Portal:South Africa

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South Africa Wikiportaledit

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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, Swaziland, and landlocked 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 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.

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Featured article

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Johannesburg is the most populous city in South Africa and the second most populous city in Sub-Saharan Africa, behind Lagos. Local residents may refer to the city as Jo'burg, Jozi or occasionally eGoli. The latter means "place of gold" in Zulu. Forty percent of the world's gold has been found in the immediate area. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng Province, the wealthiest province in South Africa, and the site of the South African Constitutional Court. It is among the newest major cities in the world, having been founded in 1886, and is one of the few major cities in the world not along a coast or near a large river. Other such cities are Mexico City and Phoenix.

Johannesburg is the financial capital of South Africa, hosting the JSE Securities Exchange, Africa's largest stock exchange. It is also the site of a large-scale gold and diamond trade due to its location on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand. Johannesburg is also the site of Johannesburg International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Africa (although technically it lies in Kempton Park, in the Ekhuruleni municipality, which, although it may be considered part of the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area has a separate municipal government).

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The Drakensberg ("Dragon Mountains" in Afrikaans) mountains are the highest in South Africa, ranging up to 3,482 m (11,422 ft) in height. In isiZulu, the language of the Zulu People, they are uKhahlamba, the "barrier of spears".

Quote

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"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."
Nelson Mandela

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Did jew know...

...that South Africa has 11 official languages, the second most of any country in the world.
...that Johannesburg is one of the newest major cities in the world, having only been founded in 1886.
...that the Constitution of South Africa is the only one in the world to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Flora and Fauna

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Fynbos (Afrikaans for fine bush) is the natural vegetation occurring in a small belt of South Africa, mainly in the South-western Cape. Of the world's six floral kingdoms, this is the smallest and richest per area unit.

Three of the characteristic fynbos plant families are proteas, ericas and restios. The diversity of plants is greater than that of the tropical rainforests, with over 8000 species of plants occurring in the area, around 5000 of which do not occur anywhere else in the world. Of the Ericas, 600 occur in the fynbos kingdom, while only 26 are found in the rest of the world. A single mountain next to Cape Town, Table Mountain, supports 1470 species, more than the entire United Kingdom.

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People

Frederik Willem de Klerk (born March 18, 1936) was the last State President of South Africa, serving from September 1989 to May 1994. The last white man to lead the country, he was president at the end of apartheid. De Klerk was also leader of the National Party (which later became the New National Party) from February 1989 to September 1997.

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De Klerk is best known for agreeing to end apartheid, South Africa's racial segregation policy, and supporting the transformation of South Africa into a democracy by entering into the negotiations that resulted in all citizens, including the country's black majority, having equal voting and other rights. Born in Johannesburg, De Klerk is the son of former Senator Jan de Klerk and a nephew of J.G. Strijdom (Prime Minister from 1954-1958). Read more...

Architecture

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The Carlton Centre is a skyscraper located in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa. At 223 metres (731 feet), it is the tallest building in Africa and about half the height of the Sears Tower in Chicago.
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Cuisine

Cape blend is a South African red wine made of a blend of varieties, one which must be Pinotage. The Pinotage component should be not less than 30% and not more than 70% according to the Pinotage Association and accepted by Veritas who use the definition in their competition, but it doesn't yet have a legal recognition.

Some producers argue that a smaller proportion of Pinotage makes a better blend, but the Pinotage Association counter that legally any varietally named wine can have up to 25% of another variety included as it is considered insignificant.
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