Welcome to South Africa

Before you read

What does the name South Africa make you think of? Write down as many things as you can. There are no right or wrong answers.

Welcome to South Africa

What do you have in common with people from South Africa? The climate is different. The food is different. But you share some history. A long, long time ago, your ancestors moved north, and left the African continent. Africa is where we all come from – that’s why it’s known as the “cradle of humanity”.

In the past Africa had many tribes and kingdoms and people moved around when they needed to. They moved to find food, to find space for larger family groups, to fight or to join other tribes. In the 19^th century the Europeans fought both African tribes and each other in their attempt to rule the continent. They divided Africa into countries with borders that were drawn on maps. This was a very different way of viewing the world.

The Europeans believed white people were superior to others. This eventually led to apartheid, a political system in South Africa that took away the freedom and human rights of Black Africans. Millions were forced to move into so-called homelands. Education, healthcare, transport, and even the beaches were all segregated. The white minority got the best of everything. Groups such as the African National Congress (known as the ANC) fought against the system. There were also international boycotts and eventually apartheid collapsed. Nelson Mandela, who had fought for years to change the system, became the first black President of South Africa in 1994.

Do you know why modern South Africa is called a Rainbow Nation? The population stands at 55 million and is about 80% Black African, 9% Coloured (mixed race), 8.5% White and 2.5% Asian. There are 11 official languages and three capitals – Pretoria (administration), Bloemfontein (law) and Cape Town (parliament). South Africa is about the size of Norway, Sweden and Finland combined and has a long coastline, but very little water inland. South Africans spend a lot of time outdoors because of the long summers and warm temperatures. People travel from all over the world to see South African wildlife, the vast mountain plateau inland and the beautiful beaches.

There are still enormous differences between rich and poor, black and white, however. The ANC were successful freedom fighters, but many think they are not as good at running the country. Violent crime, AIDS and unemployment are just some of the problems facing South African society today. Even with Affirmative Action, a system that helps Black Africans get jobs, over a quarter of them do not have work, whereas only 7% of white people don’t. And white people have a higher level of education and earn much more – 6 times more on average. Building a new South Africa will take time.