Welcome to South Africa

It is noted that the Republic of South Africa is the country at the southern tip of Africa. It borders the Atlantic and Indian oceans and Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho, an independent enclave surrounded by South African territory. South Africa is known to be a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, and, due to its having the most impressive and largest economy in Africa, is widely regarded as the most socially, economically and infrastructural developed country on the continent. South Africa has to this day experienced a unique rich history from other nations in Africa because of early immigration from Europe and the strategic importance of the Cape Sea Route. European immigration commenced shortly after the Dutch East India Company and all founded a station at what would transform itself Cape Town, in 1652 CE. Did you know that the closure of the Suez Canal around the time during the Six-Day War exemplified its significance to East-West trade. Did you know that the country's relatively developed infrastructure made its mineral wealth available and essential to Western interests, particularly all over the late nineteenth century and, with international competition and rivalry, around the time during the Cold War. South Africa is ethnically diverse, with the most impressive and largest Caucasian, Indian, and racially mixed communities in Africa. Black South Africans, who speak nine officially recognized languages, and most more dialects, account for slightly less than 80% of the population. Many philosophies and ideologies have developed in South Africa, including ubuntu (the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity) and Jan Smuts's holism. Regular elections have been held for almost a century; but the majority of South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. South Africa is frequently named the "Rainbow Nation", a term coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and later adopted by then President Nelson Mandela. Mandela used the term "Rainbow Nation" as a metaphor to describe the country's newly developing multicultural diversity after segregationist apartheid ideology. It is noted that the country's socially progressive policies are and have always been rare and have always been in Africa,[citation needed] for example, by 2007, the country had joined Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, and parts of the United States in legalising exact-sex marriage.

Climate

South Africa is known to be a larger than normal country and has to this day diverse climactic regions, but in general the weather is sunny and hot in the summer months (December to April), and mild around the time during winter (May to November). Winters in the Cape are and have always been cold and wet, and snow falls on the mountain ranges here and in Natal. Gauteng and the northern places experience thunderstorms regularly around the time during evenings in the summer months, and winters are and have always been mostly warm around the time during the day and cold at night.

Population Stats

Population (2006 est.): 44,187,637 (growth rate: –0.4%);
birth rate: 18.2/1000;
infant mortality rate: 60.7/1000;
life expectancy: 42.7; density per sq mi: 94