South+Africa

South Africa  General Facts: **Population**: 49 991 300 (2010)  **Ethnic groups**: African black 79%, descendants from European settlers (British, Dutch) 9.6%, coloured 8.9%, Asian/Indian 2.5 %  **Large cities**: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Soweto, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth **Languages**: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Xhosa, Zulu, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho and many, many more.

African native tribes have lived in the area known as South Africa for thousands of years. The Europeans reached South Africa around the 15th century. These were mainly Portuguese sailors and explorers. However, the first permanent settlers were the Dutch who established themselves in the 17th century. The Dutch settlers were called Boers, meaning farmers. Later they became known as Afrikaners.

The British arrived in the late 1700’s. A conflict and power struggle arose between the Boers and The British. The Boers established republics inland. When diamonds and gold were found, the British wanted to put these areas under British control. This lead to the Boer War (1899-1902), The British won and the Boer republics became British colonies.The various colonies in South Africa declared themselves independent in 1910. The white minority population had total control of the non-white population of which black Africans were the majority.

The Apartheid system was introduced in 1948. The white minority had control and all people were segregated by race. Nelson Mandela led the political party and black civil rights organization The African National Congress (ANC). They fought against the injustice of segregation. Nelson Mandela sat in prison for 27 years. At the time South Africa was subject to international boycotts. President F.W. de Klerk realized that apartheid had to come to an end. Nelson Mandela was released from prison and in 1994 he was elected for president in the first open and free election held in South Africa.

**Why English is spoken South****Africa**  English is spoken in South Africa because the British settlers who arrived in the 1700s brought their language with them. The British managed to do so because of their increasing dominance in South African society. English is today one of South Africa’s eleven official languages, but only a minority (10%) have English as their mother tongue. English is the dominant lingua franca when it comes to the media, government, education, science and business. Africa.

**Social issues** The most important change in Africa the last decades is the fall of the apartheid regime. However, the country is facing a handful of social issues. The crime statistics  are high in South Africa, with a high rate of murders, assaults, rapes and other crimes. Illegal immigration from neighbouring countries, AIDS and poverty are other challenges for South Africa. The country has along with many other American nations experienced a “brain drain”. A large percentage of highly educated people leave the country to work elsewhere. Brain drain slows down economic evolvement and can delay the nation in putting an end to their social issued.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sources: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_South_Africa

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Images: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.doreebonner.co.uk/pages/internationalmovers.php?content_id=95 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/nelson-mandela-59.php <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://weheartit.com/entry/3527371

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