Afrikaans is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and people enslaved by them. Afrikaans gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics during the course of the 18th century. Now spoken in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, estimates c. 2010 of the total number of Afrikaans speakers range between 15 and 23 million. Most linguists consider Afrikaans to be a partly creole language.
The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installed Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa. Cyril Ramaphosa, the incumbent national President, has served as President of the ANC since 18 December 2017.
Cape Town is South Africa's oldest city. It serves as the country's legislative capital, being the seat of the South African Parliament. It is the country's second-largest city and the largest in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.
Lesotho, officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. The only sovereign enclave in the world outside of the Italian peninsula, it is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over 30,000 km2 (11,600 sq mi) and has a population of about 2 million.
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres of the Botswanan right bank of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the Commonwealth of Nations.
Pretoria is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
The Union of South Africa was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange River colonies. It included the territories that were formerly a part of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State.
Johannesburg is the most populous city in South Africa, classified as a megacity; it is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demographia, the Johannesburg–Pretoria urban area is the 26th-largest in the world in terms of population, with 14,167,000 inhabitants. It is the provincial capital and largest city of Gauteng, which is the wealthiest province in South Africa. Johannesburg is the seat of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa. Most of the major South African companies and banks have their head offices in Johannesburg. The city is located within the mineral-rich Witwatersrand hills, the epicentre of the international-scale mineral, gold and (specifically) diamond trade.
Coloureds refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South Africa's Coloured people are regarded as having some of the most diverse genetic backgrounds. Because of the vast combination of genetics, different families and individuals within a family may have a variety of different physical features.
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks, is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts. Their emblem is a native antelope, the Springbok, which is the national animal of South Africa. The team has been representing South Africa in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. They are currently the reigning World Champions and have won the World Cup on 3 occasions,. The Springboks are equalled with the All Blacks with 3 World Cup wins.
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and the physical geography definition based on the physical characteristics of the land.
Zenzile Miriam Makeba, nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa.
The South Africa men's national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represent South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Its nickname derives from South Africa's national flower, Protea cynaroides, commonly known as the "King Protea".
The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international soccer and it is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for Soccer in South Africa. The team's nickname is Bafana Bafana, and South Africa's home ground is FNB Stadium, which is located in Johannesburg. The team's greatest result was winning the Africa Cup of Nations at home in 1996. The team is a member of both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa is a South African businessman and politician who is serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. A former anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and businessman, Ramaphosa is also the president of the African National Congress (ANC).
Dobsonville is a township in greater Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. It lies to the west of Meadowlands, a part of Diepmeadow, and is adjacent to Mofolo North and Zondi, which are suburbs of Soweto on its southern border.
Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap, which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically through minoritarianism by the nation's dominant minority white population. According to this system of social stratification, white citizens had the highest status, followed by Indians and Coloureds, then Black Africans. The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day, particularly inequality.
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers is a former South African international cricketer. AB de Villiers was named as the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during his 15-year international career and was one of the five Wisden cricketers of the decade at the end of 2019. He is regarded as one of the greatest cricketers in the history of the sport and the best batsman of his era. AB de Villiers began his international career as a wicket-keeper-batsman, but he has played most often solely as a batsman. He batted at various positions in the batting order, but predominantly in the middle-order. Regarded as one of the most innovative and destructive batsmen in the modern era, de Villiers is known for a range of unorthodox shots, particularly behind the wicket-keeper. He made his international debut in a Test match against England in 2004 and first played a One Day International (ODI) in early 2005. His debut in Twenty20 International cricket came in 2006. He scored over 8,000 runs in both Test and ODI cricket and is one of the very few batsmen to have a batting average of over fifty in both forms of the game. In limited overs cricket, he is an attacking player. He holds the record for the fastest ODI century in just 31 balls.
White South Africans generally refers to South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original settlers, known as Afrikaners, and the Anglophone descendants of predominantly British colonists of South Africa. In 2016, 57.9% were native Afrikaans speakers, 40.2% were native English speakers, and 1.9% spoke another language as their mother tongue, such as Portuguese, Greek, or German. White South Africans are by far the largest population of White Africans. White was a legally defined racial classification during apartheid.
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline that stretches along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of 1,221,037 square kilometres. Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town, as the seat of Parliament, is the legislative capital. Bloemfontein has traditionally been regarded as the judicial capital. The largest city, and site of highest court is Johannesburg.
