Where is South Africa?
About South Africa
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
South Africa is a vast country in southern Africa.
South Africa borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
The land is a vast interior plateau, ringed by hills with a narrow coastal plain.
The geographical coordinates for the centre of South Africa, also known as lines of latitude and longitude, are:-
Latitude - 29 00S
Longitude - 24 00E
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The South African flag is two equal width horizontal stripes of red, at the top, and blue separated by a central green band that splits into a horizontal Y,
the arms of which end at the corners of the flag pole side. Inside the Y is a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands.
The red and blue stripes are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes. The Y represents the "convergence of diverse elements within
South African society.
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in South Africa to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
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The total land area of South Africa is 1,214,470 sq kms which is the 9th largest in Africa.
South Africa has lakes, rivers and canals which total 4,620 sq kms.
South Africa has boundaries with 6 countries
South Africa has a coastline of 2,798 kms which is the 3rd longest in Africa.
The highest point in South Africa is Njesuthi at 3,408 metres.
The total population of South Africa is 55.38 million people, making it the 5th largest country in Africa by population.
Of this number 27.99 million are females and 27.39 million are males.
A person from South Africa is called a South African.
To be a citizen of South Africa, one of your parents must be a citizen of South Africa. It is not sufficient to be born in South Africa. You have to live in South Africa for
1 year before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in South Africa, by population are:-
The birth rate in South Africa is 19.9 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in South Africa is 9.3 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 26.5 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 33.2 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 27.6 and for males is 27.2. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
We have no figures for the average age of a woman when she has her first child.
The elderly dependency ratio is 7.7. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 12.9. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
South Africa spends 8.8% of its total income on health care.
There are 0.91 doctors per 1,000 people.
We have no figures for the number of hospital beds per 1,000 people.
28.3% of the population are estimated as obese.
99.6% of the urban population and 81.4% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
69.6% of the urban population and 60.5% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer, a pit latrine (that is a
permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.
South Africa spends 6.1% of its total income on education.
Children usually start school at age 7 in South Africa. Primary education is for seven years until age 14 and secondary education must continue till 16 but can go on to 18/19. This may be followed
by further education at a university or college.
Generally the school year consists of 4 terms and starts in the first week of January and finishes at the beginning of December. There is usually a 2 week
break at the end of March, 3 week break in the middle of June and a 1 week break at the end of September.
93.4% of females and 95.4% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.
53.4% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 58.8% are unemployed while with males 49.2% can't find work.
The total number of people available for work in South Africa is 22.19 million.
They work in the following sectors.
There are 144 paved airports in South Africa, which is the highest number in Africa.
There are 20,986 kilometres of railways in South Africa, the longest in Africa.
There are 750,014 kilometres of roads in South Africa, which means South Africa is in first place for the most kilometres of roads in Africa.