining--7%.
Foreign trade (1989 est.): imports--$18.5 billion;
exports (1988 est.)-- $21.5 billion;
principal trade partners--United
States, Germany, United Kingdom,
Japan.
Currency: 1 rand = 100 cents.
GOVERNMENT.
Type: republic.
Government leader (1992): F. W. de Klerk--president.
Legislature: tricameral--House of Assembly (white), House of
Representatives (Coloured), House of Delegates
(Asian).
Political subdivisions: 4 provinces, 10 Bantu "homelands."
COMMUNICATIONS.
Railroads (1988): 23,587 km (14,638 mi) total.
Roads (1989): 181,341 km (112,680 mi) total.
Major ports: 7.
Major airfields: 3
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