South Africa

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (Afrikaans: Republic of South Africa, English: Republic of South Africa) is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. The country is bordered to the North by Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the East by Mozambique and Swaziland. The independent State of Lesotho will be entirely enclosed by South Africa.

South Africa has a rich colonial history, which came about when Cape Town in 1652 as a Dutch refresh post was founded. After a century and a half of the Cape ColonyDutch colonisation was taken over by the United Kingdom. This migrated a large number of Dutch-speaking settlers, known as farmers, with the great Trek into the Interior and founded several Farmers States, which in the long run the South African Republic and the Orange Free State were most important. These Republics were conquered in1902 by the British in the Second Boer War and together with the Cape Colony and Natal in South Africa 1910 to United. In the 20th century South Africa was overshadowed by the apartheid, a system of racial segregation that the non-white population was disadvantaged. Apartheid was abolished In 1990 and in 1994 was Nelson Mandela to South Africa's first black president elected.

South Africa is a country with diverse populations and 11 official languages, including Afrikaans Dutch related to it. The country is a parliamentary Republic with three capitals and is one of the most developed countries of the continent, but poverty and crime rates remain high.



Content
[hide] *1 History  ==History[ Edit] == The first European to Bartolomeu Dias in 1488 explored the coast around Cape of good hope. However, the area was colonized by Portugal . ===VOC[ Edit] === When the Dutch ship Batavia 's New Haarlem on his return journey on 25 March 1647 with Reynier Tzum on board stranded to the Cape, the local Khoikhoi for the first time in contact with Dutch people. The castaways built a small fort that they named "sand Fort of Cape good Hope" gifts.
 * 1.1 VOC
 * 1.2 British rule
 * 1.3 Independent
 * 1.4 After the apartheid
 * 2 Geography
 * 2.1 General information
 * 2.2 Provinces
 * 2.3 Cities
 * 2.4 Climate
 * 2.5 Flora and fauna
 * 3 demographics
 * 3.1 demographics
 * 3.2 Language
 * 3.3 Religion
 * 3.4 Crime
 * 4 Economy
 * 4.1 agriculture
 * 4.2 Fishing
 * 4.3 Poverty
 * 4.4 tourism
 * 5 Culture
 * 5.1 places of interest
 * 5.2 public holidays
 * 5.3 food and drinks
 * 5.4 Sports
 * 5.5 Media
 * 6 traffic and transport
 * 7 Politics
 * 8 Education
 * 9 international relations
 * 10 famous people
 * 11 see also
 * 12 footnotes

