Children in South Africa

Overview of South Africa

South Africa is an ethnically diverse country with a long history of racial intolerance magnified by the social structure of apartheid. Apartheid literally means separateness, and for South Africa the division occurred between the whites and the blacks. Following Dutch colonization and British control this African nation was left divided. Discovery of massive gold and diamond deposits accelerated segregation as Europeans exploited South Africa's human resources. Apartheid was driven by whites who achieved financial stability by controlling the number and behavior of native Africans. The government officially implemented the political structure of apartheid in 1948. This system continued through the government crisis in 1978-1989 and dismantling of apartheid occurred between 1990-1994.

In 1994, when Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first black president, a new constitution granted blacks and whites equal rights for the first time. This Bill of Rights is the only one in the world whose ideology specifies and enumerates rights for children. Six years later Mandela's promise of an integrated and equal society for the non-whites who make up 84% of the population remains unachieved. South Africa's segregated history lays the foundation for today's social and racial inequality. All social institutions (schools, healthcare, workplace) reflect the vestiges of apartheid. While South Africa has made huge political strides, the legacy of apartheid lives on; consequently non-white children experience poor health care, inferior education, and violence.

Purpose

The purpose of our site is to educate other about the research that we have conducted on the children living in South Africa. We also compiled information about the social structure, agency and diversity of the children to focus on the sociological aspect. It is important to keep in mind that the information which we gathered was from a limited amount of research and because of this some of the information might have been misinterpreted.

Below are statistics regarding children in South Africa:

Total Population41.2 million (1995)
Population under 18(in thousands) 16,413
Infant Mortality Rate(per 1,000 live births) 60
Life Expectancy
Males63 years of age
Females68 years of age
Total Fertility Rate3.2
Contraceptive Prevalence50
Births to Teenagers12%
Education
Students in Primary School7.17 million
Students in Secondary School4.59 million
Major Universities19
Ethnic Division
Black75.2%
White13.6%
Colored8.6%
Indians2.6%


The statistics above are compiled from both the UNICEF web page and South Africa web page.

Context

The following sites focus on specific aspects of children's lives in South Africa


Health Street Children Orphans Education Violence Organizations


View a map of South Africa

References

Beck, Roger. 2000. The History of South Africa. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

Byrnes, Rita, ed. 1996. South Africa: A Country Study. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress.

Ross, Robert. 1999. A Concise History of South Africa. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Sparks, Allister. 1999. "The Status of the Dream." The Wilson Quarterly. 23: 66-92.

This page was created by Kylie Anderson, Stacy Diavolitsis and Matt Frankel for a Children & Society course at Tulane University. This course is taught by Professor April Brayfield. The purpose of our webpage is to describe the lives of children in South Africa. Iformation about children's lives in other countries is available at the Childhood Around the World homepage.

Last Updated: December 16, 2000