Reasons to be possitive about South Africa

Remember 1986 - A state of emergency was declared, white men did two years compulsory military service, 641 840 black people were removed from "white areas", 3 989 people were detained without trial, our economic growth rate was 0.7% and 64 countries had sports boycotts against SA... BUT NOW:

• "South Africa is probably the leading economy in the world," says Dr Martyn Davies, chief executive of Frontier Advisory. "No other country of our size and economic ranking has produced as many globally successful Fortune 500 companies as we have."
• South Africa sold $1.8 billion worth of cars to the US last year, putting us ahead of Sweden and Italy as suppliers to the US market.
• South Africa ranks second worldwide in terms of the transparency surrounding its budgets - just behind the United Kingdom, tied with France, and ahead of New Zealand and the United States - according to the Open Budget Index.
• The number of 'dollar millionaires' in South Africa increased from less than 25,000 in 2004 to over 55,000 in 2007, according to the World Wealth Report
• South Africa, almost alone amongst emerging market economies, is set to escape virtually unscathed from the latest recession and the investor panic sweeping the developing world's fragile economies. The SA banking sector has been consistently ranked in the top 10 in terms of competitiveness (IMD, Switzerland)
• South Africa has officially made the biggest T-shirt on the planet and is the holder of a new world record in 2010. Over 64 m in length, and 43 m wide (excluding the sleeves), the T-shirt is taller than the Statue of Liberty and has enough material to run the length of Robben Island twice.
• The black middle class grew by 30% in 2005, adding another 421,000 black adults to SA's middle-income layer and ramping up the black population's share of SA's total middle class to almost a third, according to the Financial Mail. Between 2001 and 2004, there were 300,000 new black entrants to the middle class. More than 12,000 'Black Diamond' families (South Africa's new black middle class) - or 50,000 people - were moving from the townships into the suburbs of South Africa's metro areas every month, according to the UCT Unilever Institute's Black Diamonds 2007 survey.
• South Africa was ranked 20th out of a total of 128 economies in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2007, ahead of many developed nations, including, the United States (31), Switzerland (40), Austria (27) and France (51).
• Cape Town has the fifth-best blue sky in the world according to the UK's National Physical Laboratory
• Tax revenue in SA has increased by 220% over the past 10 years. 10 million South Africans benefit from access to social grants
• Over the past 5 years, Consumer Confidence in SA has improved by 43%.
• South Africa is the first, and to date only, country to build nuclear weapons and then voluntarily dismantle its entire nuclear weapons programme
• After South Africa's internationally acclaimed success in hosting the 2010 Football World Cup, FIFA announced that SA would always be the back-up host country for future competitions.
• South Africa accounts for almost 45% of the GDP of the entire African continent, with an economy three times the size of the second biggest (Egypt)
• Cape Town took third place on 2ThinkNow's 2010 list for emerging innovative cities, coming in after the Middle East's Abu Dhabi and Dubai. These places in developing nations which rank among the most progressive on criteria such as geography, population, health and wealth.
• When Nelson Mandela was inaugurated President in 1994, SA was insolvent (liabilities exceeded assets). Today the Government's deficit is negligible - one of only a handful of countries in this position – standing at a 6-year low of around 3% of GDP.
• We've had single digit inflation since 1993 - following 20 years of double-digit inflation. Mortgage rates are at their lowest level since 1988. In 2010 it ran as low as 3.5%.
• South Africa is one of only 12 countries, where you can drink water from a tap. Our tap water was found to be the 3rd best quality in the entire world. South African wines win international awards every year and we have the longest wine route in the world.
• Eskom is the largest producer of coal-fired electricity in the world – and South Africans pay the least for electricity in the world, even after recent increases.
• South African Breweries is the 2nd largest brewer in the world and has a brewing presence in more than 40 countries.
• Daimler-Chrysler produces all Mercedes Benz C class vehicles for all right-hand drive markets throughout the world in South Africa.
• The Kruger National Park has the most innovative management of a national park anywhere in the world - and is the world's most profitable game park. The Cape Peninsula contains more species of plants here per hectare than any other area of the world.
• PLUS - Magnificent highways - Warm, friendly, vibrant rainbow people - Nelson Mandela - The world's most progressive constitution - Kreepy Kraulies, a South African invention - Mrs Ball's chutney - Biltong - The world's best looking population – The perfect climate -Ernie Els - 45 Blue Flag beaches - Magnificent highways - Kulula.com - Rissington Inn ...
• "I've got four children and ten grandchildren and we are all staying right here" - Raymond Ackerman, CEO Pick 'n Pay.