Sixty men under command of a junior merchant Leendert Janszen spent nearly a year at the Cape before the survivors in March 1648 by a fleet of twelve ships led by VOC-Wollebrant Gabriel Daniel were rescued and brought back to Netherlands. They reported at home about the favorable climate, their good experiences with the local Khoikhoiand the bartering with the native people. This was decisive for the Dutch East India Company to set up a screen refresh station at the Cape for ships that were bound for the far East. On 6 april 1652, Jan van Riebeeck came to at the Cape of good hope. The area with Dutch colonists expanded during the 17th and 18th century East to Fish at the. ===British reign[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">After the battle of muizenberg in 1795 the British occupied the region around the Cape of good hope but gave it back to the Dutch in 1803. In 1806 the British annexed the Cape. There was disagreement between the British and the Dutch farmers, including about the compensation for the abolition of slavery in 1833. Many of the Dutch (and also German and his fellow Huguenot) settlers, known as Farmers, pulled in the years 1830-1840 in the so-called great Trek away from the Cape Colony. They foundedindependent republics, which eventually United were in the Orange Free State and Transvaal. The first Farmers Republic was Natalia. When farmers Natalia entered they came in battle with the Zulu King Dingane after he killed their leader Piet Retief . Eventually the farmers defeated the Zulus at the battle of blood River in 1838. Natalia, however, was already conquered by the British in 1843. The Voortrekkers then travelled to the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 1867 diamonds were discovered in Kimberley on the borders of the Orange Free State and Gold there was just on the Witwatersrand in 1886 in Transvaal found. This led to a stream of white immigrants and wealth for Transvaal. The Farmers resisted interference from the British, won the first Boer War (1880-1881), but were defeated in theSecond Boer War (1899-1902), the Second Boer War would be a Pyrrhic victory can be called. ===Independent<span class="mw-editsection" len="329" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Flag of the Union of South Africa and the Republic of South Africa 1928-1994<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 1910 the Union of South Africa was formed, which an independent State within the British Commonwealth was. In 1931 it became a Dominionand South Africa was via the Statute of Westminster completely independent. Many laws settled an unequal treatment of citizens because of the colour of their skin. This policy was formalized to the apartheid (separate development of the various races) after the election victory of the National Party in 1948. ===After the apartheid<span class="mw-editsection" len="333" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In the 1990s ended apartheid. Then president De Klerk left the well-known anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela on 11 February 1990, free and in1994 general elections were held for all races for the first time, leading to a Board of the (predominantly black) to political party transformed anti-apartheid African National Congress (ANC) grouping, first led by Mandela, later under Thabo Mbeki. The new Government introduced a policy of 'affirmative action' to end the inequalities of the past. Since 1996 is a new Constitution in effect.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa is a Republic in transformation. It is still a country with very large differences between rich and poor. Other than blacks during the apartheid are now also to the rich class, the black nouveaux riches often have ties with the African National Congress (ANC).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-armoede_7-0" len="171" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [7]  this former left-wing fighters who evolve as capitalist are called in South Africa, which stands for ' yummies ' mocking ' young upwardly mobile marxists '. While a small group of top tier, joins the new multiracial is growing unemployment among the rest of the population. In 1995, when the ' rainbow nation ' to a multiracial democracy, 16% of the working population was unemployed. The official unemployment rate In 2006 was increased to 30 percent, the real unemployment rate in 2006 was estimated at more than 40%.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" len="163" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [8]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In addition, the country has the highest percentage of hiv-infecting the world.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" len="163" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [9]  according to many critics within the country and in the world is due above all to the failing government policy that the aids epidemic could walk as far out of hand.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" len="165" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [10]  In some regions of the country is the ethnic violence and the gang crime increased considerably in the last ten years, in which Afrikaners (Farmers) and other white and relatively richer groups the target forms.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" len="165" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [11]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa slumped in the human development index of a 85th (at the time of the election of the ANC in the 1990s) to the 120th place in 2006 and to the 125th in 2008.This index of the United Nations contains 177 countries all over the world.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" len="165" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [12] ==Geography<span class="mw-editsection" len="327" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ===General data<span class="mw-editsection" len="335" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Satellite image of South Africa<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa is located in the South of the continent Africa. It has, including the Prince Edward Islands, an area of 1.219.912 km². It is bordered, clockwise to Namibia,Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland; Lesotho is an enclave within South Africa. Furthermore, South Africa has a long coastline of about 2800 km on theIndian and Atlantic Ocean.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The landscape of South Africa is characterized by High Plains in the Interior, along the edge rugged hills and a narrow coastal plain. In the East are the Drakensberg Mountains, with peaks as the Njesuthi (3408 m) and Mafadi (3450 m), the highest point of the country.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa has a large number of natural resources: Gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, diamonds, Platinum,copper, vanadium, salt and natural gas. ===Provinces<span class="mw-editsection" len="328" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa existed after the end of the Second World War from five provinces. After the South African border war was South-West Africa (now Namibia) independent and still remained four provinces over. Until 1994South Africa existed from only four provinces: Transvaal, free State, Natal and the Cape Province. Since the emergence of the democratic South Africa in 1994, the country is divided into nine provinces: <p lang="en" len="189" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Also for 1994 there were parts of mainly the Transvaal Province and Cape Province, which-for example, for sports purposes were broken up and match the new provinces.

===Cities<span class="mw-editsection" len="324" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p lang="en" len="41" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The three main cities of South Africa are:
 * Gauteng was known as southern Transvaal (also known as the PWV area = Pretoria, Witwatersrand, it forms the Vaal Triangle (sometimes also called Vereeniging )).
 * Limpopo was Northern Transvaal (also called Northern Province immediately after formation).
 * Northwest was Western Transvaal, and
 * Mpumalanga was Eastern Transvaal
 * Also existed in the Cape Province, North, Eastern and North-Western Cape already as a sport.

<p lang="en" len="56" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Some other places in South Africa include:
 * Pretoria (administrative power)
 * Cape Town (legislative power)
 * Bloemfontein (judiciary)

<p lang="en" len="8" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">See also:
 * Durban, main port city in South Africa
 * Johannesburg, most important economic city
 * Kimberley, mining, among other diamonds
 * Nelspruit, agriculture
 * Pietermaritzburg, capital of the province of KwaZulu-Natal
 * Pietersburg<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" len="165" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [14] also, Polokwane.
 * Port Elizabeth, port city
 * Soweto, the largest township near Johannesburg
 * Ulundi

