Friday, October 2, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Agriculture
South Africa has a huge agriculture sector which provides 10% of the workforces with work. Due to the lack of water and vegetation in the land only 3% is considered high quality. Some of the things South Africa export includes sugar, wine, and various fruits.
South Africa produce around 9 tonnes of maize and around 82% of that is consumed. South Africa produce 250,000 metric tonnes of bananas per year, in the ranking of banana producing South Africa are ranked 29th.
White people own 87% of agricultural land, while coloured people only own 13%. White people usually hire coloured people to work on their farm and are usually paid poorly.
Another important part of agriculture in South Africa is meat. Animals graze on pasteurized land; these animals include cattle, sheep, and goats. This adds to the exports of South Africa and is the reason along with crops why agriculture takes up 8% of South Africa’s exports.
The coastline of South Africa is 3000km long and contains 7 ports; this is very helpful as goods can be shipped in and out of the country with out using any other types of transport. This keeps exporting costs low and gives the country a better chance to make a surplus on their balance of payments.
South Africa produce around 9 tonnes of maize and around 82% of that is consumed. South Africa produce 250,000 metric tonnes of bananas per year, in the ranking of banana producing South Africa are ranked 29th.
White people own 87% of agricultural land, while coloured people only own 13%. White people usually hire coloured people to work on their farm and are usually paid poorly.
Another important part of agriculture in South Africa is meat. Animals graze on pasteurized land; these animals include cattle, sheep, and goats. This adds to the exports of South Africa and is the reason along with crops why agriculture takes up 8% of South Africa’s exports.
The coastline of South Africa is 3000km long and contains 7 ports; this is very helpful as goods can be shipped in and out of the country with out using any other types of transport. This keeps exporting costs low and gives the country a better chance to make a surplus on their balance of payments.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Geography
South Africa is the 25th largest country in the world and the countries highest mountain range is in Drakensberg, which is around 11,180 feet tall. A popular mountain in Cape town is table mountain, a 1000 metre tall mountain with a flat top covering a distance of 2 kilometres. The top of the mountain is usually covered by cloud which forms the so-called table cloth and gives the mountain its name.
There are nine provinces in South Africa, they include Western cape, Eastern cape, Northern cape, Free state,North West, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. The smallest of these provinces is Gauteng, a very crowded place. The largest of these provinces is Northern cape, it takes up one third of the land mass in South Africa.
There are two main rivers in South Africa the Limpopo (which flows in Zimbabwe) and the Orange, which flows across the entire country from east to west until it reaches Nambia where it enters the Atlantic Ocean. On the river Orange there is the countries largest dam, which in a very dry country like South Africa, is very important.
There are nine provinces in South Africa, they include Western cape, Eastern cape, Northern cape, Free state,North West, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. The smallest of these provinces is Gauteng, a very crowded place. The largest of these provinces is Northern cape, it takes up one third of the land mass in South Africa.
There are two main rivers in South Africa the Limpopo (which flows in Zimbabwe) and the Orange, which flows across the entire country from east to west until it reaches Nambia where it enters the Atlantic Ocean. On the river Orange there is the countries largest dam, which in a very dry country like South Africa, is very important.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Racism
In South Africa racism is one of the main problems in the country and is the reason why there is so much conflict in the country. With only 9 percent of white people in the country, they treat the coloured people terribly, even though, they take up 80 percent of the population.
The racism began in 1953 when coloured people were rated inferior to white people and were denied their citizenship. The government then started to divide the basic needs of a citizen( healthcare, public transport, education ) and the coloured always got much less than the whites.
One example of racism is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, an important Indian man, who move
d to South Africa in the middle of his life. One day when Gandhi was getting a train in Pietermaritzburg, he had a valid first class ticket. When a European passenger came along, Gandhi refused to give up his seat and as a result was thrown off the train and later on that day he was beaten up by the train driver.
The racism began in 1953 when coloured people were rated inferior to white people and were denied their citizenship. The government then started to divide the basic needs of a citizen( healthcare, public transport, education ) and the coloured always got much less than the whites.
One example of racism is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, an important Indian man, who move
d to South Africa in the middle of his life. One day when Gandhi was getting a train in Pietermaritzburg, he had a valid first class ticket. When a European passenger came along, Gandhi refused to give up his seat and as a result was thrown off the train and later on that day he was beaten up by the train driver.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Culture
The South African flag contains a y coloured green and outlined with a thinner white y. At the top of the y there's a black and yellow colour, red and blue colours take up the rest of the flag. The flag was adopted on April 27th 1994. The black in the flag stands for Indian people, the red stands for the blood shed in order to get freedom. The white stands for racial segregation, the green and blue stand for land and oceans. Also, the yellow stands for the sun. 
In South Africa there are many different languages, for example Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. The most spoken of these languages is Zulu with a total of 10,677,000 people speaking it, which is 23.8 % of the entire country, the least spoken of these languages in South Africa is Ndebele and is spoken by 712,000 people which is 1.6 % of the population.
The main religon in South Africa is Christianity which takes up 79.8 % of the country, also Islam, Hinduism and Judaism are a key part of the the countries variety of religons.
In South Africa there are many different languages, for example Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. The most spoken of these languages is Zulu with a total of 10,677,000 people speaking it, which is 23.8 % of the entire country, the least spoken of these languages in South Africa is Ndebele and is spoken by 712,000 people which is 1.6 % of the population.
The main religon in South Africa is Christianity which takes up 79.8 % of the country, also Islam, Hinduism and Judaism are a key part of the the countries variety of religons.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Climate
South Africa is a large country at the southern tip of the continent of Africa. South Africa is surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. The population is 49, 320, 000. The capital of South Africa is Cape Town although Johannesburg is the largest city in the country.
Due to it being in the southern hemisphere and close to the equator, the climate is very high which effects the wildlife and plantlife in the country. Also this results in sunny days and cool nights.
South Africa is one of the best places to see wildlife in their natural habitat. In order to see these animals you have to go on safari at either six in the morning or six in the afternoon, the reason for this is to escape the heat and also like humans, animals can't bear the immense heat of the sun.
Plantlife in South Africa is very different to that of Ireland. South Africa can grow oranges, apples, bananas, etc. Although South Africa can't grow potatoes, corn, etc. This is due to the different climates in the two countries.
Due to it being in the southern hemisphere and close to the equator, the climate is very high which effects the wildlife and plantlife in the country. Also this results in sunny days and cool nights.
South Africa is one of the best places to see wildlife in their natural habitat. In order to see these animals you have to go on safari at either six in the morning or six in the afternoon, the reason for this is to escape the heat and also like humans, animals can't bear the immense heat of the sun.
Plantlife in South Africa is very different to that of Ireland. South Africa can grow oranges, apples, bananas, etc. Although South Africa can't grow potatoes, corn, etc. This is due to the different climates in the two countries.
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