South Africa

1 Chapter Basic Knowledge

    • Basic Knowledge

      ■ Official country name

        Republic of South Africa   English notation: Republic of South Africa   Afrikaans notation: Republiek van Suid-Afrika      
      ■National flag
      When apartheid ended in 1994, when the Mandela regime was born, it is a national flag selected and established by public offering.    
      The three colors of black, yellow, and green, which are also the color of the flag of the African National Congress (ANC), pan-African color led Mandela, and the three colors red, blue and white in Britain and the Netherlands flag of the former sect country, It is designed to become a single road integrated into Y shape. Red represents the sacrifice of blood shed in history, blue the two great seas and sky, green rich nature and farm, yellow the underground resources such as gold, and black and white the equality and peace.
       
       
       
         ■ Area · Country
        Approximately 1.22 million square kilometers (about 3.2 times of Japan)
       
       
       
      Located on the southernmost tip of the continent of Africa, it is shaped to enclose Lesotho, bordering Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, East of Mozambique and Swaziland in the north. Facing the Atlantic Ocean on the west side and the Indian Ocean from the south to the south, it has a coastline of 2,500 km in total length.
       
       
      The land shows a variety of aspects such as plains, highlands, deserts, forests. There are plains in the coastal zone in the southwestern part, but a flat plateau of 1,200 m in altitude spreads in the inland part. Also in the western part is a dry highland called the Namib Desert and Kaloo, the Kalahari Desert in the northwest, and the Drakensberg mountains ranging in altitude 2,000 m to 3,000 m in the southeastern part. 

       

       

      【Map of South Africa】

       
       
       
       
       
         Source: Travel journal Zen Tech
       

      ■ Capital city

        Pretoria (Tshwane metropolitan area)
      In South Africa, the executive branch is divided into three cities: Pretoria (Tshwane metropolitan area), legislative (National Assembly) Cape Town and Judicial Office (Supreme Court) Bloemfontein. In general, Pretoria (Tshwane), which has the executive branch and embassies of each country is located, is regarded as the capital city.  
      Pretoria is located in Gauteng province in the northeastern inland area and is located about 50 km north of the largest city of Johannesburg. The administrative division is the Tshwane metropolitan area, and the urban area population exceeds 3 million people.
       
      Origin of Pretoria 's city name is in Andries · Pretorius of Africana (Dutch immigrant) who resisted British colonial rule, historically Africana is a city, and the percentage of whites is still less than 70% It is overwhelmingly high, and many Afrikaans languages ​​are used. It is also an industrial city where heavy industry such as steel industry, automobile, machinery etc. is popular.
       

      ■Population

      Population.

      The population in 2018 was 57,792,518, concentrated along the southern and southeastern coast, and inland around Pretoria; the eastern half of the country is more densely populated than the west.

       
       
      ■Climate
      Since South Africa is located in mid latitude, there are four seasons, but since it is the southern hemisphere, it is opposite to Japan, from May to September it is winter and October to April is summer season.
       
      The climate is relatively mild throughout the year, and there are many sunny days to be said as "the country of the sun", so it is characterized by a long sunshine time. Because many of the country lies in the highlands, there are some cool places in the inland and snow is piled up in high mountains like the Drakensberg mountains. It is affected by ocean currents in the coastal area, rain falls in the summer in the east and less in the southwest.
       
       
       [Johannesburg]
       
      It is in a highland with an altitude of around 1740 m and it has a dry climate. Rainfall is around 700 mm / year, but rain hardly occurs in the winter months of May to September, and in the summer of October to April there is sudden heavy rain and it is often accompanied by lightning.
       
      【Climate of Johannesburg】 (Unit: ℃)
      　    

       

       

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      December
        Lowest Temperature 14.7 14.1 13.1 10.3 7.2 4.1 4.1 6.2 9.3 11.2 12.7 13.9
        Highest temperature 25.6 25.1 24.0 21.1 18.9 16.0 16.7 19.4 22.8 23.8 24.2 25.2
        Precipitation 125 90 91 54 13 9 4 6 27 72 117 105
      Source：World Meteorological Organization  

       

      [ Cape Town ]

       
       
      Cape Town facing the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest is warm and rainy in winter and belongs to the Mediterranean climate zone where the temperature rises and dries in the summer.
       
      [Climate of Cape Town] (Unit: ℃)
      　    

       

       

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      December
        Lowest Temperature 15.7 15.6 14.2 11.9 9.4 7.8 7.0 7.5 8.7 10.6 13.2 14.9
        Highest temperature 26.1 26.5 25.4 23.0 20.3 18.1 17.5 17.8 19.2 21.3 23.5 24.9
        Precipitation 15 17 20 41 69 93 82 77 40 30 14 17
      Source：World Meteorological Organization  

       

      [Durban]

      Durban facing the eastern Pacific Ocean is temperate throughout the year due to the influence of the Mozambique current of the warm current, rainy area is a lot in South Africa.