===Climate<span class="mw-editsection" len="326" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Climate map of South Africa<p lang="en" len="110" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:inherit;font-size:11px;"><span len="2" style="border-style:none;color:rgb(255,255,0);">█ █  desert climate
 * List of South African cities
 * List of major South African cities
 * List of municipalities in South Africa

<p lang="en" len="104" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:inherit;font-size:11px;"><span len="2" style="border-style:none;color:rgb(0,128,0);">█ █  steppe climate

<p lang="en" len="124" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:inherit;font-size:11px;"><span len="2" style="border-style:none;color:rgb(0,0,128);">█ █  subtropical climate, dry summers

<p lang="en" len="127" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:inherit;font-size:11px;"><span len="2" style="border-style:none;color:rgb(0,0,213);">█ █  subtropical climate, all year rain

<p lang="en" len="122" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:inherit;font-size:11px;"><span len="2" style="border-style:none;color:rgb(128,0,0);">█ █  temperate climate with summer rain

<p lang="en" len="114" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:inherit;font-size:11px;"><span len="2" style="border-style:none;color:rgb(213,0,0);">█ █  temperate climate (cool) <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The climate in South Africa is largely semi-desert, subtropical along the coast. Sunny during the day, at night cool. January is the warmest month and July the coldest.

<p lang="en" len="171" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The climate of South Africa is determined by altitude, distance to the sea, the prevailing winds (the air currents), the direction of the mountain ranges and ocean currents.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa generally has a warm temperate climate with little rainfall and lots of Sun. Because South Africa on a high plateau from 2000 to 1000 meters altitude, knows the many differences between the average temperatures in the South and North.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa is an arid country, has high temperatures and low humidity in the winter and so a high evaporation. This is the cause of a major environmental problem in South Africa: the shortage of fresh water. There are few lakes in South Africa (five total) and little rivers. The people consume more water than there is. Also is there of al the few available water much polluted by agriculture and cities. This could be prevented by better distribution of water available, for example by applying drip irrigation in agriculture.However, the insecurity discourages many such initiatives.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Also the air currents take care of the differences between the average temperatures in South Africa. On the East Coast Agulhasstroomprevails. This is very moist and flows between the Drakensberg Mountains and Natal. On the west coast the Benguela currentflows. This is a stream that contains a lot of cold air. By these flows, there is a difference in annual temperature of up to 6 degrees between Port Nolloth in the West and Durban in the East. This while both on the same latitude, 30 ° Z.B. In Durban is 1000 mm precipitation per year and in Port Nolloth but 100 mm.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Below are the climate types of the different areas of South Africa. The summer knows no extremely high temperatures and winter low extremely low temperatures. Also it is seen that there almost everywhere precipitation falls in the summer. According to the Köppen system is 28% South Africa's humid. There is there 600 – 1000 mm precipitation per year. 49% is subaride, there is 200 – 600 mm of precipitation per year. The remaining 23% is desert-like. In those areas falls less than 200 mm of precipitation per year.

<p lang="en" len="31" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The climate type in South Africa:

