South Africa and the Relationship of Gdp to Illiteracy and Poverty

South Africa has been through many crises during its long and bloody history, however with the end of apartheid in the early 1980s this culturally rich country has been working diligently toward economic growth and political stabilization for all its citizens. During the last two decades South Africa has become a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources (CIA 2); well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world (CIA 2); and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region (CIA 2). However, growth has not been strong enough to lower South Africa's high unemployment rate (CIA 2); and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups, namely women and children (CIA 2). South African economic policy is fiscally conservative, but pragmatic, focusing on targeting inflation and liberalizing trade as means to increase job growth and household income (CIA 2).

South Africa’s disadvantaged groups, its women and children, are showing the effects of South Africa’s quest for economic prosperity and dominance in their region. As the GDP rises for their nation, women’s unemployment numbers increase as well. Skilled jobs for women are also decreasing as are literacy rates. This is a concern because as women leave the formal job market they find increasing competition for the unskilled jobs. As GDP rises is appears that the men are getting more skilled jobs and women are being forced out of the market due to decreasing literacy rates and a job market which is geared to men. Although apartheid has ended, there is still a distinctive division between white and black workers and there is a definite division between male and female workers as well. Never having their political processes disrupted by...