GLOBAL COMMUNITY

Global Community on South Africa

Global Community on South Africa

Introduction

South Africa is a republic at the southern tip of Africa. It is bordered to the north by Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe and to the north-east by Mozambique and Swaziland. South Africa is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Africa. The country has more European immigrants than any other country in Africa and has the highest population of European, Indian and mixed descent (Blauer & Laure´ 2006). Racial and ethnic conflict has always been a big part of the history and politics of the country. Though the country has developed some foundations for the health system, it still struggles with fighting pandemics like HIV and AIDS.

Population

By mid 2007, the population of South Africa Statistics was estimated at 47 850 700 people, including 38,079,900 blacks (79.6 percent of the total population), 4,354,000 whites (9.1 percent), Colored 4,245,000 (8.9 percent) and 1,173,700 Asians (2.5 percent). Of the total population, 24,288,100 people are male and 23,562,600 are female. The number of economic migrants who illegally stay in the country is between three and four million estimate (Falola & Heaton 2008).

Social landscape and People

Healthcare spending in South Africa stood at $22.7bn in 2009, corresponding to 7.6% of GDP. In the previous year, healthcare spending stood at $22.5bn (equivalent to 8.1% of GDP). Around 79% of the South African population comprises non-white citizens, while 9.6% are white citizens. In contrast, about 85% of all wealth, assets, and salaries are held by the white population, while the remainder is in black hands.

Economy

South Africa's industrial sector is the largest and most important on the African continent, and in its mineral wealth is a republic of the world's leading mining countries (Falola 1991). Yet the country has never succeeded in industrial development - a fact which some experts to South Africa's former policy of apartheid attributed. One of the biggest challenges for the country remains the equitable distribution of wealth and resources.

Environmental Overview

South Africa is renowned for its distinctive environmental landscape. The South African government has partnered with other developing countries to ensure safer urban biodiversity, and has further stressed the importance of sustainably developing the country's environment and energy resources. Furthermore, South Africa has adopted the UN's Agenda 21 to ensure sustainable development. The South African judicial system has introduced heavy penalties for violators of environmental rules and regulations, which will enable the government to earn substantial revenue and curtail the ever increasing violations of environmental legislation. In addition, the government has signed accords with many corporations to obtain funding for expanding inspections on different industrial sectors which tend to violate environmental norms. However, the recent acid mine drainage (AMD) is a major health and safety concern.

South Africa has developed its National Environmental Policy through a comprehensive participatory process known as the Consultative National Environment Policy Process.

An emissions-related tax is imposed on new passenger cars, which has increased car prices by 2% on average since the tax was introduced in September ...