===Flora and fauna<span class="mw-editsection" len="333" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Winter Flower: Aloe.(Photo j. Folmer 1999)<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa has more than 20,000 different types of plants, about 10% of all knownspecies of plants on Earth, a particularly large biodiversity. South Africa's most common grassland biomeis, especially on the Highveld, where the vegetation is dominated by different grasses, low shrubs and thorns trees, especially camels Thorn and whitethorn. The vegetation is even thinner in the Northwest as a result of the low rainfall. There are several water saving Succulents such as Aloe's and nabomen in the very hot and dry Namaqualand.
 * The subtropical hinterland, the so-called Baloch and lageveld. The maximum summer temperature is 30 ° c and the minimum winter temperature stays above freezing. The rainfall is 1000 mm in the East and up to 500 mm in the north-western part. The vegetation consists of savanna, subtropical forest with palms. This difference in vegetation has to do with the fallout, which is more in the East. As a result, the vegetation is tropical forest here with palms.
 * The subdued domestic region. Mean by this one known as the Highveld. This is located at an altitude of 1500 meters. In the summer it can be up to 30 ° c and in the winter it can sometimes freeze. The rainfall is between 800 and 500 mm per year. The vegetation in this region is savanna and steppe.
 * The subtropical East Coast region. Here speaks with over the coastal plain of Mozambique to Port Elisabeth. Here it is in the African summers [in Netherlands than winter] there is a very hot and humid climate. In the South African winter, the warm and very dry. The rainfall is 1000 to 700 mm per year.
 * The fourth climate zone is the southern Cape. In this zone are the towns of George and Knysna. Here flows also the Agulhas current. As a result, this region receives rain all year round. As a result, the rainfall is at least 1000 mm on average per year. In the southern Cape, there is warm summers and mild winters. Kent by the many rainfall here many forests.
 * The semi-arid region. This large portion of the Interior has hot summers and cold winters. And also hot days and cold winters, which one sees also in deserts. There is rain in the summer, not much, and average rainfall is about less than 500 mm per year. The vegetation that one encounters here is mainly steppe.
 * Furthermore, South Africa still has the arid region. This zone is located in the West of South Africa. In this section the evaporation is greater than the precipitation. The rainfall is less than 125 mm on average per year. Also here there are hot summers and cold winters.
 * The last region is the winter rain area in the South-Western Cape. Most precipitation falls in this area in the South African winter. At this time of the year the area has less sunshine and therefore also less evaporation. In this wet winters the temperature is an average of 12 ° c. And in dry summers the temperature is around 28 ° c. In this climate, come spring special plants for. These species form their own flora realm of the plant Kingdom that is called Capensis . There are on this small area of the Earth's surface (i.e. 0.04% of the Earth's surface) of the 8500 species of plants, 6000 for anywhere else. There is 250 to 3000 millimeters of precipitation per year. By professional irrigation can very good wine plants grow. This is the area where the famous South African wines come from.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The grass-and thorns Savannah slowly changes in Bali in the northeastern part of the country, with denser vegetation. There is also a significant amount of African Baobab trees in this area, near the northern tip of the Kruger park.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" len="165" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [15]  the Kruger park is one of the most famous game reserves of South Africa and the continent. Some other great and well-known national parks of South Africa, are the Agulhaspark, the Augrabiespark, the Karoopark, Rietvlei Nature Reserve, and Mpofu nature reserve.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa is also rich of wildlife. The big five is the name for the five largest animals that make nice for the camera has: the lion, the elephant, the Buffalo, the Leopard and the Rhinoceros.The big five is originally the name of the five animal species that were most dangerous to chase. The name is derived from the hunt, but it is still widely used in the tourism sector as being the animal species that like to be seen.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In addition to the big five, the country is still a great wealth of animals, including two types of wildebeest, impala, giraffe, Hippo and spotted hyena. Some animal species are endemic to South Africa, which means that they are found nowhere else in the world. An example is the critically endangered hottentot h, which only occurs in the Karoo . ==Demographics<span class="mw-editsection" len="329" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ===Demographics<span class="mw-editsection" len="342" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">According to the last census (2011) South Africa had 51.770.560 inhabitants. According to the latest estimate from 2013 had the country almost 53 million inhabitants. The life expectancy is 54.2 years.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa is a multi-ethnic and multicultural country. It has the largest of origin European and Indian people of Africa. At the 2000 census of 2011 was 79% of the population, 9% Black, 9% mixed-race blankand 3% were Indian or Asian. ===Language<span class="mw-editsection" len="323" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In South Africa, many different languages are spoken. Eleven of them are official. After South Africa India has the most official languages in the world. In the Constitution of South Africa also States that the Khoi, San, Nama and the South African sign language be promoted, but these languages are not official. Other non-official languages are German, French, Portuguese, Lobedu, Fanagalo, Northern Ndebele and Phuthi. The allocation by the official languages was in 2011 as follows: Xhosa , Zulu 22% 16% 13%, Afrikaans , Northern Sotho , English 9% 9% 8%, Tswana , Sesotho 7% 4%, Tsonga , Swazi Venda 3%, 2%, 2% South Ndebele .

<p lang="en" len="375" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The lingua franca, including in education, the media, the business community and Government agencies, it is English that since the end of apartheid has taken over the role of the African.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Of the population older than 15 years 86.4% can read and write. Of men is that 87% and 85.7% of women. (Estimate 2003)

