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With
post-apartheid optimism melding South Africa into a new society
of energy and significance, travellers are returning to a
place that has been off the trail for most of the century.
Political violence seems to be a thing of the past and among
the vast majority of people there is a desire to get on with
building a new nation. It's an exciting time to visit.
For
the first-time traveller to Africa, South Africa is not a
bad place to start: the infrastructure is constantly improving,
the climate is kind and there are few better places to see
Africa's wildlife. But if you want to understand the country,
you'll have to deal with the full spectrum. Poverty still
exists alongside riches, the AIDS pandemic is devastating
and violence remains a problem. It's necessary to take some
precautions: keep money and valuables out of sight; take care
when using local public transport and around railway stations;
and note that car hijackings and armed robbery are risks in
parts of the country. But balancing the downside is the almost
tangible sense of pride and hope across all communities (rich
and poor, black and white), particularly at the way South
Africa has emerged from the nightmare of apartheid.
Full
country name: The Republic of South Africa
Area: 1,221,037 sq km
Population: 43.1 million
Capitals: Pretoria (administrative); Bloemfontein (judicial)
and Cape Town (legislative).
People: 77% black, 10% white (60% of whites are of Afrikaner
descent, most of the rest are of British descent), 8% mixed
race, 2.5% of Indian or Asian descent.
Languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Pedi, English, Tswana,
Sotho, Tsonga, Swati, Venda, Ndebele.
Religion: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and traditional
religions.
Government: Republic and independent member of the British
Commonwealth
President: Thabo Mbeki
GDP:
US$146 billion
GDP per head: US$2133
Annual growth: 0.9%
Inflation: 7.8%
Major industries: Mining, finance, insurance, food processing
Major trading partners: USA, UK, Germany, Japan, Italy
South
Africa Flight from UK
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