|
|
Advertisements:
People And SocietyNationality
Noun South African(s)
Adjective South African Ethnic groups
Black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001 census) Languages
IsiZulu (official) 23.82%, IsiXhosa (official) 17.64%, Afrikaans (official) 13.35%, Sepedi (offcial) 9.39%, English (official) 8.2%, Setswana (official) 8.2%, Sesotho (official) 7.93%, Xitsonga (official) 4.44%, siSwati (official) 2.66%, Tshivenda (official) 2.28%, isiNdebele (official) 1.59%, other 0.5% (2001 census) Religions
Protestant 36.6% (Zionist Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%), Catholic 7.1%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census) Population World Ranking: 26
48,810,427 (July 2012 est.)
Note Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected Age structure
0-14 years
28.5% (male 6,998,726/female 6,959,542) 15-64 years 65.8% (male 16,287,314/female 15,972,046) 65 years and over 5.7% (male 1,125,709/female 1,660,694) (2011 est.) Median age
Total 25.3 years
Male 25 years Female 25.6 years (2012 est.) Population growth rate World Ranking: 217
-0.412% (2012 est.)
Birth rate World Ranking: 93
19.32 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) Death rate World Ranking: 1
17.23 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) Net migration rate World Ranking: 197
-6.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population Note There is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2012 est.) Urbanization
Urban population 62% of total population (2010)
Rate of urbanization 1.2% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) Major cities - population
Johannesburg 3.607 million; Cape Town 3.353 million; Ekurhuleni (East Rand) 3.144 million; Durban 2.837 million; PRETORIA (capital) 1.404 million (2009) Sex ratio
At birth 1.02 male(s)/female
Under 15 years 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over 0.67 male(s)/female Total population 0.99 male(s)/female (2011 est.) Maternal mortality rate World Ranking: 40
300 deaths/100,000 live births (2010) Infant mortality rate World Ranking: 55
Total 42.67 deaths/1,000 live births
Male 46.54 deaths/1,000 live births Female 38.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.) Life expectancy at birth World Ranking: 219
Total population 49.41 years
Male 50.34 years Female 48.45 years (2012 est.) Total fertility rate World Ranking: 97
2.28 children born/woman (2012 est.) Health expenditures World Ranking: 47
8.5% of GDP (2009)
Physicians density
0.77 physicians/1,000 population (2004) Hospital bed density
2.84 beds/1,000 population (2005) Hiv/aids - adult prevalence rate World Ranking: 4
17.8% (2009 est.)
Hiv/aids - people living with hiv/aids World Ranking: 1
5.6 million (2009 est.)
Hiv/aids - deaths World Ranking: 1
310,000 (2009 est.)
Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk Intermediate
Food or waterborne diseases Bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever Water contact disease Schistosomiasis (2009)Education expenditures World Ranking: 47
5.4% of GDP (2009)
Literacy
Definition
Age 15 and over can read and write Total population 86.4%Male 87% Female 85.7% (2003 est.) School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
Total 13 years
Male 13 years Female 13 years (2004) Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 World Ranking: 3
Total 48.2%
Male 44.6% Female 52.5% (2009)
Comments
Add a new comment: |
Advertisement
Members area
South Africa (Pretoria):
 
GPS points from South Africa (Pretoria)
|
||||||||
Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of modern day South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the Far East, founding the city of Cape Town. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902); however, the British and the Afrikaners, as the Boers became known, ruled together beginning in 1910 under the Union of South Africa, which became a republic in 1961 after a whites-only referendum. In 1948, the National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races - which favored the white minority at the expense of the black majority. The African National Congress (ANC) led the opposition to apartheid and many top ANC leaders, such as Nelson MANDELA, spent decades in South Africa's prisons. Internal protests and insurgency, as well as boycotts by some Western nations and institutions, led to the regime's eventual willingness to negotiate a peaceful transition to majority rule. The first multi-racial elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid and ushered in majority rule under an ANC-led government. South Africa since then has struggled to address apartheid-era imbalances in decent housing, education, and health care. ANC infighting, which has grown in recent years, came to a head in September 2008 when President Thabo MBEKI resigned, and Kgalema MOTLANTHE, the party's General-Secretary, succeeded him as interim president. Jacob ZUMA became president after the ANC won general elections in April 2009. In January 2011, South Africa assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term.