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The African has developed from the Dutch and there is closely related. The Dutch from 1910 to 1983 was one of the official languages of South Africa. ===Religion<span class="mw-editsection" len="326" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa has a vibrant religious experience. Even in the smallest villages were built by the different beliefs several churches there. According to the latest South African census of 2001 was 79.7% of the population is Christian. This 11.1% at the Zion Christian Church, Pentecostal Church, 8.2% to 7.1% at the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, 6.8% 6.7% at the Dutch Reformed Church, 3.8% at the Anglican Church and heard 36% at other Christian churches. Most white Afrikaners traditionally belong to the Calvinist-Protestant Dutch Reformed Church. In recent years however, more and more about steps they on the African Protestant Church (APK).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">1.5% of the population and 1.3% the islam hung to the Hinduism. 15.1% of South Africans was not-faithful, 2.3% had a different faith and 1.4% was not clear. Many people combine Christianity with a natuurgods service. ===Crime<span class="mw-editsection" len="326" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Prison buildings on Robben Island<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In addition to the aids epidemic in South Africa is crime since the end of apartheid, regarded as a national crisis. South Africa is one of five countries worldwide where organised crime has a negative impact on the economy and high additional costs. According to a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce has nearly 15 percent of the companies that participated in the research stopped new investments due to the high crime rates.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The murder figures in South Africa In 1995 were the highest in the world-there were an average of two people per hour killed. The provinces of Gauteng and Western Cape are most hit, Johannesburg was even called the murder capital of the world . In an examination of the United Nations, carried out between 1998-2000, South Africa was ranked second for murder and robbery and on the first for rape. The high crime rate causes the upper-and middle class moving away from the cities and are going to live in closed areas of the suburbs, as a result, the cities are getting more explosive. This trend is present in every town in South Africa, but strongest in Johannesburg. The insecurity also ensures that many people completely moving away from South Africa to seek their salvation in America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Also outside of the major cities it is not safe, since the 1990s, there are many farms and outdoor places raided. The victims are mainly white farmers with their wives and children.From 1994 to 2008 lost around the 3,000 whites plaasmoordeduring such a life.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" len="165" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [16]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2008, South Africa in second place looked at murder figures, right after Colombia <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17" len="165" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[17], in 2008 there were nearly 22,000 people were murdered in South Africa, representing over 60 murders a day.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18" len="165" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [18]  the number of recorded rapes is more than 50,000, that is South Africa around the world on the second place after the United States.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19" len="165" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [19]  the total number of recorded crimes in 2008 amounted to 2.683.849.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20" len="165" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [20]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Trafficking in narcotic drugs since the end of apartheid celebrates likewise rampant in the country. Cape Town now serves in addition to Lagos in Nigeria as one of the South American and Asian invoerhavens head of cartels on narcotic drugs in Africa. South Africa is one of the most important countries for international trade in narcotic drugs and is also the largest producer of hashish become. There is there already in 1994 hashish worth 45 billion rand on 83,000 hectares cultivated. ==Economy<span class="mw-editsection" len="327" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa is a developing country with an average income to world standards and a large amount of mineral resources. The financial, legal, communications, energy and transport sectors are well developed, the South African stock market is among the 10 largest in the world, and also the country's infrastructure is well developed.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The unemployment is however without prejudice to high by 26%, and the economic problems from the time of the apartheid, poverty and lack of economic power of weaker sections of the population, are still unresolved.Crime, corruption and also aids are major problems.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Government seeks to promote economic growth and foreign investment to ease the labour laws, to speed up the privatisation and the Government to reduce expenditure. These plans met with strong opposition from the trade union movement.

<p lang="en" len="72" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">(dates below are estimates from 1999, unless stated otherwise):

