South Africa

The Edmund Rice Mission began in South Africa in 1897 and is currently involved in schools and projects aimed at street children and at-risk youth. South Africa faces major problems, but having held four successful national elections in recent years, a democratic culture appears to be taking hold, hopefully allowing the situation to improve and giving the people hope for the future.

Population: 50 million
Life Expectancy: 49 years
Infant Mortality Rate: 42 per 1000
Public expenditure on health: 8.9% of GDP
HIV/AIDS: 5.6 million or 17.8% of population
Public Expenditure on Education: 6% of GDP
% of children primary school age not in school: 10%
Unemployment of youth 15-24 years: 49.8%