Portal:South Africa

Topics Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Nature People Philosophy Religion Society Technology Welcome to the South Africa Portal Unity in Diversity 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 Swaziland, and entirely surrounds Lesotho. South Africa has the largest population of people of European descent in Africa, 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. The economy of South Africa is the largest and most well-developed of the entire African continent, with modern infrastructure common throughout the country. South Africa is ranked as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank. It has the largest economy in Africa, and the 28th-largest in the world. By purchasing power parity, South Africa has the 5th highest per capita income in Africa. It is considered a newly industrialised country. More about South Africa ... The Baviaanskloof - (Dutch for “Valley of Baboons”) Water supply and sanitation in South Africa is characterised by both achievements and challenges. After the end of Apartheid South Africa's newly elected government struggled with the then growing service and backlogs with respect to access to water supply and sanitation developed. The government thus made a strong commitment to high service standards and to high levels of investment subsidies to achieve those standards. Since then, the country has made some progress with regard to improving access to water supply: It reached universal access to an improved water source in urban areas, and in rural areas the share of those with access increased from 66% to 79% from 1990 to 2010. Arrival of Jan van Riebeeck in Cape Town as painted by Charles Davidson Bell Template:/box-header Portal:South Africa/Did you know Template:/box-footer Template:/box-header WikiProject South Africa WikiProject South Africa discussions • South Africa Wikipedians' Notice Board • South African Wikipedians • Wikipedians in South Africa • Wikimedia ZA • Subscribe to the Wikimedia ZA mailing list Template:/box-footer Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck (21 April 1619, Culemborg, Gelderland – 18 January 1677) was a Dutch colonial administrator and founder of Cape Town. Van Riebeeck was Commander of the Cape from 1652 to 1662; he was charged with building a fort, with improving the natural anchorage at Table Bay, planting cereals,fruit and vegetables and obtaining livestock from the indigenous Khoi people. In the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town there is a Wild Almond hedge still surviving, that was planted on his orders as a protective barrier around the Dutch settlement. The initial fort, named Fort de Goede Hoop ('Fort of Good Hope') was made of mud, clay and timber, and had four corners or bastions. This fort was replaced by the Castle of Good Hope, built between 1666 and 1679 after van Riebeeck had left the Cape. ▼ South Africa ► Communications in South Africa ► Economy of South Africa ► Education in South Africa ► Events in South Africa ► Geography of South Africa ► Government of South Africa ► Health in South Africa ► History of South Africa ► South African law ► South Africa-related lists ► Military of South Africa ► South African people ► Politics of South Africa ► Science and technology in South Africa ► South African society ► Sport in South Africa ► Tourist attractions in South Africa ► Transport in South Africa ► South Africa stubs Atlas Geography Africa Botswana Mozambique Namibia Zimbabwe Zambia The following Wikimedia sister projects provide more on this subject: What are portals? List of portals Featured portals