South Africa

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INFORMATION

Capital: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial)Government: Unitary Parliamentary Constitutional Republic

Current President: Cyril Ramaphosa

Economy:

  • Emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that is the 18th largest in the world; and modern infrastructure supporting a relative efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region.

Population: 55,380,210 (2018)

Land Size: 1.22 million sq km (470,693 sq miles)

Major Ethnic Groups:

  • African: 80.2%
    • Zulu
    • Xhosa
    • Sotho
    • Tswana
    • Venda
    • Tsonga
  • Coloured: 8.8%
  • White: 8.4%
  • Indian/Asian: 2.5%
 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%
    • Indigenous African Religions
    • Hinduism
    • Judaism
  • Unspecified: 1.4%
  • None: 15.1%

Language(s):

  • IsiZulu (official): 23.82%
  • IsiXhosa (official): 17.64%
  • Afrikaans (official): 13.35%
  • Sepedi (official): 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%

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RECENT NEWS

  • Wed - Aug 21, 2019: 'Land Reform to Retain Dignity of Blacks' - AllAfrica News: South Africa
    [CAJ News] Mbombela -LAND reforms will bring dignity to the majority black South Africans, the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, has said.
  • Wed - Aug 21, 2019: Mdantsane Community Divided Over Suspended Ward Councillor - AllAfrica News: South Africa
    [GroundUp] Embattled Mdantsane Ward 20 Councillor Ntombizodwa Gamnca (ANC) called a general meeting on Sunday, last week. But residents disrupted the meeting at NU7 community hall, throwing chairs and shouting. They also tried to block entry to the hall with burning tyres. Other residents defended the councillor and asked her to address them.
  • Wed - Aug 21, 2019: Western Cape Policing Programme Falling Between the Cracks, Say Provincial Legislators - AllAfrica News: South Africa
    [Daily Maverick] The Policing Needs and Priorities programme in the Western Cape has had nothing but challenges. How can it be successful, asked members of the provincial legislature.
  • Wed - Aug 21, 2019: On the Money - Political Funding Transparency Will Make It Easier to Thwart Corruption - AllAfrica News: South Africa
    [Daily Maverick] We should not turn a blind eye to how much money CR17 raised and spent during the campaign for the ANC presidency...the revelations shine a spotlight on the outsized influence of money on SA politics.
  • Wed - Aug 21, 2019: #CR17 Email Leaks - Separating the Myths From the Facts (II) - AllAfrica News: South Africa
    [Daily Maverick] The fallout from the disclosure of records related to President Cyril Ramaphosa's 2017 campaign to win the ANC presidency continues. Following leaked emails between Ramaphosa and campaign organisers, what looks like the leaked bank records of the Ramaphosa campaign account have also been doing the rounds. And, in a twist few would have predicted, the first two scalps claimed by this messy saga have belonged to EFF MPs.