Day: May 11, 2021

Overview South Africa is characterized by its multi-ethnicity and diverse culture groups. Eleven official languages are recognized in the constitution. About 79.5 percent of the South African population is of black African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different indigenous languages. South Africa also contains the largest communities of European, Asian, and racially-mixed ancestry in Africa. South Africa, with the third largest economy in Africa, is classified as an ‘upper-middle income’ economy by the World Bank. It is viewed as the ‘gateway to Africa’ for investors, and recently joined the BRIC nations in order to better economic growth on the continent. In spite of its economic strength, South Africa currently has the highest mortality rate in the world, with HIV/AIDS claiming thousands of lives. There are currently around 500 000 new infections every year and nearly two million AIDS orphans. About 14 percent of the populations are infected. The impact of the AIDS-endemic is already devastating and will affect...