South Africa in a Nutshell

Cape Town, often rated as one of the most beautiful cities in the
world, is also, from an economic perspective, one of the most
unequal cities in South Africa—the world’s most economically
unequal country—with a Gini coefficient of around 0.65.
Two-thirds of the population have almost nothing, while a
significant portion of the remaining third holds immense wealth.


In addition, according to crime indices, South Africa ranks as
one of the most violent countries globally. The unemployment rate
among 18- to 35-year-olds hovers around 45%. Although there is
theoretically a minimum wage of approximately $1.50 per hour, in
practice, it is often not enforced. A large portion of the
population lives in absolute poverty.


Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the country has undergone
significant changes and developments, both nationally and
internationally. However, issues such as inequality and poverty
have worsened in recent years, to the extent that this year, for
the first time, the ANC, which has won the democratic
parliamentary majority over the past 30 years, failed to achieve
it.


South Africa also continues to make headlines internationally,
for instance, with its non-alignment strategy regarding Russia's
war of aggression or other stances, such as accusing Israel of
genocide before the International Court of Justice.


I’ve been speaking with members of the population, scholars, and
researchers about political, economic, environmental, and social
dimensions. 


This episode aims to bring it all together— South Africa in a
Nutshell.