Portal:South Africa

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South Africa
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Flag of South Africa
Flag of South Africa
Map of the South Africa within Africa.

The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of the African continent. It borders the countries of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Eswatini, and entirely surrounds Lesotho.

Hintsa Ka Phalo
Chief Hintsa OF The Gcaleka Xhosa

South Africa has the largest population of people of European descent in Africa, one of the largest Indian population outside of Asia, as well as the largest Coloured (of mixed European, Asian and African descent) community in Africa, making it one of the most ethnically diverse countries on the continent. Racial and ethnic strife between the black majority and the white minority have played a large part in the country's history and politics. The National Party began introducing the policy of apartheid after winning the general election of 1948; however, it was the same party under the leadership of F.W. de Klerk who started to dismantle it in 1990 after a long struggle by the black majority, as well as many white, coloured and Indian South Africans.

The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup d'état, and regular free and fair elections have been held since 1994, making it a regional power and among the most stable and liberal democracies in Africa.

South Africa is ranked as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank. It has the second largest economy in Africa after Nigeria, and the 34th-largest in the world. By purchasing power parity, South Africa has the 7th highest per capita income in Africa. Although being the second largest economy, South Africa has the most sophisticated economy in the continent, with modern infrastructure common throughout the country. The country is considered to be a newly industrialized country according to the World Bank classifications.

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Location of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa

KwaZulu-Natal (/kwɑːˌzl nəˈtɑːl/, also referred to as KZN; nicknamed "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean and sharing borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, with slightly fewer residents than Gauteng.

Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. These areas are extremely scenic as well as important to the surrounding ecosystems. (Full article...)

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Siege of Mafeking currency
Banknote credit: Townshend & Son; photographed by the National Numismatic Collection
Siege of Mafeking currency was issued by the British commander, Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, during the 217-day siege for the town of Mafeking (now Mahikeng) in South Africa from 13 October 1899 to 17 May 1900, during the Second Boer War. To ease the problems caused by the lack of genuine banknotes, Baden-Powell authorised the issue of siege banknotes in late 1899. Made by Mafeking printers Townshend & Son using woodcut printing, notes were backed by the Standard Bank of South Africa and issued in denominations of one-, two-, three- and ten-shilling coupons, as well as one-pound notes, of which 620 were printed. The intention was that, after the siege was over, these could be exchanged for genuine currency, but in practice few were; most were kept as souvenirs. This picture shows a ten-shilling note from the Siege of Mafeking, dated March 1900; it is now in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

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A lion in the Kruger National Park

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SAS President Pretorius was the last of three President-class Type 12 frigates built in the UK for the South African Navy (SAN) during the 1960s. The ship spent most of her career training and visited foreign ports in Africa and Australia. She had a lengthy modernisation during the 1970s and manpower shortages limited her activities after that was completed in 1977. President Pretorius was paid off in 1985 and was sold for scrap in 1992. (Full article...)

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Wolraad Woltemade
Wolraad Woltemade (c.1708 – 1 June 1773) was born in Hesse-Schoumberg, part of present-day Germany. He migrated to the Dutch Cape Colony at Cape Town with the Dutch East India Company) as a dairyman. He died while rescuing sailors from the wreck of the ship De Jonge Thomas in Table Bay on 1 June 1773.

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Glass of Amarula
Amarula is a cream liqueur from South Africa. It is made with sugar, cream and the fruit of the African marula tree (Sclerocarya birrea) which is also locally called the elephant tree or the marriage tree. It has an alcohol content of 17% by volume (34 proof). It has had some success at international spirit ratings competitions, winning a gold medal at the 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It has the taste of slightly fruity caramel. (Full article...)

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Nelson Mandela
No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

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The Greater Swartberg
The Greater Swartberg
Credit: User:Vberger

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The following are images from various South Africa-related articles on Wikipedia.

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