in 1999 to 52.68 years for males and 56.9 years for females. Life expectancy also varies by race. Life expectancy for black males was about nine years less than white males. According to the South African Central Statistical Service, 50.5 percent of the population is female and 49.5 percent is male. The gender ratio had been skewed because in some rural areas and homelands men were often drawn to the urban areas for work. The fertility rate went from 5.6 live births to an adult female in 1985 to 4.1 in 1995 and to 3.09 in 1999. The official estimate of the birth rate was at 27.1 live births per 1,000 people in 1995 to 25.94 in 1999. In the early 1990’s, 12 percent of all births were to women aged nineteen or younger. The infant mortality rate was at 45.8 deaths within the first year, per 1,000 births in 1995 to 51.99 in 1999. The average annual death rate has gone up from 7.6 per 1,000 in 1995 to 12.81 in 1999. In 1995, the population density averaged about 34.4 persons per square kilometer. The eastern half of the country is more densely populated than the western half because of the arid climate in the west and the concentration of minerals in the east. Until 1994, the most densely populated areas were the homelands where there was roughly 300 or more people per square kilometer. Black South Africans also formed a majority in all provinces except the in the Western Cape, where they made up only 20 percent. The cities were predominantly white while the townships or squatter areas were overwhelmingly black. As apartheid-related laws were rescinded or ignored during the mid 1990’s, the racial make up of the cities began to change (Library of Congress, 48).Today South Africa’s population in general enjoys good health, compared with other African countries. During apartheid the superior care was available to the wealthy urban residents, who were white, and the inferior services were available to the poor...
