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About South Africa
This is a lengthy document, but it should give you a comprehensive view of South Africa. Information has been gathered from what is considered to be reliable sources as of October 20, 2007.

South Africa is a vast, diverse country in people, places and cultures, not to mention wildlife. To sum up so many things on one web page is difficult, to say the least. I once read a tourist slogan of "a world in one country" and I don't think they were far off the mark!

South Africa is one of the most diverse and enchanting countries in the world. Exotic combinations of landscapes, people, history and culture offer a larger-than-life experience for the traveller in search of a truly unique and inspiring experience. South Africa's vast landscape includes savannahs, snow-covered mountains, forests, tropical swamps, endless beaches, tranquil rivers and bustling urban epicentres.

South Africa has a pretty nice climate; the most optimal times vary depending on what you want to do. The winter is usually best for viewing wildlife in game parks, due to the bush dying back a bit and there being less water, so the animals become more dependent on permanent waterholes. The climate in much of the highveldt is really nice year round; it is a summer rainfall area (thunderstorms) with rain rarely falling in the winter. During the day in the winter, it is warm and sunny, but at night it can get cold.

The power in this country is 220/230V (and 250V in Pretoria) A/C and 50hz; there are several styles of power outlets just to make things difficult. The most common is a 3 pin arrangement with round pins, but they also have the english style square pin 3 pin plugs in some places. A lot of appliances run off of 2 pin european/shaver type plugs, and 3 pin to this style of plug are available pretty much everywhere, e.g. in supermarkets. This is the sort of power your notebook will be able to deal with fairly easily!

Background:
South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule.

The Environment:
lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification.

Crime
South Africa is experiencing some pretty major changes in its culture since the rise of the democratically elected government in 1994. The stark contrast between the wealthy (white) and poor (black) (although this is simplistic!) lifestyle is perhaps one reason for the extremely high crime rates in the country, particularly in the major cities. Petty theft is rife all over the country, but in major cities and towns, violent crime is unfortunately very prevalent (armed car jackings and burglaries, not only of businesses but also families). Some might see it being an exaggeration, but at least in Johannesburg, almost every permanent resident has experienced it, or has family or close friends that have. Fortunately, very little of it seems to affect tourists, as long as they take sensible precautions (i.e. don't look like you are a tourist or carrying anything of particular value). Difficult for camera enthusiasts. In most places you will be fine, particularly in a group. Some areas of major towns and cities are virtual no go areas, even during the day; relying on local folk for where these areas are, and heed their warnings.
Don't let any of the above put you off visiting South Africa. If you know what to expect you can safely visit. AWA, with our South African partners, does it's best to educate our teams on safe practices while in South Africa.

Population:
44,344,136
(note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)
Birth Rate: 18.48 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death Rate: 21.32 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 61.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 65.6 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 57.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Ethnic Groups: black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001 census)
Religions:
Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, other Christian 36%, Islam 1.5%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census)
Languages: IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census)


Government in South Africa

South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary. The national, provincial and local levels of government all have legislative and executive authority in their own spheres, and are defined in the Constitution as "distinctive, interdependent and interrelated".

Operating at both national and provincial levels are advisory bodies drawn from South Africa's traditional leaders.

It is a stated intention in the Constitution that the country be run on a system of co-operative governance.

Economy - overview:
South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world; and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. However, growth has not been strong enough to lower South Africa's high unemployment rate; and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. South African economic policy is fiscally conservative, but pragmatic, focusing on targeting inflation and liberalizing trade as means to increase job growth and household income.
Johannesburg is the economic powerhouse of Africa, a busy city filled with millions of people. However, it is quite a strange one in many ways. There is an omnipresent fear of crime.
Unemployment rate: 26.2% (2004 est.).
Population below poverty line: 50% (2000 est.).
Agriculture - products:
corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products
Industries:
mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair
Currency (code): Rand (ZAR)
Exchange rates: rand per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000).

Military branches:
South African National Defense Force (SANDF): Army, Navy, Air Force, Joint Operations, Joint Support, Military Intelligence, Military Health Service (2004).
With the end of apartheid and the establishment of majority rule, former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces were integrated into the South African National Defense Force (SANDF); as of 2003 the integration process was considered complete.
South Africa has placed military along the border to stem the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing to find work and escape political persecution; managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River.

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