Welcome to South Africa

  • Zulus fighting against the British Empire

    © duncan1890/iStockphotos

    Illustration of Zulus fighting against the British Empire

  • Beaches during apartheid

    © Keystone Pictures USA/Zuma press/NTB scanpix

    Photo of a sign indicating that the beach is reserved for white people only

  • South Africa – the Rainbow Nation

    © David Malan/Getty Images

    Photo of teenagers of mixed race with South African flags painted on their faces

  • Cape Town – one of the three capitals

    © grahambedingfield/iStockphotos

    Photo of Cape Town which is one of the three capitals in South Africa

  • The Cape buffalo

    © EcoView/Fotolia

    Photo of a Cape buffalo and birds

  • Drakensberg: Dragon Mountains in South Africa

    © Andre Klopper/Shutterstock

    Photo of the Dragon Mountains (Drakensberg) in South Africa
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Welcome to South Africa

Before you read

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apartheid earn freedom hunting lion outdoor rainbow rule tribe TV

Now listen and see if you were right.

Welcome to South Africa

What do you have in common with people from South Africa? The climate is different. The food is different. But Africa is where we all come from. Archaeologists have found human bones that show this.

In the past Africa had many tribes and kingdoms. In the 19th century the Europeans fought both African tribes and each other because they wanted to rule the continent. The Europeans believed white people were superior to other races and that they should decide everything.

During apartheid, Black Africans in South Africa lost their freedom. They had separate houses, schools, hospitals and transport. They even had separate beaches and benches in the parks marked for blacks or whites only. The white minority got the best of everything. Eventually the apartheid system collapsed. And in 1994 Nelson Mandela became the first black President of South Africa.

South Africa is now called a Rainbow Nation. The population is 55 million. It’s about 80% Black African, 9% Coloured (that's mixed race), 8.5% White and 2.5% Asian. There are 11 official languages and three capitals – Pretoria (administration), Bloemfontein (law) and Cape Town (parliament). South Africans spend a lot of time outdoors because of the long summers and warm temperatures.

There are still many problems to solve. There is a lot of violent crime, AIDS and unemployment. Affirmative Action is a system that helps Black Africans get jobs, but more than 25% still do not have work. Only 7% of white people are unemployed, however. White people also have a higher level of education and earn much more money. Building a new South Africa will take time.

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