===Agriculture<span class="mw-editsection" len="327" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The favorable climate and the fertile soil that South Africa has a comparative advantage in the agricultural sector. The South African agricultural sector contributes an average of 3 to 4 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and together with the agro-industry up to 14 to 20 percent. In 2003, the total gross value of South Africa's agricultural sector almost 69 billion rand (8.6 billion euros). The sector provides almost all of the local need for food, beverage and tobacco processing. ===Fisheries<span class="mw-editsection" len="327" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa has one of the largest fishing industry in these countries in Africa. Fishing does not play a large role in the South African economy, despite the fact that the country has a coastline of more than 3,000 kilometers. The South African fishing industry stands since the late 1960s in a downward spiral. Fishing amounted to almost 2 million tonnes in the late 1960s, now is there annually between the 500,000 to 600,000 tons (including crustaceans and molluscs) landed. These quantities in recent years remain almost the same. The main causes for the decline include overfishing of the South African fishing grounds and the extension of the territorial zone to 200 miles. ===Poverty<span class="mw-editsection" len="326" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">According to the United Nations Development Programme in South Africa 26.2% of the population lives on less than 1.25 U.s. dollars per day.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21" len="165" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [21]  The CIA World Factbook estimated that in 2000, 50% of the population lived under the poverty line .<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22" len="165" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [22] ===Tourism<span class="mw-editsection" len="327" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Tourism is since the end of the 20th century has become a very important economic factor in South Africa. In 2005, the share of tourism of the gross domestic product estimated at more than 7%. Major attractions in the country include:
 * GDP (PPP): $ 576.4 billion (2006)
 * GDP growth: 4.6%
 * Per capita GNP: $ 12100
 * 5% GNP about distribution sectors: agriculture, industry 35%, services 60%
 * Distribution of income about percentiles: lowest 10%: 1.1%, highest 10%: 45.9% (1994)
 * Inflation: 5% (q: 2006)
 * Working population: 16 million people (2006)
 * Labor force to sectors: agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45%
 * Unemployment: 26%
 * State budget (estimate fiscal year 1994/1995):
 * revenue: $ 30.5 billion
 * expenditures: $ 38 billion, of which $ 2.6 billion cost of capital
 * Industries: mining (World's largest producer of Platinum, Gold and chromium), automobiles, metal, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, food
 * Industrial production growth rate: 4.5% (2005)
 * Electricity production: 215.9 billion kWh (2005)
 * Sources of electricity: 92,09% fossil fuels , hydropower , nuclear power 0.83% 7,08% (1998)
 * Electricity use: 197.4 billion kWh (2005)
 * Electricity exports: 10.14 billion kWh (2003)
 * Electricity import: 6739 billion kWh (2003)
 * Agriculture: corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables, poultry, cattle, sheep
 * Exports: $ 28 billion
 * Export products: Diamond, Gold, metals and minerals, machinery
 * Export partners: Italy, United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Germany (1997)
 * Imports: $ 26 billion
 * Import products: machinery, food products, chemicals, petroleum products
 * Import partners: United States, Germany, Japan , United Kingdom
 * Debt-external: $ 44.33 billion (2005)
 * Development assistance: received: $ 676.3 million (year not given)
 * Currency: 1 Rand (R) = 100 cents. (0,0885 €)
 * Exchange rate: 1 EUR = 9.1 ZAR
 * Fiscal year: 1 april-31 March

==Culture<span class="mw-editsection" len="326" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ===Points Of Interest<span class="mw-editsection" len="338" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Table Mountain as seen from Cape Town*Table Mountain ===Public Holidays<span class="mw-editsection" len="329" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Food and drinks<span class="mw-editsection" len="334" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Biltong, dried strips of meat, is typical South African<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The cuisine of South Africa is characterized by the large number of influences of African, European and Asian cultures. On the one hand, the South African cuisine back on the cooking art of the indigenous peoples of South Africa such as the Khoisan, the Xhosa, Zulu and Sotho. On the other hand, the various cuisines of the settlers and immigrants, but also of the slaves and servants, had a major influence on the South African cuisine. The South Africans are known for their penchant for the barbecue (braai in the African). Meat takes a prominent position in the South African cuisine.
 * The Kruger National Park
 * Cape Town with Table Mountain and the Cape of good hope
 * The Cape Winelands in Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl
 * Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand
 * The Garden route
 * Sandy beaches on the Indian Ocean at Durban
 * The Drakensberg
 * The Blyde River Canyon
 * Sun City with Pilanesberg National Park near the
 * Cape of good hope
 * Robben Island
 * Kruger national park
 * New Year's Day 1 January
 * Mensenrechtendag 21 March
 * Good Friday (Easter weekend) april (changing date)
 * Easter Monday april (changing date)
 * Freedom Day 27 april
 * Labor day 1 may
 * Youth Day 16 June
 * National Women's day 9 August
 * Erfenisdag 24 september
 * Reconciliation Day 16 december
 * Christmas day 25 december
 * Boxing day 26 december

<p lang="en" len="797" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Typical South African dishes and foods are melktert, biltong, rooibos tea and different kinds of stews (potjies in Afrikaans).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">South Africa is also an important wine-producing country. The viticulture knows there since the end of apartheid a very large bloom. ===Sports<span class="mw-editsection" len="324" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The major sports in South Africa are soccer, rugby, cricket and boxing. Famous athletes from the country include Jacques Kallis (one of the best allrounders in cricket), Makhaya Ntini (the best black cricketer), Jody Scheckter ( Formula 1 world champion in 1979), Olympic swimming champions Roland Mark Schoeman and Ryk Neethling, golfers Gary Player and Ernie Els, cyclist Robert Hunter and the football players Steven Pienaar, Matthew Booth and Benedict McCarthy.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In the years of apartheid South Africa was boycotted, making it to many major sporting events could not participate. Of great symbolic value was the 1995 rugby World Cup. In own country became the world championSouth African rugby team, and the images of president Nelson Mandela, who, dressed in the shirt of the national team, the Webb Ellis Cup handed over to Captain Francois Pienaar, are etched in the collective memory.Also in 2007, world champion South Africa rugby.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa found it in place. The opening match and final were played in Soccer City, the largest stadium in the country. Also in 2010 the World Cup BMX found place in Pietermaritzburg. ===Media<span class="mw-editsection" len="324" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p lang="en" len="109" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">A country like South Africa where many different languages are spoken, counts a large number of radio stations.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Large Afrikaans daily newspapers are those citizen Image,, That Son and the people's journal.
 * South African Broadcasting Corporation, the State broadcaster SABC 1, SABC channels, responsible for the 2 and SABC3. The programming on SABC 1 is completely in English. On SABC 2 and 3 for the main other languages such as Zulu, Afrikaans, Xhosa provide programming such as news and soap opera episodes. The Afrikaans soap opera 7de Laan (Sewende laan) is an example of this.
 * M-Net
 * DStv Satellite TV
 * kykNET Satellite TV
 * ASTV African Satellite Tv
 * e.TV
 * Wild Coast FM

