South Africa – education
South Africa – education, The education system was characterized in the 1990’s with the account of many years of racial segregation policy, cf. the student demonstration in Soweto 1976 against the education policy of the apartheid system due to the requirement of Afrikaans as a language of instruction. The schools then played a key role with the so-called Bantu Education System, not only for the maintenance of apartheid, but also for organizing the apartheid resistance.
Following the change of system in 1994, education is focused on the instrument of democratization and social development. However, there are still major regional differences in educational opportunities, and a number of provinces are characterized by teacher shortages. Illiteracy for adults is 18% (1995) and fairly evenly distributed between men and women.
The education system, which has been radically reformed from 1997, includes a voluntary, usually private preschool for 3-7 year olds. The nine-year school duty is fulfilled in public, free schools, first in the six-year elementary school followed by almost everyone, and then in the similarly six-year superstructure. There are also technical and business schools at this level. Only approximately half a year of teaching follows this step (1996).
Higher education takes place at the country’s universities and at 15 technikons (1998). Most universities are private. Largest and oldest is the University of South Africa in Pretoria from 1873. Distance studies are highly developed and several universities are only for distance students.
OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of South Africa
CAPITAL CITY: Pretoria
POPULATION: 48,400,000 (Source: COUNTRYaah)
AREA: 1,220,000 km²
OFFICIAL/OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English and 9 Bantu languages, including Zulu and Xhosa
RELIGION: Christians 66% (of whom Protestants 37%, Catholics 8%), natives’ religions 30%, Hindus 1%, Muslims 1%, unknown 2%
CURRENCY: rim
CURRENCY CODE: ZAR
ENGLISH NAME: South Africa
INDEPENDENCE: 1931
POPULATION COMPOSITION: zulu 22%, xhosa 18%, white 13%, colored (mixed) 9%, pedi 9%, sotho 7%, tswana 7%, tsonga 4%, swazi 3%, asians 3%, other 5%
GDP PER CAPITA INH.: $ 5902 (2015)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 50.5 years, women 48.5 years (2014)
LIVING CONDITIONS INDEX, HDI: 0658
LIVING CONDITIONS INDEX, POSITION: 118
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .za
South Africa is a republic in southern Africa. The country is divided into nine provinces which have a certain autonomy. South Africa has many different cultures and natural environments and is often presented as the rainbow country. The country was for many years ruled by the Nationalist Party, which mainly represented the Boers, descendants of Dutch immigrants. They introduced apartheid, which systematically restricted the rights of all non-white groups and divided the community along ethnic lines. After years of internal struggle and international isolation, the apartheid system was abolished in 1994. South Africa continues to have major social differences, but is a regional superpower in southern Africa with a well-developed business and rich natural resources.
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Find two-letter abbreviation for each independent country and territory, such as SF which stands for South Africa.
South Africa – language
South Africa – Languages, Official languages are English (about 3.5 million) and Afrikaans (almost 6 million) as well as the nine Bantu languages , pedi, sotho, swazi, tsonga, tswana, venda, xhosa and zulu, which are spoken in total of over 30 million (1996). In principle, all official languages can be used in an administrative context; most widely used, however, is English. Also widespread is the Zulu-based Pidgins language fanagolo and the Creole language Flue language. Indian languages including Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Gujarati, are spoken by minorities.
South Africa – religion
South Africa – religion, approximately 80% of the population is Christian. Christianity came to South Africa in the 1600’s. and has been closely associated with state power since then. In the 1900’s. made the African elite the Dutch Reformed Church the state-carrying church that legitimized apartheid; at the same time, representatives of other denominations, such as the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church, were among the strongest opponents of apartheid politics.
A number of independent churches have emerged since the end of the 19th century. Many South Africans practice local traditional religions, where spirit and ancestral worship as well as healing rituals play a major role. Among other non-Christian religions are Hinduism (approximately 400,000 followers), Islam (approximately 350,000 followers) and Judaism (approximately 65,000 followers).
South Africa – Constitution
South Africa Constitution, the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (entry into force 1997) declares racism and contains a number of declarations of rights and promises to promote citizens’ judicial security and their economic, social and cultural opportunities. The legislative power lies with a two-chamber parliament consisting of the National Assembly and the National Provincial Council, representing the nine provinces into which the country is divided. The National Assembly must have between 350 and 400 members elected by direct election for five years. One half is selected from candidates all over the country; the other half is chosen from candidates in each province, where the number of those elected is determined proportionally by population. The National Provincial Council has 90 members with 10 representatives from each province,
Bills can be presented in both chambers, but fiscal bills must be tabled in the National Assembly first. If one of the chambers rejects a bill, it is presented again in both chambers after being dealt with by a mediation committee, composed of representatives from both chambers. Bills relating to the provinces must be approved by the National Provincial Council.