       
      【Climate of Durban】 (Unit: ℃)
      　    

       

       

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      December
        Lowest Temperature 21.1 21.1 20.2 17.4 13.8 10.6 10.5 12.5 15.3 16.8 18.3 20.0
        Highest temperature 27.8 28.0 27.7 26.1 24.5 23.0 22.6 22.8 23.3 24.0 25.2 26.9
        Precipitation 134 113 120 73 59 28 39 62 73 98 108 102
      Source:：World Meteorological Organization  

      ■ Time difference

       

         -7 hours (UTC + 2)

       
      It is a national standard time zone, Japan time minus 7 hours is South Africa time. For example, at noon of Japan time, 5 am in Egypt and 7 pm in Japan time are in noon in Morocco.
       
      We do not introduce daylight saving time.
       

      ■ Currency

       

      　　　Land → (abbreviation: R)

       

      1 = 7.23 yen (as of May 13, 2016)

       Currency in South Africa is named Rand (ZAR), with banknotes of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 and coins of 10c, 20c, 50c, R 1, R 2, R 5, Krugerrand. 
       
      The same currency is also used in Swaziland, Namibia and Lesotho, which are common currency areas.
       
      [Ethnic groups]
       
      South African peoples are very diverse. In addition, ethnic problems are complex, with exploitation by colonial rule, slave labor, apartheid racism and discrimination systematized.
       
      Currently, it is composed of 4 ethnic groups, which is divided into 4 ethnic groups, 80.2% for black, 8.8% for colored (mixed), 8.4% for white and 2.5% for Asian (CIA forecast for 2014).
       
       
      [Black people]
       
      It consists of many Bantu ethnic groups such as Zulu, Kosa, Soto, Tswana, indigenous peoples of the South Africa region. However, the black people are not a single ethnic group, and after the elimination of apartheid there are also new issues such as the apparent conflict between ethnic groups.
       
      [Caucasian]
       
      Mostly Africana - (such as the Netherlands) and Anglo African (British), others are a few Portuguese, Jewish and others. Since the elimination of apartheid, Africa - is decreasing due to overseas spills, and Anglo - African is on an upward trend.
       
      · Africana -
       
      Along with the rule of the "Cape colony" by the Netherlands in the 17th century, the roots of Protestant immigrants who settled in the age of religious conflict from the Netherlands (partly from France, Germany etc.), many are Afrikaans as their mother tongue .
       
      · Anglo African
       
      In the late eighteenth century England began to settle after colonizing immigrants from the UK and Ireland as roots, English is the mother tongue.
       
      [Colored]
       
      It refers to descendants born between Dutch immigrants settled in the 17th century and indigenous San and Koikoi, Malays who were taken away from Asia as slaves. Many in Northern Cape Province and Western Cape Province in eastern South Africa, Afrikaans is the mother tongue.
       
      [Asian]
       
      There are about 1 million descendants of Indian immigrants who have emigrated as workers in coal mines and sugarcane plantations, many of whom live in KwaZulu-Natal province such as Durban.
       
      Also, it is said that Chinese immigrants are also increasing in recent years.
       

      ■ Language

      Official language (11 languages) → English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Kosa, Northern Sotho (Pedi), Tswana, Sotho, Tsonga, Swazi, Venda, South Ndebek
       
      Indigenous blacks were native speakers of various languages ​​such as Zulu, Kosa and other Bantu languages. Dutch and other settlers increased the number of Afrikaans speakers developed locally based on the Dutch language, English was brought in later British colonial era and became a diverse multilingual society.
       
      In the apartheid era, only two of the official languages, English and Afrikaans were official languages, but in 1994 when apartheid ended, nine languages ​​of Bantu language were added and the official language also became 11 languages.
       
      The population ratio speaking as the mother tongue is Zulu 22.7%, Kosa 16%, Afrikaans 13.5%, English 9.6%, Northern Sotho (Pedi) 9.1%, Tswana 8%, Sotho 7.6%, Tsonga language 4.5% , Swazi language 2.5%, Venda language 2.4%, South Ndebele language 2.1% (2011 CIA forecast), Bantu language is more than English and Afrikaans.
       
      Zulu is mostly in Eastern KwaZulu-Natal Province, Kosa is in eastern Cape Province in the south, Afrikaans in Western Cape and Northern Cape in the west, there are distinctive regional features. Although most speakers of Bantu language are blacks, Afrikaans are 60% of white people and over 70% of colored, their mother tongues, British whites and Indian lines have English as their mother tongue, ethnic features There is also.
       
      Because it is regarded as a symbol of discrimination in the apartheid era, Afrikaans has a declining number of speakers and social position, and English has been recognized as the de facto official language centering on business scenes etc., black English It is said that speakers are also increasing.
       

      ■Religion

      In South Africa, Christians make up about 80% of the population. Historical background such as Zionist church, one of the African independent churches, Methodist Pentecost and Charismatic school, Netherlands reformist, Anglican church, British church, the Protestant occupies the most 36.6%, Rome Catholic 7.1 %is. In addition, other Christian sects account for 36%, sects and their distribution are diverse, many of which are fusion of traditional natural worship of Christianity and indigenous.
       
      There are also a few Muslims, Indian Hindus, Jews and others. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution.  