<p lang="en" len="683" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Important in the distribution of African film is Film Resource Unit that also takes on social functions as the screening of films in remote areas and giving film training and the Organization of film festivals. ==Traffic and transport<span class="mw-editsection" len="337" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Politics<span class="mw-editsection" len="327" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p lang="en" len="8" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">See also:
 * Railways (1995)
 * total: 21.431 km
 * 20995 km with a track gauge of which of 1067 mm (Cape gauge) (9,087 km electrified).
 * There were also lines until 2011 on still narrower track of 610 mm (the so-called tweevoetsspoor).
 * Since 2010, the Gautrain-line, on 1435 mm (standard gauge), since the completion of the line from Johannesburg to Pretoria in 2012 with a total length of 80 km
 * Roads (EST. 1998)
 * {| class="noprint" len="1012" style="font-size:13px;margin-top:0.1em;margin-bottom:0.1em;margin-left:2em;padding:2px;background:transparent;"
 * - len="986"
 * len="975"|See also: national roads in South Africa
 * }
 * total: 534.131 km
 * of which 63.027 km paved:
 * which highways: 2032 km
 * Pipe Lines
 * crude petroleum: 931 km
 * petroleum products: 1748 km
 * natural gas: 322 km
 * Ports
 * Most important ports are Port Elizabeth, Durban, Cape Town, East London, Richards Bay and Saldanha.
 * Airports (1999 estimate)
 * Total: 744
 * Of which-with paved runways: 143
 * Length > 3047 m: 9 (all paved)
 * Length 2438 – 3047 m: 4 (all paved)
 * Length 1524 – 2437 m: 79 (46 hardened)
 * Length 914 – 1523 m: 376 (73 hardened)
 * < Length 914 m: 276 (11 hardened)
 * International airports: OR Tambo (Johannesburg), Cape Town (Cape Town) and King Shaka (Durban).
 * Full name: Republic of South Africa
 * Abbreviation: RSA
 * License Plate: ZA
 * Data code: SF
 * Government type: Federal Republic
 * Capital: Pretoria (administrative power), Cape Town (legislative) and Bloemfontein (judiciary)
 * Independence: 31 May 1910 (from the United Kingdom)
 * National holiday: freedom day, 27 april (1994)
 * Constitution: 10 december 1996 (ratified before the Constitutional Court on 4 december 1996, signed by president Mandela on 10 december, effective from 3 February 1997, implemented in phases)
 * Legal system: based on Roman legal system through the Dutch and British common law. Decision of the International Court of Justice accepts with some reserved
 * Conscription: universal for 18-year-olds
 * Executive:
 * Head of State: President Jacob Zuma (since 9 May 2009), Executive Vice President Baleka Mbete (since the same date)
 * Head of Government: President Jacob Zuma, Executive Vice President Kgalema Motlanthe
 * Government: is appointed by the president
 * Elections: the president is elected by the Parliament for five years; last elections were on May 7, 2014
 * Election result: Jacob Zuma re-elected as president
 * Government coalition: ANC, SACP (South African Communist Party) and VP +
 * Legislative power:
 * Bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Assembly (National Assembly / National Meeting; 400 seats; members elected for five years in universal suffrage under a system of proportional representation) and the National Council of Provinces (National Council of Provinces / National Council of Provinsies; 54 seats; 7 members elected by each of the 9 provincial councils for a period of 5 years; special powers to protect regional interests, such as cultural and linguistic traditions of ethnic minorities)
 * Last elections: May 7, 2014 for both National Assembly if the National Council of Provinces
 * Election Results:
 * National Assembly:
 * 62,15%-249 seats- African National Congress (ANC)
 * 22, 23%-89 seats- Democratic Alliance (DA)
 * 6.35%-25 seats- Economic freedom fighters (EFF)
 * 2.4%-10 seats- Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)
 * 1.57-6 seats- National Freedom Party (NFP)
 * 1%-4 seats- United Democratic Movement (UDM)
 * 0.9%-4 seats- Freedom front Plus (VF +)
 * 0.67%-3 seats- Congress of the People (Cope)
 * 0.57%-3 seats- African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP)
 * 0.53%-2 seats- African Independent Congress (AIC)
 * 0.28%-2 seats- Agang
 * 0.27%-1 seats- Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC)
 * 0.17%-1 seat- African people's Convention (APC)
 * National Council of provinces:
 * 60 seats-ANC
 * 20 seats-DA
 * 7 seats-EFF
 * 1 seats-IFP
 * 1 seats-NFP
 * 1 seat-UDM
 * Judicial power: Constitutional Court (Constitutional Court / Grondwetlike Court); Court of appeal (Supreme Court of Appeals / Appèlhof); South Africa's Supreme Court (High Court of South Africa / Hooggeregshof of South Africa); Magistrate Courts Police Courts (/ Landdroshowe)
 * Political pressure groups with leaders
 * COSATU - Association of South African trade unions Zwelinzima Vavi-(allied with the ANC)
 * SACP - South African Communist Party Blade Nzimande (allied with the ANC)
 * SANCO - South African National Civics Organization -Mlungisi Hlongwane
 * Membership of international organizations: ACP, AfDB, BIS, C, WCO, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM,ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OAU, PCA, SACU, SADC, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UN Universal Postal Union,, World Health Organization, WFTU, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WTO, Zangger Committee

