Is south Africa a first second or third world country in your opinion?

[Verneman]

The only first world country in Africa

Second world

Third world

Between second and Third world

[MCheetah]

A third-world country with some small pockets of second world (India level) status. Definitely not first world ("industrialized" or modernized).

And yeah, I know technically "first world, second world, etc." refers to NATO status and have to do with allies against Russia and the Cold War and stuff like that instead of socioeconomic status, but still; people use them referring to wealth, as OP implied.

According to various maps online, even India is a third world country, and they have way more money than South Africa (counting the government and GDP; not so much per household). The only real "second world" countries are Russia, China, and parts of east Asia. The only real "First World" parts of Asia are South Korea and Japan. So there ya go.

The average salary in South Africa is $1,480 a month. Which is about as much as I made working part time back in the US two days a week. So they're pretty poor.

South Africa is a third world country with some small second world pockets in Cape Town, like I said.

[coverboyoutlawbrady]

Because the white settlers robbed the Indigenous black and Asian ("coloured", as the latter-named folk are termed in South Africa) of their land and under apartheid, compelled them to live in impoverished areas of the country, receive a minimal education so they would be fit only to serve the whites ("baaskaap," look it up) a situation which has begun to be rectified only since 1994, when Mr. Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first truly democratically elected leader (though the kleptocrats who succeeded Mr. Mandela have funnelled the redistributive programs designed to aid black and coloured South Africa into their own bank accounts), the country has a rich white minority, a few wealthy black government-funded crooks, a small black middle-class and about 40% black poverty rate or twice America's black poverty rate. That makes it a second-to-third world country, because the former minority white rulers have 80-90% of the wealth.

[Verneman]

You forget that Cape Malays are Coloured people too

[Verneman]

They have Khoe (tribe of Khoi) heritage.
Khoisan tribes are as follows
Nama, khoen, griqua
And Basters

[Verneman]

People brought in from the east mixed with Khoisan tribes during Cape-Slavery

[Verneman]

Most Cape Malays are mixed with Khoisan

[MuddyMole]

"Second world countries" are those that were part of the old communist Eastern bloc during the cold war, which obviously doesn't include South Africa. It's not really a term that's used any more, and has nothing to do with how developed a country is.

Socially and economically speaking, South Africa is considered (by the IMF and UN) to be a "developing country", along with most of Asia, South America and Eastern Europe. It is in between the "developed countries" (Western Europe, North America, Australasia and parts of Asia) and the "least developed countries" (most of the rest of Africa and the poorer parts of Asia).

[DJB72]

Being British but living in South Africa it was close to first world 20 years ago, but after the ANC "recalled" Thabo Mbeki and dumped Jacob Zuma onto the country as president and rampant racism and nepotism going on at all levels, an out of control HIV epidemic, collapsing economy, the list goes on.

Only America has a more generally corrupt party right now.

[andreasderjuengere]

1st, 2nd, and 3rd is not a quality ranking, but rather a political and historical association. And also a relict of the ''cold war''.

The few S/A people I met (all: palefaces) are/were all quite crude and ''cowboy-ish''; nothing that impressed me. Musk confirms my ''rating''.

Personally, I see S/A as an isolated case that belongs nowhere.

''Although it lays eggs, it's not a duck, and not a chicken''.

[OddBeMe]

I think originally this "system" is more geography... not gdp "shithole country" system. I wanna say the British thought they were first world and every country farther away are second and third world.

But then it got co-opted into gdp. So not sure either way.

[jshm2]

You're confused as that method of categorisation is no longer relevant in todays globalised world.

There are places in South Africa more developed than the USA, and vice versa.

[Agagagagaga]

https://youtu.be/F6LlvWrNg6Q

Looks real developed.

[cth96190]

Third world, after it was handed to the blacks.

[AngryCarl]

Third or fourth.

[Verneman]

They are higher than a fourth. Because they uave a growing middle class and a aicial ekite class aswell
I would out them between third and second right in the middle ofsecind-third.
Because
The term “Fourth World Countries” is used to describe parts of countries in the Third World that are most stricken by poverty. Most of these regions do not have political ties. The people of these nations are hunter-gatherers, live in nomadic communities, or are part of tribes.

[Verneman]

South Africa has
an Elite class
An upper middle class
A lower middle class
A working class
And a High unemployment rate of 25%

[maximumpower]

Certainly not a place I'd care to visit.

[Joker_]

Fourth world

[andreasderjuengere]

That's an extremely accurate idea :)