South Africa Facts

• Cape Town is right at the southern tip of Africa. It is in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
• The picture in the heading is an aerial view of Cape Town. I'll be living near the second group of mountains and working near the far mountains.
• South Africa is preparing to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup and you can see one of the stadiums being built in the picture.
  
• South Africa has a population of 45 million.
• Population break down: 79.5% black, 9.2% white, 2.5% Indian/Asian, 8.9% coloured
  
• The seasons are opposite of the States so right now it's summer! The weather is similar to the Carolinas with warm and dry (15ºC-27ºC) summers and mild winters (7ºC-18ºC) with some rainfall. I've been reassured that it never snows!
  
• There are 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sesotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu.
• Until 1994, the country was known for apartheid government - white-minority rule. It now has a democratic government.
• South African currency is the Rand. The exchange rate is 7.4:1 R:USD. The World Cup has caused the Rand to rapidly increase in value compared to the dollar.
  
• The prevalence of gold and diamonds in South Africa has caused great economic power, wealth, war and division.
• Cape Town is surrounded by massive vineyards, which drive the economy in that area.
  
• 2.5% of children ages 2-14, 16.8% of youths and adults age 15-49 are HIV positive in South Africa.
• 7.9% of males and 13.6% of females in South Africa are HIV positive.
• 9% of adults in Western Cape ages 20 to 64 are HIV positive.
• In South Africa there are an estimated 1,400,000 orphans due to AIDS.
  
• South Africa's national animal is the springbok and the national bird is the blue crane.
• The commonly thought of African animals, including the Big 5 (elephant, rhino, leopard, lion and buffalo) can still be found roaming in parts of South Africa.