==Education<span class="mw-editsection" len="328" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == University of Pretoria<p lang="en" len="52" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">There are several universities in South Africa such as:
 * List of Heads of Government of South Africa
 * Nelson Mandela (anti-apartheid leader, president)
 * Frederik Willem de Klerk (president)
 * Thabo Mbeki (president of 1999 to 2008)
 * Albert Luthuli (anti-apartheid leader)

==International relations<span class="mw-editsection" len="342" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Famous people<span class="mw-editsection" len="335" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==
 * University of Cape Town
 * Noordwes-Universiteit
 * Vir Christelike Hoër Potchefstroomse University John -now part of North-West University
 * Rhodes University
 * University of Fort Hare
 * University of Pretoria
 * University of Stellenbosch
 * University of Wes-Cape country
 * University of the Witwatersrand
 * University of South Africa
 * University of the free State
 * International conflicts
 * Swaziland calls for negotiations on recovering from nearby areas that are inhabited mainly by Swazis or earlier of the Kingdom were part
 * Illegal drugs
 * Transit of heroin and cocaine
 * Increasing consumption of cocaine
 * Largest sales area in South Africa for quaaludes, known as Mandrax. Illegal import from India via East Africa
 * Production of marijuana
 * Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, Nobel Peace Prize 1993
 * Steve Biko, champion of civil rights
 * Pedro Crous, mycologist
 * Casper de Vries, actor and comedian
 * Peter Goldblatt, botanist
 * Robert Hunter, cyclist
 * Theuns Jordaan, singer
 * Johannes Kerkorrel, singer
 * Frederik Willem de Klerk, president, Nobel Peace Prize 1993
 * Benedict McCarthy, footballer
 * Johannes Meintjes, writer, painter
 * Aaron Mokoena, footballer
 * Steven Pienaar, footballer
 * Johannes van Staden, botanist
 * Charlize Theron, actress
 * Manfred Mann, pop-and rock musician
 * Desmond Tutu, the Anglican Church's first black Archbishop, Nobel Peace Prize 1984
 * Elrio van Heerden, footballer who currently plays for K.v.c. Westerlo
 * Braam van Wyk, botanist
 * Ben-Erik van Wyk, botanist
 * Robbie Wessels, singer, actor
 * Chris Chameleon, actor, singer
 * J.M. Coetzee, writer, Nobel Prize in literature 2003
 * Nadine Gordimer, writer, Nobel Prize in literature 1991
 * Antjie Krog, poet
 * André Brink, writer
 * Laurens van der Post, writer
 * Breyten Breytenbach, writer and painter
 * Marlene van Niekerk, writer
 * Jack Parow, singer
 * Hans Vonk, football goalkeeper
 * Oscar Pistorius, runner
 * Candice Swanepoel, model
 * Ingrid Jonker, poet