The executive has the president, who is elected by the National Assembly from among its members; he can be dismissed by a vote of no confidence. The president sets up a government in consultation with the party leaders. Any party with at least 5% of the total number of votes is eligible for a proportionate share of ministerial seats. Decisions are made by consensus.
The provincial assemblies have considerable powers and can, among other things, write their own constitutions, but they are subject to the authority of the national parliament. The constitution allows for the existence or creation of bodies that represent the traditional leadership locally and nationally.
South Africa – Economy
South Africa – Economy, South Africa has Africa’s largest economy and has traditionally been the continent’s economically most prosperous country with well-developed infrastructure, large commodity production, versatile industry and a significant tourism sector, but the UN-initiated sanctions policy against the apartheid regime 1985-93 resulted in capital flight and economic stagnation. .
Following the change of system, the ANC- led government launched a program of reconstruction and development that, through an expansive economic policy and privatization of state-owned enterprises, should provide the basis for new growth. Greater social equality among the population groups was given a top priority, and the reform policy focused, inter alia, on in health, housing and education, which had so far largely favored the white minority.
Requirements for greater budget discipline from However, the country’s international creditors and trade union protests against the beginning of planned privatizations and corporate restructuring led to the abandonment of the program in 1996. It was replaced by a long-term strategic program whose main goal is to create 400,000 new jobs a year from 2000.
South Africa was hit by the international financial crisis in 1997-98, which led to falling stock prices, and the currency, the rand, which in principle flows freely, lost about 30% of its value to the dollar. Although the exchange rate has since stabilized and strengthened somewhat, and the stock market increased significantly in 1998-99, the crisis contributed to the average economic growth of 1994-96 of 3.5%, 1997-99 of only 1.2% on average, which compounded the problems in the labor market.
Monetary policy has traditionally been designed to ensure a stable low inflation, and from 2000 it is planned to determine monetary policy according to a target for the development in consumer prices rather than as previously guided by a target for the development in the money supply. Due. the disciplined fiscal and monetary policy seeks to promote growth and employment through a more flexible labor market policy, investment promotion and liberalization of foreign trade and capital markets.
This is reflected in in the form of increased borrowing in the international capital markets, just as the government has initiated initiatives to attract foreign direct investment. Furthermore, South Africa, which has generally had a current account deficit since 1994, has increased trade with the EU and the US, which were traditional partners before the sanctions policy.
The country’s economic stagnation, which began in the mid-1990’s, was replaced after 2000 by growth rates of 3-4% per year. However, the growth has not created many jobs, and this has given the ANC government problems in meeting, in particular, the black population’s expectations of an improved standard of living.
With an unemployment rate of 27% (2005), many depend on social benefits. Social inequality is rampant, which among other things is expressed in the urgent need for land reform. However, the black middle class’s share of incomes has been increasing since 1991. The poorest part of the population was also hit by the government’s privatization policy, which caused prices of electricity and water, for example, to rise. A high level of crime and the prevalence of HIV and AIDS further strain living conditions.
South Africa’s most important trading partners in 2005 were Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2005, Denmark’s exports to South Africa totaled DKK 1070 million. while imports there from were DKK 1240 million. crowns.
South Africa – social conditions
South Africa – social conditions, South Africa is characterized by the aftermath of apartheid, major social disparities, crime and poverty; For example, the vast majority of non-whites around 2002 live in slums without water, electricity and sewerage. This is a consequence of the apartheid regime’s housing policy.
Two legislative complexes, adopted around the year 2000, seek to remedy the old discrimination laws in the labor market. All forms of discrimination must be stopped, not just racially. introduced positive special treatment to promote the least educated non-white population groups in employment.
The high unemployment rate – estimated to be approximately 40% of the workforce – however, is a brake on social and economic development. Furthermore, the AIDS problem is expected to have unmistakable consequences for the labor market. The statutory minimum wage corresponds to DKK 2400 per employee. month; 2/3 serves, however, substantially less.
State old-age pension corresponding to DKK 600 per person. per month, men over the age of 65 and women over 60 are awarded if they receive no other public assistance.
Increasing crime has contributed to approximately 1 million whites and other highly educated since the late 1980’s have left the country. The prevalence of crime is attributed to the violence mentality of the former apartheid system, the partial collapse of community institutions and the widespread poverty.
The severe AIDS epidemic has unmistakable consequences for economic development. Check youremailverifier for South Africa social condition facts.
South Africa – Health conditions
South Africa – health conditions, In 1996 the median life was 62 years for men and 68 years for women. Infant mortality fell from 79 per cent. 1,000 live births in 1970 to 49 in 1996. In 1994 it was 7.3 among whites and 54.7 among blacks. It is estimated that approximately half of all infant deaths are due to diarrhea.
