MCAT Test Centers in South Africa

According to AAMC (the MCAT test maker), there are 2 MCAT test centers in South Africa. Most testing centers are located inside a college or university. You can select a testing location that is nearest to you. Please note that you are able to choose a test center when registering for the MCAT.

MCAT Test Centers in South Africa

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
Skylar, 5th Floor Cape Chamber House
19 Louis Gradner St
Foreshore
CAPE TOWN, South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Bytes People Solutions, Bytes Business Park
241 Third Road, Halfway Gardens, Midrand
Gauteng
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa 1686

More about South Africa

Economy

South Africa is the most industrialized country in Africa. The automotive, chemical, metal processing and food manufacturing industries generate more than a quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP). The emerging country is rich in mineral resources and is one of the leading mining countries in the world. Large amounts of gold, platinum, chromium, manganese, titanium, rare earths, diamonds and hard coal are extracted in the mines.

Around 6% of the workforce is employed in agriculture. Corn, fruits, sugar cane, wheat and flowers are grown. The breeding of sheep, goats, cattle, pigs and ostriches is also important. Small-scale farms, which are mainly run by the black population, are used for self-sufficiency. There are also large, modern companies. They are mostly owned by whites and produce agricultural goods that are intended for export. During the apartheid period, the farmland was mainly in the hands of the white minority. Since the transition to democracy in 1994, the government has tried to distribute the land fairly. The black population still owns less than a third of the soils.

Government-sponsored tourism is also an important cornerstone of the economy. With its pleasant climate, diverse landscapes and abundance of flora and fauna, South Africa attracts around 10 million tourists from all over the world every year.

Coal is the most important energy source, followed by oil and nuclear power. Water is scarce, which is why water management plays an important role in industry, agriculture and the water supply for the population. Together with Lesotho, water from the mountainous region of Lesotho is piped to South Africa as part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The water and electricity supply is inadequate.

The income differences between the population groups are large even after the abolition of apartheid. One of the most pressing problems is to combat high unemployment, especially among the black population, and to improve vocational training.

History

The first people settled in the region of South Africa 4000 years ago: The first were the Bushmen San, about 2000 years ago the Khoikoi lived here and from the 2nd century BC onwards. Bantu-speaking farmers.

The Portuguese explored the South African coast at the end of the 15th century, and in 1652 the Dutchman Jan van Riebeeck ( * 1619, † 1677 ) founded Cape Town as the first supply station for the Dutch East India Company on the sea route to the East Indies. This led to the settlement of Dutch, French Huguenots and Germans. The descendants of these settlers are the later Boers. From 1779, white settlers on the east coast came into conflict with the Nguni people of the Xhosa. These Kaffir Wars lasted almost 100 years and ended with the subjugation of the Xhosa people.

Between 1780 and 1860 the number of European settlers rose from around 20,000 to 300,000. In 1806 the British took over the Dutch Cape Colony. Several thousand Boers left the colony and embarked on the “big trek”. They founded independent Boer republics in South Africa: the Orange Free State, Natal and Transvaal. When precious mineral resources such as gold and diamonds were discovered there, the British showed an interest in the areas. It came to the Boer War (1899–1902), from which the British emerged victorious.

In 1910 the Cape Province, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State were merged to form the South African Union. It remained a member of the British Commonwealth until the Republic of South Africa was proclaimed in 1961. The ruling whites introduced the first racial segregation laws in 1913. Apartheid was enshrined in law in 1950 and divided the population into four classes. The white minority distinguished itself from the black majority. Blacks, for example, had to use separate modes of transport such as buses and attend their own schools. They lived in special residential areas, the so-called townships. Marriages between blacks and whites were forbidden.

From the 1950s onwards, sections of the black population resisted their suppression in the form of acts of sabotage and uprisings. The African National Congress (ANC) was founded as early as 1912 to advocate black rights and against racial segregation. Its main representative was Nelson Mandela . As leader of the ANC, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964.

In the 1970s, the conflict between blacks and whites intensified, and the South African regime also fell into isolation internationally because the international community opposed the apartheid system.

From 1989, under President Frederik Willem de Klerk , there was a change of political course. Apartheid ended.

In 1991 the government abolished the last of the racial segregation laws. In the first democratic elections in 1994, the ANC won a majority. Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the first black president.

From 1995 onwards, a “truth and reconciliation commission” had the task of dealing with the human rights violations during apartheid. The victims of apartheid were compensated. In addition, about a third of the farmland should become the property of the black population in the long term. The ANC has governed South Africa since democratic elections were introduced in 1991. Government work is accompanied by corruption scandals, political unrest and strikes.