Analysis of South Africa's Cultural Environment
The full name of South Africa is that the Republic of South Africa is located at the southernmost tip of the African continent, bordering Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland in the north, and the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean in the east, west and south respectively. Located in the shipping hub between the two oceans, the Cape of Good Hope route at the southwest end of the route has always been one of the busiest sea passages in the world and is known as the "lifeline of the West Sea". The land area is about 6.5438+0.22 million square kilometers. Most of the territory is a plateau above 600 meters above sea level. The Draken Mountains extend to the southeast, and the Cascade Jin Feng is as high as 3,660 meters, which is the highest point in China. The northwest is a desert, which is a part of the Kalahari Basin. The northern, central and southwestern parts are plateaus; The coast is a narrow plain. Orange River and limpopo river River are two main rivers. Most areas have a tropical grassland climate, the eastern coast has a tropical monsoon climate and the southern coast has a Mediterranean climate. The whole climate is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. 65438+February-February is summer, and the highest temperature can reach 32-38℃; June-August is winter, and the lowest temperature is-10 to-12℃. The annual precipitation gradually decreased from 1000mm in the east to 60mm in the west, with an average of 450 mm. The annual average temperature in the capital Pretoria is 17℃.
The earliest aborigines in South Africa are the San, the Kohoys and the Bantu who moved south later. /kloc-After 0/7th century, the Netherlands and Britain invaded South Africa one after another. At the beginning of the 20th century, South Africa once became a dominion of Britain. 1961May 3 1 day, South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth and established the Republic of South Africa. Due to the policy of racial discrimination and apartheid pursued by the white authorities in South Africa, the South African people, under the leadership of the African National Congress headed by Mandela, fought bravely to overthrow the apartheid system and finally won. 1In April 1994, South Africa held the first general election in which all races participated, and Mandela was elected as the first black president of South Africa. 1In April, 1994, South Africa promulgated the first temporary constitution in history that reflected racial equality. 1in may 1996, the south African constitutional assembly adopted a new constitution drafted on the basis of the interim constitution. The new constitution came into effect in February of the same year. The new constitution stipulates that the constitution has supreme status; Regardless of race, sex and religion, everyone is equal before the law; Retain the main constitutional principles and contents such as the civil rights bill, the separation of powers, the federal government management system and the current judicial system in the interim constitution; 1999 After the general election, South Africa changed the proportional sharing of power among political parties to the general election of the majority party. According to the new constitution, the President of South Africa is the head of state and government, elected by the National Assembly for a term of no more than two terms. Political parties with at least 80 seats in parliament have the right to nominate vice presidents. Parliament can recall or impeach the president through motion of no confidence. According to the Constitution, the South African Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the National Assembly and the National Provincial Affairs Committee. The National Assembly has 400 members, of whom 200 are elected by universal suffrage and 200 by provincial elections. The National Provincial Affairs Committee (the former Senate) has a total of 90 seats, which are indirectly elected by nine provincial councils, and each province has 10 seats. The new constitution stipulates the implementation of the presidential cabinet system. The Cabinet consists of the President, the Vice President and 27 ministers appointed by the President. The president and cabinet members jointly exercise executive power. South Africa is the only country in the world that has three capitals at the same time: Pretoria, the administrative capital, is the seat of the central government of South Africa with a population of 2.2 million; Cape Town, the legislative capital, is the seat of the South African Parliament, the second largest city and an important port in China, located at the southwest end, and an important intersection of international waterways with a population of 3 million; Bloemfontein, the capital of the judiciary, is the seat of the national judiciary with a population of 500,000.
As of July 20 10, the population of South Africa reached 49.99 million, of which 5 1% (about 25.66 million) were women. Gauteng province, where Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, and Johannesburg, the financial center, are located, is the smallest province in South Africa, but it has the largest population, about119000 (accounting for 22.4% of the total population). KwaZulu natal province has the second largest population, about 654.38+006.5 thousand (accounting for 265.438+0.3% of the total population). Nearly one third (3 1%) of South Africans are under 15 years old; There are about 3.8 million elderly people over 60 years old, accounting for 7.6% of the total population. The average life expectancy of South African population is 53.3 years for men and 55.2 years for women. The infant mortality rate is 4.69%. It mainly consists of four races: black, white, colored and Asian. Black people are mainly Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Tswana, North Soto, South Soto, Conga, Wenda and Ndebele, and Bantu is mainly used. White people are mainly Dutch-born South Africans and British-born whites. Their languages are Afrikaans and English. Coloured people are descendants of whites, aborigines and slaves during the colonial period, and mainly use Afrikaans. Asians are mainly Indians and China. The official language is 1 1, and English and Afrikaans are the common languages. Residents mainly believe in Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam and primitive religions.
South Africa is a middle-income developing country with good infrastructure and advanced technology. Its GDP accounts for nearly 20% of Africa's GDP, which is equivalent to the sum of other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It is the most developed country in Africa.
South Africa's economy is a relatively developed modern economy based on agriculture and mining and dominated by manufacturing. The industrial structure has the problem of unbalanced development. Light industry and textile industry are relatively backward, and the dual economy has obvious characteristics. Mining, manufacturing, agriculture and services are the four pillars of South Africa's economy, while manufacturing and tourism are the most promising sectors in South Africa.
