South Africa

South Africa

Republic of. a republic occupying the southernmost part of the African continent: the Dutch Cape Colony (1652) was acquired by Britain in 1806 and British victory in the Boer War resulted in the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, which became a republic in 1961; implementation of the apartheid system began in 1948 and was abolished, following an intense civil rights campaign, in 1993, with multiracial elections held in 1994; a member of the Commonwealth, it withdrew in 1961 but was re-admitted in 1994. Mainly plateau with mountains in the south and east. Mineral production includes gold, diamonds, coal, and copper. Official languages: Afrikaans; English; Ndebele; Pedi; South Sotho; Swazi; Tsonga; Tswana; Venda; Xhosa; Zulu. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: rand. Capitals: Cape Town (legislative), Pretoria (administrative), Bloemfontein (judicial). Pop.: 45 214 000 (2004 est.). Area: 1 221 044 sq. km (471 445 sq. miles)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

South Africa

Official name: Republic of South Africa

Capital city: Pretoria

Internet country code: .za

Flag description: Two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes

National anthem: A combination of “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfri­ka” by Enoch Sontonga and “The Call of South Africa” (Die Stem van Suid-Afrika), lyrics by C. J. Langenhoven, music by M. L. de Villiers

National animal: Springbuck/springbok (Antidorcas mar­supialis)

National bird: Blue crane (Anthropoides paradisia)

National fish: Galjoen (Coracinus capensis)

National flower: King Protea (Protea cynaroides)

National tree: Real yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius)

Geographical description: Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

Total area: 470,462 sq. mi. (1,219,912 sq. km.)

Climate: Mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights

Nationality: noun: South African(s); adjective: South African

Population: 43,997,828 (July 2007 CIA est.)

Ethnic groups: Black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5%

Languages spoken: IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, isiNdebele—all offi­cial; other (including siSwati and Tshivenda) 7.2%

Religions: Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Roman Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Chris­tian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1%

Legal Holidays:

Christmas Day	Dec 25
Day of Goodwill	Dec 26
Day of Reconciliation	Dec 16
Family Day	Apr 25, 2011; Apr 9, 2012; Apr 1, 2013; Apr 21, 2014; Apr 6, 2015; Mar 28, 2016; Apr 17, 2017; Apr 2, 2018; Apr 22, 2019; Apr 13, 2020; Apr 5, 2021; Apr 18, 2022; Apr 10, 2023
Freedom Day	Apr 27
Good Friday	Apr 22, 2011; Apr 6, 2012; Mar 29, 2013; Apr 18, 2014; Apr 3, 2015; Mar 25, 2016; Apr 14, 2017; Mar 30, 2018; Apr 19, 2019; Apr 10, 2020; Apr 2, 2021; Apr 15, 2022; Apr 7, 2023
Heritage Day	Sep 24
Human Rights Day	Mar 21
National Women's Day	Aug 9
New Year's Day	Jan 1
Workers' Day	May 1
Youth Day	Jun 16

Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary, Fourth Edition. © 2010 by Omnigraphics, Inc.