Business and Personal LawChapter 17: Operating a CorporationGlobal LawSouth Africa South Africa is located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa. It is bordered by Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. South Africa is a developing country with a plentiful supply of resources. Its financial, transportation, legal, and energy systems are all sophisticated. South Africa's stock exchange ranks among the ten largest in the world. However, South Africa struggles with 30 percent unemployment and economic problems remaining from apartheid. South Africa is slightly less than twice the size of Texas, and 81.8 percent of its population is literate. South Africa has been at the forefront of palaeontological research into the origin of the human species. Fossil evidence that can be documented back several million years has been discovered in South Africa that has led to the country being designated a World Heritage Site. The government of South Africa is a republic. The president is both chief of state and head of government, and is elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term. The president appoints the cabinet. The National Assembly consists of 400 seats, and its members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. The legal system is based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law. South Africa has a Constitutional Court, a Supreme Court of Appeals, high courts, and magistrate courts. |  |