There is a significant under-reporting of deaths. In 1994, violent death was most frequent at 19.2%, followed by unclearly defined causes of death by 15.2%, apoplexy 7.0% and cardiac death due to atherosclerosis 4.4%. In 1997, there were approximately 2.2 million HIV-infected, and in 1995, 10.4% of all pregnant women were HIV-positive. In 1995, 140,000 new cases of tuberculosis were reported.
In the period 1990-95, public spending on health care accounted for 3.6% of GDP. Most of the health care is run by the provinces or at lower levels. The primary health service is sought to be prioritized, including: through the use of specially trained nurses. A special, free mother-child program has been started to reach everyone. It’s about. 174,000 nurses/auxiliary nurses, which are fairly evenly distributed across the country. In 1996, there were 28,000 doctors with a very distant geographical distribution. The poorest Northern Province had 0.9 general practitioners and 0.2 specialist doctors per year. 10,000, while the figures for the best-supplied province (Gauteng) were respectively. 9.1 and 3.7. In 1995, Gauteng had approximately 65 hospital beds per 10,000 homes, while Northern Province had 30. Private hospitals had a total of 28,000 beds in 1995.
After 2000, the AIDS epidemic has continued to spread in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa. In 2001, it was estimated that 20% of approximately 24 million Adults between the ages of 15 and 49 had AIDS in the outbreak or were infected with HIV. For children it was about 250,000. In 2001, approximately 360,000 of AIDS.
In 1997, Parliament authorized the Minister of Health to enact a law to allow the country to produce or import medicines manufactured as cheap replicas of the original. When the law was passed, 39 international drug manufacturers, including Lundbeck and Novo Nordisk, decided to take legal action against the South African state. The rationale was that the law violated the patent protection rules that the country had accepted in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The case was brought before the Supreme Court in Pretoria in 2001 and came to the public to discuss South Africa’s opportunity to access cheap AIDS drugs. The industry rightly argued that the country could declare the AIDS epidemic a national emergency and thus free itself from the strict patent rules.
South Africa also has problems with civilization diseases; a WHO report from 2002 estimates, among other things, that 4-5% of the urban population has diabetes.
South Africa – judicial system
South Africa – judicial system, South Africa’s legal system occupies a special position in relation to the so-called civil law countries and common law countries. From 1652, the Dutch colonists introduced a mixture of Roman and Germanic law, and the English influence of 1795 explains the comparatively high respect of the case law of the South African courts.(precedent) and the procedural rules governing the provision of evidence. The Dutch influence on the substantive law in South Africa, and in particular the influence of Roman law, is still very large, for example in personal and family law and in property law. By contrast, the English common law influence appears more clearly in other areas of law, for example in contract law and in commercial law. The highest court in South Africa is the Supreme Court; subordinates are Magistrates’ Courts with competence in both civil and criminal cases.
South Africa – Military
South Africa – Military, The Armed Forces (2006) are 55,750 military and 2,000 civilians. The Army (South African Army) is at 36,000, the Navy (South African Navy) at 4,500 military and 2000 civilians, the Air Force (South African Air Force) at 9250 and the South African Military Health Service at 6,000. The reserve is 60,000, with the Army’s 57,500, the Navy’s 1300, the Air Force’s 500, and the Health Service’s 700.
The forces have a mix of locally and western produced modern equipment. The army advises over units for an armored and an airborne brigade, a hunter brigade as well as 10 independent infantry battalions. The fleet has 4 larger and 34 light combat units, 3 new submarines, 9 mine clearance vessels and 6 support vessels. The Air Force has 50 fighter aircraft. 26 Saab 39 Gripen, 51 transport aircraft of various sizes and helicopters of different types.
From 1966 to 1989, South Africa’s armed forces fought SWAPO in Namibia. They have also been fighting in Angola and Zambia.
In 1977, the UN Security Council issued a ban on arms exports to South Africa due to its apartheid. This initiated local weapons production.
South Africa – mass media
South Africa – mass media, Under the apartheid regime, the media image was largely characterized by discrimination and censorship; however, a number of dailies demonstrated a willingness for criticism and independence. Since 1994, the ANC’s repeated stressing of the press’s great self-responsibility has occasionally created fears that freedom of the press could be threatened. However, the daily newspapers have managed to maintain great independence and critical attitude, and in general the freedom of the press is respected by the authorities. South Africa is also, in media terms, the great power of sub-Saharan Africa. The media is big, strong, influential and pretty independent. State Radio and Television under the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) does not have the same independence and independence as private media, but alongside the state radio and television, a host of private stations have shot up since the mid-1990’s, and satellite and cable television is also widespread. In Johannesburg, the population can choose from 40 radio stations.
