South Africa

South African Timeline

Dutch settlers find the first settlement at the Table Mountains

Settlers leave the Cape towards the Orange Free State

The Xhosa people migrate east further

into the country

Zulu King Shaka starts the mightiest kingdom

in South African history

The British annex Zululand and bring

more people to South Africa

Nelson Mandela establishes a strong

and prosperous government

Important Historical Figures

Nelson MandelaGreatest political figure of all time

Basil Rathbone Basetsana Kumalo

Miriam Makeba Chirstiaan Barnard Lyndon Ferns

Fashion icon and Miss South Africa 1994

South African actor and the master of stage and screen

South African singer and civil rights activist

Performed the world’s first human-to-human

heart transplant

South African Olympic swimmer and world record

holder

Locations of Historical SignificanceKimberley Big Hole

Old diamond mine over 1,097m deep

Victoria Falls

Thousands of years of erosion and twice the size of Niagara Falls

Cederberg Mountains

Huge landmarks lie all over these mountains in the western cape provinces

About 80 percent of all South Africans are Christians, and most are Protestants. More than 8

million South Africans are members of African Independent churches, which have at least 4,000

congregations.

Religion

The earliest southern African religions, those of the Khoisan peoples, were more complex than early missionaries often recorded. Their

beliefs and practices were substantially eroded by contacts with Europeans.

The black population consists of several groups: Khoi-San, Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele, Sotho, Shangaan and Venda, just to name a few. The

biggest groups are Zulus, Xhosas, and the Sotho. Next smaller minorities are the Tswana, Venda, Ndebele, Swasi, and Pedi, among

others.

Ethnic Groups

Frikkadels

Food

Pear Salad Babotie

Holidays/CultureIn South African culture, holidays

are celebrated over the top. Festivals

and parties in South Africa are

some of the most overdone in the

entire world.Everything in

South Africa gets celebrated from

birthdays to Christmas and

President’s Day to Worker’s Day.

EconomyGDP: $287 billion.

Real GDP growth rate: 3.7% (5-year average)

GDP per capita: $5,787.

Unemployment: 25.2%.

Natural resources: It is the only country in the world that manufactures fuel from coal.

Industry: Types--minerals, mining, motor vehicles and parts, machinery, textiles, chemicals, fertilizer, information technology, electronics, other manufacturing, and agro-processing.

GDP composition: Agriculture, mining, industries, and services.

South Africa is one of the largest producers of platinum, manganese, gold, and chrome in the world; also significant coal production.

Currency in South Africa: rand (ZAR)

1 South African Rand = 0.14354 US Dollar 1 US Dollar (USD) = 6.96647 South African Rand (ZAR)

Physical Map

Political Map

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