Capetown is the legislative capital of South Africa. It was previously known as Kaapstad, and has a reputation for being one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

It lies on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and has some excellent beaches. However, the water is quite cold as it comes from the south. The city is dominated by another natural feature - the Table Mountain. It is 1000m high and if offers walks to the summit from where visitors can get a marvelous view of the city.

The city has a population of over a million, which includes whites, black Africans, people of Indian origin and others. Among the blacks, there are two major groups, namely Nguni (Zulu, Swazi and Xhosa) and Sotho (Tswana, Pedi and Basutho). Traditional beliefs are the most commonly practised religion among the blacks. There are 11 official languages, but most people speak English and/or Afrikaans. Afrikaans has developed from High Dutch of the 17th century, which has abandoned the complicated grammar and adopted vocabulary from French, English, indigenous Africa and even Asian languages. The Africans speak mainly isiXhosa and isiZulu.

Among industries in the city and nearby areas, ship repair is the most important industry. Cape Town possesses one of the world's largest dry docks. Other industries in and around the city include food processing, wine making, manufacture of clothing, plastic, leather goods, petroleum refining, chemical and fertilizer processing, cement and automobiles. Tourism is also gradually becoming more and more important.

[ Western Africa - Northern Africa - Eastern Africa ]
[ Central Africa - Southern Africa - the African Islands ]

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