    • Political System in South Africa

      ■Political System

      South Africa has a Parliamentary republic, with an Executive, Legislative and Judicial branch. The executive branch includes the Chief of State, the president now is Matamela Cyril RAMAPHOSA (since 15 February 2018); Deputy President David MABUZA (26 February 2018). The president is both chief of state and head of government and has to appoint a Cabinet. Is elected by the members of the National Assembly, and the responsibilities are to act as the national leader under constitutional guidelines, standing as Commander-in-Chief of the military, and appointing the Cabinet of Ministers and justices of the highest courts. As well, the President signs bills into law, has veto power, and negotiates international treaties.

      The Legislative branch has a bicameral Parliament, of a National Council of Provinces and the National Assembly. The National Council has 90 seats; 10-member delegations appointed by each of the 9 provincial legislatures to serve 5-year terms. The Council has special powers to protect regional interests, including safeguarding cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities.  National Assembly has 400 seats; members are directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms.
      Elections of the National Council of Provinces and National Assembly are every five years, the next elections will be held in 2024.

      The Judicial Branch works independently from the legislative and executive branches. It comprises the judiciary system of the country in charge of interpreting the law in disputes and ensuring law. Consists of the Magistrates Courts, the High Courts, the Supreme Court of Appeals, and the Constitutional Court. The Supreme Court has a court president, deputy president, and 21 judges, acts as the final appeals court for non-Constitutional issues and the Constitutional Court, has the chief and deputy chief justices and 9 judges, and oversees issues concerning the interpretation of the Constitution.


       

    • History of South Africa

      The country is considered as the cradle of humankind and boasts 40% of all hominid finds on Earth. And the first landing by European explorers in Southern Africa was in 1487 by Bartolomeu Dias a Portuguese explorer. But it was until 1652 that the Dutch East India Company founded a station at what would later become Cape town. The Dutch used the port primarily to transport slaves from India, Indonesia and Madagascar to be used as laborers for the colonists. Great Britain went to war with France in 1793, both countries tried to capture the Cape so as to control the important sea route to the East, but in 1806 Cape town became a British colony, all  Flemish, German and French settlers moved to the north looking for their own land. 

      The infrastructure of the colony began to change English replaced Dutch as the language of administration; the British pound sterling replaced the Dutch rix-dollar; and newspaper publishing began in Cape Town in 1824. The slave trade was abolished in 1807, but continued to import some slaves into the Cape, due to pressure from other countries, but not enough to help with the labor problem.

      In 1867, diamonds and gold were discovered, but this led to war, due to the demand for franchise rights for English-speaking immigrants working on the new goldfields. At that time the language spoken by the elite or merchants, lawyers and landholders, was English even though the two thirds of the population settlers were Dutch or Afrikaans. The white population in the Cape numbered 240,000 by 1870s and constituted about one-third of the colony’s population.

      At this time conflicts started between Afrikaners and English speakers and in 1879 a Afrikaner Bond was created to initially represent poorer farmers as anti-British Pan-Africanism, but later it supported mainly wealthier farmers and urban professionals. The number of blacks increased between 1872 and 1894, farmers became more prosperous and more became clerks and teacher, persons qualified to vote, the Afrikaner Bond and new laws helped with black participation in electoral politics after 1884.

      Then in 1886 gold was discovered at the Witwartersrand Goldfield, this increased the demand for franchise rights for English-speaking immigrants in the goldfields as a pretext by Britain to go to war with the Transvaal and Orange Free State in 1899. The Boers resisted the British invasions, and in 1899 went to war until 1902, Britain lost more than 22 000 men and the Boers lost over 34 000 people and more than 15 000 black South Africans were killed.

      ■Union and opposition.
      In 1910, the Union of South Africa was created out of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Free State, by 1931 the union successfully gained independence from the United Kingdom, and in 1934 the United Party was formed, as the South African Party and National Party merged to form reconciliation between Afrikaners and English-speaking.

      ■The Apartheid years.
      The Apartheid started when at the end of the war the National Party was elected power and the government classified all citizens into three races with their own rights and limitations. In 1961 South Africa became an independent republic after the win of the only white’s referendum, but the racial segregation continued, with a new concern of racial purity in various legislation. The duration of brutal racial policies and oppression of civil rights was of three decades.

      ■Democratic government.
      The Elite started to be more in favor of a more inclusive society, so in April of 1994 South Africa held its first democratic election under an interim Constitution, won by Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress party (ANC). Mandela retired in 1999.
      As part of government’s commitment to secure a better quality of life for all, in 2011, the National Planning Commission published the draft for the National Development Plan: Vision for 2030. A plan intended to deal with the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. But despite a progress in the next years, rural areas are still characterized by great poverty and inequality.


       

    • Education system

      The school system is divided into primary, secondary, higher and university education, there are three main types of schools in South Africa, public government-funded schools, governing body-funded schools and private schools. All schools follow a January to November school year, with state schools adopting a four-term system and most private schools having three terms. Education is compulsory from the age of seven (1st Grade) to the age of 15 (9th Grade), and in total, the education system runs all the way from grade 0 (Kindergarten) to grade 12. From grades 10 to 12, education is optional and sometimes taught by specialist technical, community or private colleges, at the end students must take an exam known as Matric.