A targeted training and education effort has sought to reduce the under-representation of professional black journalists who have dominated the media.
South Africa has many newspapers and magazines both in English, in Afrikaans and in African languages, as well as with national and regional coverage. SABC broadcasts in three channels and 11 official languages. Satellite TV and commercial national TV are also available.
While print media circulation is stagnant in relation to population, radio and television coverage is increasing. The Internet is also playing an increasingly important role. See also Africa (mass media).
South Africa – Music
South Africa – Music, South Africa’s political history has influenced music fundamentally. The apartheid regime marginalized early black forms of music at the expense of Europeans, but at the same time music became a potential for resistance. The singer Miriam Makeba, who left the country in 1959, became the voice of black South Africa in Europe and the United States. Later, musicals and albums such as the American Paul Simons Graceland (1986) with the participation of South African musicians gained significance in connection with the collapse of the board. The South African music scene is characterized by considerable diversity and openness to new trends, such as from the early 1900’s. seen in a deep fascination of African American music. Styles include 1920’s and cappella choral mbube, 1950’s jazz-inspired township music kwela and 1960’s-1980’s mbaquanga prominent.
South Africa – movie
South Africa – movies, films were recorded in South Africa already during the Boer War, and in 1910 the first feature film was released. Film production was reserved for whites until the 1990’s, while a film pioneer such as Lionel Ngakane (b. 1928) had to live in exile. The best-known South African director is African-American champion Jamie Uys (1921-96), who made the comedy The Gods Must be Crazy (1980, Gods!). Darrell James Roodt (b. 1963) has made mildly critical films like Sarafina! (1992) and James Paton filming Cry, the Beloved Country (1995). In 1994, a democratization of the film industry, and Fools, began(1997) was the first film by a non-white filmmaker, Ramadan Suleman (b. 1955). Despite a well-developed film industry, there is a fatal shortage of film schools and distribution channels. However, some South African films have received international attention, including The Carmen filmization U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha (2005, Carmen in Khayelitsha), which won the Gold Bear in Berlin, and Gavin Hood’s Oscar-winning Tsotsi (2005).
South Africa – sports
South Africa – sport, In the international debate on the relationship between sport and politics, South Africa, in particular, became a very concrete example of the importance of sport as a political weapon from the mid-1970’s, when the apartheid-controlled nation was excluded from the international sports world.
For example, the Danish Sports Federation disconnected any sporting connection with South Africa in 1986; the country was excluded from the Olympic Games from 1964 until 1992, when it participated with a delegation of both white and colored athletes.
One of the consequences of the exclusion from the international sports world was that individual athletes gave up their South African citizenship. Among the best known were Zola Budd (b. 1966), who ran 3000 m for the United Kingdom at the 1984 Olympics.
Rugby is South Africa’s most popular sport. It was already played in the second half of the 1800’s. of British soldiers in Cape Town, and the country is today among the most prominent nations (World Cup 1995). Football is, after rugby, the largest sport in the country; in 1996, South Africa won the continental championship, the African Nations Cup, and in 2010 the World Cup is held in the country. Cricket is also very popular.
South Africa – wine
South Africa – Wine, South Africa is a significant wine country that produces a lot of wine and of good quality. From a wine area of approximately 100,000 ha (like Bordeaux) produce 90 million. hl of wine per year, which places the country in the number eight in the world (2012). In Denmark, it is number seven with approximately 9% of the market.
The viticulture is mainly based on French grape varieties and white wine makes up 55% of the production. The majority of the 3440 wine farmers supply their grapes to cooperatives, while only 275 wineries or estates produce, bottle and sell the wine themselves. In 1973, South Africa was given a wine law, according to which the better wines with the name Wine of Origin must indicate the grape variety, vintage and district.
Of the approximately 90 major and smaller wine districts are located mostly in a belt along the ocean at Cape Town. Paarl and Stellenbosch accounts for 1/3 of the vineyard, and here made the best red wines.
In 1688 many French Huguenots fled to South Africa. From Loire they brought the grape chenin, which under the name stone makes up 27% of the vineyard. The blue grape pinotage is the country’s specialty; it was created in 1925 as a cross between pinot noir and cinsault (hermitage).
The historically most famous winery is Constantia by the Cape, founded in 1685; its sweet muscat wine was in the 1700’s. enjoyed at the court of Europe and sent to Napoleon 1. during his exile on St. Helena.
1918-92 all wine production was controlled and controlled by the KWV, the Cooperative Wijnbouwers Vereniging. Following the easing of sanctions on South Africa, the free market has led to major investments and modernization.