South Africa's agriculture is relatively developed, and it is the main sector of the economy, with an annual output value accounting for 3.5% of GDP and 654.38+0.29 million employees. All kinds of canned food, tobacco, alcohol, coffee and drinks sell well overseas. Rich in flowers and fruits, wine enjoys a high reputation.
South Africa is rich in natural resources and is one of the top five mining countries in the world. The reserves and exports of gold, diamonds, platinum group metals, vanadium, aluminosilicate, chrome ore and manganese ore all rank first in the world, and the deep mining technology is in the leading position in the world. The export of mineral products accounts for 33% of the total export, and the number of employees in mining and quarrying industry is 4 1 000, accounting for 2.6% of the employed population. South Africa is the largest gold producer and exporter in the world.
South Africa has a complete range of manufacturing industries with advanced technology, including metallurgy, machinery, chemicals, electronics, transportation equipment, food processing, textiles and clothing.
South Africa is rich in tourism resources and perfect in facilities. Tourism is the fourth largest industry and the third largest foreign exchange earning department in South Africa, accounting for about 7% of GDP. In 2003, 6.64 million foreign tourists visited South Africa.
South Africa has a well-developed financial system in the world and strict legal control. As the central bank, the Reserve Bank of South Africa is the center of South Africa's financial industry, responsible for formulating and implementing the country's monetary policy, issuing currency and managing other financial institutions in South Africa. At present, there are about 50 private banks registered in South Africa, including 9 branches of foreign banks and 4 mutual banks. In addition, 60 foreign banks have set up representative offices in South Africa.
From the early 1980s to the early 1990s, South Africa experienced economic recession due to international sanctions. The new government has formulated the "Reconstruction and Development Plan" (RDP), which emphasizes improving the social and economic status of blacks. The macroeconomic policy of "GEAR" was promulgated in 1996, aiming at realizing economic growth, increasing employment and gradually changing the unreasonable distribution situation through measures such as privatization of state-owned sector, reducing fiscal deficit, increasing flexibility of labor market, promoting exports, relaxing foreign exchange control and encouraging the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Mbeki's government implemented prudent fiscal and monetary policies, gradually promoted the process of restructuring and privatization of state-owned assets, promoted the structural adjustment of the labor market and trade, and increased investment in social services in a timely manner. The new South Africa's economy has maintained a low growth rate. In recent years, South Africa's economy has basically maintained a low growth rate and a good foundation, but there are also many problems, such as high unemployment rate, sharp depreciation of the rand, and intensified brain drain. In 2004, the global economic recovery accelerated, the international market demand rose, and the international commodity prices rose, which promoted the improvement of South Africa's external economic environment and achieved remarkable interest rate cuts. The government's expenditure increase plan has stimulated the growth of domestic demand and consumption, the recovery process of manufacturing industry has accelerated, and the growth momentum of service industry is good. The annual GDP was $2,654.38+009 billion, with a growth rate of 3.7%. The per capita national income is $3,630.
South Africa pursues an independent and all-round foreign policy in diplomacy and advocates maintaining and developing bilateral friendly relations with all countries on the basis of respecting sovereignty, equality and mutual benefit and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. The six pillars of its foreign policy are: ensuring human rights; Promote freedom and democracy all over the world; Respect for the principles of justice and international law; Maintain world peace and participate in international mechanisms for conflict resolution; Safeguard Africa's interests in the international arena and promote an interdependent world.
The distribution of educational resources in South Africa is uneven. Most of China's educational resources are concentrated in economically developed areas such as West Cape Province and gauteng province, while the educational strength in eastern cape and other areas and rural areas is still very backward. Due to the long-term apartheid education system, blacks have far less opportunities for education than whites. 1995 1 In June, South Africa officially implemented free compulsory education for children aged 7 to 16, and abolished textbooks in the apartheid era. The government has continuously increased investment in education, focusing on the reform of teaching courses, education financing system and higher education system. The education system is divided into five stages: preschool, primary school, middle school, university and postgraduate. There are 2 1 universities with 402,000 students. College 15, with 203,000 students; College of Education and Technical College 157, students150,000; There are 27,850 primary and secondary schools with students 1.2 1.4 million. There are 366,000 teachers in China. In 2006, the adult literacy rate was 82%, and the population with higher education accounted for 9. 1% of the total population. In fiscal year 2007/2008, the expenditure on education was 654.38+005.5 billion rand, accounting for 654.38+08% of the total government expenditure. At present, South Africa's education expenditure accounts for about 20% of the total government expenditure. In 2009, the South African government's education budget reached 92 1 billion rand (about 13 1 billion US dollars). However, due to the uneven distribution of educational resources, the inequality of educational opportunities in various parts of South Africa is prominent, and the pass rate of high school graduation examination has dropped from 70% in 2003 to 60%. Famous universities include: University of Witwatersrand, University of Pretoria, University of South Africa, University of Cape Town, University of Zululan, etc. In order to show racial equality, South Africa has 1 1 official languages. However, the existence of multiple official languages has become the main obstacle to universal education in South Africa. In order to solve this problem, the education system reform has been implemented since 20 1 1, and South Africa will popularize English education in the first three years of primary education.
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