Africa A to Z: Continental and Country Profiles: Third Edition

South Africa

COUNTRY PROFILES A-Z 352 Africa A-Z: Continental and Country Profiles | Africa Institute of South Africa South Africa Orientation The Republic of South Africa occupies the larger part of Africa south of the Tropic of Capricorn which traverses South Africa’s Limpopo Province. Independent Lesotho is enclosed by South African territory and independent Swaziland nearly so. Other neighbours are, from west to east, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Located between the Atlantic and Indian oceans, South Africa has an almost 3 000 km coastline. Some 2 000 km southeast of Cape Town, in the Indian Ocean, are the tiny Prince Edward and Marion islands which are uninhabited South African territories. Much of South Africa is plateau country with the highest part (the highveld) to the east where the land rises to about 2 000 m and higher. The highest peaks are found in the Drakensberg range, especially the section forming the border between Lesotho and South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Province. The plateau is drained by the westward-flowing Orange (Gariep) River and its main tributary, the Vaal, and by the eastward-flowing Limpopo. A myriad of relatively short rivers drain the southern and eastern seaboards. The coastal areas offer a variety of landscapes, ranging from the rather flat and arid west coast to the rolling green hills of Kwazulu-Natal on the other side of the sub-continent. The southern tip, around Cape Town, has a Mediterranean climate and is renowned for its floral variety and viticulture. The interior plateau is covered by vast expanses of semi-arid Karoo vegetation in the south and west and undulating grasslands in the central highveld region. Savanna bushveld extends over the subtropical areas to the north of the highveld. The plateau rocks contain a great variety of minerals but soils tend to be more fertile in the coastal areas. South Africa has a temperate climate with hot summers (September – April) and mild to cold winters. The rains come in the summer season, though the Western Cape Province has wet winters. Mean annual rainfall decreases from over 700 mm in the eastern parts to as little as 50 mm along the west coast. Consequently, the largest population concentrations are in the eastern half of the country. South Africa is generally a dry country and much is being done to conserve and distribute water. Nature conservation has reached an advanced stage in South Africa which has numerous wildlife areas attracting visitors from all over the world. There are some 17 national parks (including the Kruger Park) and a large number of provincial nature COUNTRY PROFILES A-Z Africa Institute of South Africa | Africa A-Z: Continental and Country Profiles 353 reserves and wilderness areas. Botanical and zoological gardens and aquariums are to be found mainly in the urban areas. People South Africa’s total population in mid-2002 was almost 45.5 million – the largest population in the Southern African region and the fifth largest in Africa. South Africa’s population is historically sub-divided into four broad population groups: Black 78%, White 10%, Coloured (mixed origin) about 9% and Asian (mainly Indian) about 3%. Each of these broad groups comprises various cultural or language groups. The black people speak languages belonging to the Bantu linguistic family which is widely distributed in sub-equatorial Africa. Zulu is the largest of the Bantu languages in South Africa with about 23% of the total population speaking it as a home language. Zulu is followed by Xhosa (18%), North Sotho (9%), Sesotho and Setswana (each 8%), and Tsonga, Venda, Swazi and Ndebele (none of these spoken by more than 5% of the total). In addition to the nine Bantu languages, the Afrikaans and English languages, spoken as home languages by 14 and 10% of the population respectively, enjoy official status. Both languages are spoken mainly in the white and coloured communities, though English is the country’s main lingua franca. South African society is predominantly Christian with members of the various Protestant and African indigenous churches in the majority. Non-Christian minorities include Jews, Muslims, Hindus and adherents of traditional ethnic faiths. Economy During the 20th century South Africa developed the most advanced economy in Africa. This economy is based on mineral South Africa COUNTRY PROFILES A-Z 354 Africa A-Z: Continental and Country Profiles | Africa Institute of South Africa and industrial production, commercial and financial services and extensive...