Sudafri

SOUTH AFRICA

Official name: Republic of South Africa
· Location: southern tip of Africa
· Countries bordering: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho.
· Area: 1,219,080 km2
· Division policy: provinces of Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo.
· Population: 40.58 million inhabitants
·Language Officer: there are 11 official languages: Zulu (22.9%), Xhosa (17.9%), Afrikaans (14.4%), Sepedi (9.2%), English (8.6%), Tswana (8.2%), Sotho (7.7%), Tsonga (4.4%), Swati (2.5%), band (2.2%), Ndebele (1.5%)
· Climate: temperate, subtropical and semi-arid (geographic region)
· Average annual rainfall: 464 mm
· Rivers main: Orange, Vaal and Tugela
· Currency: Rand (1rand = 100 cents)
·Administrative Capital: Pretoria
· Legislative Capital: Cape Town
· Judicial Capital: Bloemfontein
·Main Ports: Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay and Mossel Bay.

The country is positioned in a southern climate zone and much of its surface is about plateaus over 1,200 meters high.
For example, Johannesburg, on the plateau, is close to the 1,800 m andhas a sunny climate and cool.

The coastline covers 2945 km long between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The coasts, where there are golden sandy beaches and white, are surrounded by forests in the eastern and western deserts.
The subcontinent has a string of rocky islets which reach limits of Antarctica.

This nation is divided into nine provinces, has an area of 1,219,099 km2, being higherthan Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands combined (together).

European colonization from the seventeenth century

The arrival of Europeans to the shores of southern Africa was arguably the most traumatic experience faced by indigenous communities.

In 1652, the Dutchmen were the first to open a branch of the East India Company in Africa, to cater to vessels of food, waterand care for sick sailors. It probably would have settled for this if the branch would have been sufficient to meet all these needs, especially the provision of meat and grains.

However, building a stone castle and the settlement of farmers, the Khoikhoi were aware that the Netherlands wanted to stay. Barter began to resist holding the cattle, and fending off attempts by the Company to seize thecattle by force.
Religion in South Africa varies widely. The people of South Africa follow different religion and customs. During the last twentieth century the Government has taken a lot of effort to encourage Christian belief and customs in South Africa.
In South Africa about 80% of the population follows Christian religion. Most of the Christians are Protestants. There are a number of SouthAfrican Christian churches and nearly 85% of the people are members of the church.
The religion in South Africa followed by the Khoisan peoples was very complicated. The beliefs and practices followed by them very influenced by the Europeans who came to South Africa. The people of the remote areas of Botswana and Namibia still follow some of the Khoisan religious practices.
Earlier the Khoisanpeople use to fear one supreme power .They believed that one supreme power controlled the whole world. Rituals and small sacrifices were done by the Khoisan people. They also feared an evil deity which was the reason of pain and misery.
The influence of the religious missionary was felt in the later fifteenth century in the religion in South Africa. In 1799 the London Missionary Society startedsending Missionaries to the Cape colony. Soon there was inflow of Glasgow Missionary Society and Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society. Missionaries from United States, France, Scandavia and Germany also came.
Apartheid was a system of legal racial segregation enforced by the National Party government in South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority black inhabitants...