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"I want to bring prosperity to my home."
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| When the Earth Summit took place in 1992, South Africa had just emerged from apartheid. Ten years later, the country is still struggling to overcome the inequities of the past. In Thornhill township, where Visumzi was born, electricity has recently arrived, and with it TV. But lamps are no solution to South Africa's dire health and social issues. Soon after his birth, Visumzi's father died of pneumonia. His mother's second husband often got drunk and beat her. An aunt in Pretoria who once sent money has died of AIDS. (In South Africa today, one in nine people are infected with HIV.) |
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| GNI, Rank (out of 207, 1999) |
88th |
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| GNI per Capita (USD, 1999) |
$3,170 |
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| Percentage of Pop. Under 14 Years (2000, est.) |
35% |
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| Life Expectancy at Birth (in years, 1999) |
48 |
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| Infant Mortality (per 1,000 live births, 1999) |
62 |
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| Child Malnutrition (% underweight, 1999) |
9% |
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| Access to Improved Water (% pop., 1999) |
86% |
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| Health Spending (% of GDP, 1997) |
7.1% |
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| Ratio, Doctors to People (1996) |
1:1,049 |
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Primary School Enrollment
(average for region, 1998) |
60% |
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| Female Net School Enrollment (1997) |
No data |
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| Education Spending (% of GDP, 1996) |
8% (1997) |
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| Compulsory Education |
10 yrs |
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| Literacy Rate (2000, est.) |
Men, 86% Women, 85% |
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Data Sources: World Bank Atlas 2001, Facts on File
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