| About South Africa | ||
| Society | ||
| Population | ||
| Some 46,6 million people live in South Africa. Almost 77% are black (or African), 11% white and 9% "coloured", the local label for people of mixed African, Asian and white descent. Just over half the population live in the cities. Major urban areas are: Cape Town, 2.2 million; Johannesburg, 1.9 million; Durban, 1.1 million; Pretoria, 1.1 million; Port Elizabeth, 854,000. Density 33.8 persons per square kilometer, uneven distribution; concentrations in KwaZulu-Natal (21 percent of population), Gauteng (17 percent), Eastern Cape (17 percent). It is estimated that population will double in twenty-five years. | ||
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| Ethnic Groups | ||
| The South African population consists of the following groups: the Nguni (consisting of the Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Swazi people); the Sotho-Tswana, who include the Southern, Northern and Western Sotho (Tswana people); the Tsonga; Venda; Afrikaners; English; Coloureds; Indians; and those who have immigrated to South Africa from the rest of Africa, Europe and Asia and maintain a strong cultural identity. A few members of the Khoi and the San also live in South Africa. | ||
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| Language | ||
| South Africa is a multi-lingual country. The 11 officially recognised languages are: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Xhosa, Zulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Swati, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Although English is generally understood across the country, it ranks only fifth as a spoken language. Zulu is the mother tongue of 23.8% of South Africa's estimated 46,6 million people, followed by Xhosa at 17.9%, Afrikaans at 13.4%, Sepedi at 9.4%, and English and Setswana at 8.2% each. However, most of the South Africans speak English and tourists will have little trouble communicating. Road signs and official forms are in English. The President makes his speeches in English. At any hotel, the receptionists, waiters and porters will speak English. English is the language of the cities, of commerce and banking, of government, of road signs and official documents. | ||
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| Religion | ||
| Almost 80% of South Africa's population follows the Christian faith with the largest church the indigenous Zion Christian Church, followed by the Dutch Reformed and Catholic churches. Most Whites and Coloreds, about 60% of Blacks and about 40% of Indians belong to the Christians. Other major religious groups are the Hindus, Muslims and Jews, but none has a following greater than 2%. Freedom of worship is guaranteed by the constitution, and the official policy is one of non-interference in religious practices. Church attendance in South Africa is favourable in both rural and urban areas, and the churches are well served by a large number of clerics and officials. | ||
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| Education and Literacy | ||
| Until the 1990s superior education system primarily served the racial minority. Since 1994 there are universially nine years of compulsory education, but there is still a shortage of schools and teachers. At present there is an estimated 7.17 million primary pupils, 4.59 million secondary pupils; 20,780 primary and secondary schools, of which 20,303 government operated. Literacy among all South Africans of 15years and older is estimated to exceed 71 percent. There are nineteen major universities, two correspondence and extensive vocational and technical training available. | ||
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| Health | ||
| Health problems reflect racial, class differences. AIDS: 10,351 reported cases (1996); HIV infection estimated close to 1 million. Infant mortality declining: 43.1 deaths first year per 1,000 live births (54.3 blacks, 7.3 whites). National health insurance system being phased in. | ||
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