James' World 2

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Argentines are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Argentine.

Argentina is a multiethnic and multilingual society, home to people of various ethnic, religious, and national origins, with the majority of the population made up of Old World immigrants and their descendants. As a result, Argentines do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizenship and allegiance to Argentina. Aside from the indigenous population, nearly all Argentines or their ancestors immigrated within the past five centuries. Among countries in the world that have received the most immigrants in modern history, Argentina, with 6.6 million, ranks second to the United States (27 million), and ahead of other immigrant destinations such as Canada, Brazil, and Australia.

Argentina is a multiethnic society, which means that it is home to people of many different ethnic backgrounds. Argentina is a melting pot of different peoples.

In the mid-19th century a large wave of immigration started to arrive in Argentina due to new Constitutional policies that encouraged immigration, and issues in the countries the immigrants came from, such as wars, poverty, hunger, and famines. The main immigration sources were from Europe, the countries from the Near and the Middle East, Russia, and Japan. Eventually, Argentina became the country with the second-largest number of immigrants in the period, with 6.6 million, second only to the United States with 27 million.

Therefore, most Argentines are of European descent (with a significant Native component), and are either descendants of colonial-era settlers and/or of the 19th and 20th-century immigrants from Europe, with about 65% of the population being of ethnic European descent.

The most common ethnic groups are a mix between Spanish (including Galicians and Basques), Italian and Native American. It is estimated that up to 30 million Argentines, up to 62.5% of the total population, have Italian ancestry, wholly or in part. There are also some Germanic, Slavic, Irish, and French populations. Smaller Jewish, Arab, Asian, Romani, and African communities contribute to the melting pot.

Immigration of recent decades includes mainly Paraguayans, Bolivians, and Peruvians, among other Latin Americans, Eastern Europeans, Africans, and Asians. Wikipedia

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The Bavarian Rhön Nature Park straddles the junction of the German states of Bavaria, Hesse, and Thuringia. 70 km² of the total 125 km² area of the nature park has been recognized by UNESCO as part of the Rhön Biosphere Reserve. The organization for the promotion of the Bavarian Rhön Nature Park (Zweckverband Naturpark Bayerische Rhön) was founded in 1967. On 26 November 1982 the regulation for the Naturpark Bayerische Rhön was issued and, in 1997, the Zweckverband became the Society for the Bavarian Rhön Nature Park and Biosphere Reserve (Naturpark und Biosphärenreservat Bayer. Rhön e.V.).

The nature park lies between the Spessart, Vogelsberg, Thuringian Forest, Haßberge and Steigerwald forest. It is characterized by mixed forests, streams of flowing water, moors, grassland, and arid habitats. Wikipedia

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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. With over 60 million people, the country is the world’s 23rd-most populous nation and covers an area of 1,221,037 square kilometers (471,445 square miles). South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Africans. The remaining population consists of Africa’s largest communities of European (White South Africans), Asian (Indian South Africans and Chinese South Africans), and Multiracial (Coloured South Africans) ancestry.

South Africa is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometers (1,739 mi) of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighboring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the most populous country located entirely south of the equator. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with a diversity of unique biomes and plant and animal life.

South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures, languages, and religions. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the constitution’s recognition of 11 official languages, the fourth-highest number in the world. According to the 2011 census, the two most spoken first languages are Zulu (22.7%) and Xhosa (16.0%). The two next ones are of European origin: Afrikaans (13.5%) developed from Dutch and serves as the first language of most Coloured and White South Africans; English (9.6%) reflects the legacy of British colonialism and is commonly used in public and commercial life. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup d’état, and regular elections have been held for almost a century. However, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994.

During the 20th century, the black majority sought to claim more rights from the dominant white minority, which played a large role in the country’s recent history and politics. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalizing previous racial segregation. After a long and sometimes violent struggle by the African National Congress (ANC) and other anti-apartheid activists both inside and outside the country, the repeal of discriminatory laws began in the mid-1980s. Since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the country’s liberal democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the “rainbow nation” to describe the country’s multicultural diversity, especially in the wake of apartheid.

South Africa is an upper-middle power in international affairs; it maintains significant regional influence and is a member of both the Commonwealth of Nations and G20. It is a developing country, ranking 114th on the Human Development Index. It has been classified by the World Bank as a newly industrialized country, with the second-largest economy in Africa, and the 33rd-largest in the world. South Africa also has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. Since the end of apartheid, government accountability and quality of life have substantially improved in South Africa. However, crime, poverty, and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed and living on less than US$1.25 a day as of 2008. Wikipedia

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