South Africa

South Africa

area:	1,219,916sq km (470,566sq mi)
population:	45,129,400
capital (population):	Pretoria (executive, 1,228,200), Cape Town (legislative, 2,686,000), Bloemfontein (judicial, 371,200)
government:	Multiparty republic
ethnic groups:	Black 75%, White 14%, Coloured 9%, Asian 2%
languages:	Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Sotho, Pedi, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu (all official)
religions:	Christianity 68%, Islam 2%, Hinduism 1.5%
currency:	Rand = 100 cents

Republic in s Africa. South Africa is the southernmost country in Africa. A narrow coastal margin includes the Indian Ocean port of Durban; the dry s tablelands, Little and Great Karoo; Cape Town, on the Cape of Good Hope; and part of the Namib Desert. The interior forms part of the African plateau. The plateau rises in the e to an escarpment more than 2000m (6000ft) high, on the fringe of which lies Bloemfontein. Soweto, Johannesburg, and Pretoria, all lie on the n of the escarpment. The highest peaks are in the Drakensberg range, on the e border of Lesotho. In the n lies part of the Kalahari Desert. In the ne are the Witwatersrand goldfields: Kimberley has the largest diamond mines. The Kruger National Park lies on the border with Mozambique. The longest river is the Orange.

Climate and Vegetation

Most of South Africa is subtropical. The sw has a Mediterranean climate. Much of the plateau is arid, and the Namib Desert is almost rainless. Grassland covers much of the high interior, with tropical savanna in lower areas. Forest and woodland cover only 3% of the land, and fynbos (scrub vegetation) is found in the Cape region.

History

The indigenous people of South Africa are the San. The first European settlement was not until 1652, when the Dutch East India Company founded a colony at Table Bay. Dutch Afrikaners (Boers) established farms, employing slaves. From the late 18th century, conflict with the Xhosa intensified, as the Boers trekked inland. In the early 19th century, Britain gained control of the Cape. Following Britain's abolition of slavery in 1833, the Boers began the Great Trek. They met with fierce resistance, particularly from the Zulu kingdom. The Boer republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State were established in 1852 and 1854. In the 1870s and 1880s, the discovery of diamonds and gold increased the pace of colonization and Britain sought to gain control of Boer- and Zulu-held areas. The British defeated the Zulu in the Zulu War (1879), and Natal annexed Zululand in 1897. In 1890, Cecil Rhodes became governor of Cape Colony. Britain defeated the Boers in the South African Wars (1880–81, 1899–1902).

In 1910, the Union of South Africa was formed, with Louis Botha as prime minister. In 1912, the African National Congress (ANC) was founded. During World War I, South Africa captured Namibia (1915), and after the war it was mandated to the Union. In 1919, Jan Smuts succeeded Botha as Prime Minister. In 1931, Smuts' successor and Nationalist Party founder (1914), James Hertzog, realized Afrikaner ambitions as South Africa achieved full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations. Smuts regained power in 1939, and South Africa joined the Allies in World War 2.

The Nationalist Party won the 1948 elections, advocating a policy of apartheid. Apartheid placed economic, social, and political restrictions on non-whites. The ANC began a campaign of passive resistance, but after the Sharpeville massacre (1960), Nelson Mandela formed a military wing. In 1961, faced by international condemnation, Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd established South Africa as a republic. In 1964, Mandela was jailed. Verwoerd was assassinated in 1966, and B. J. Vorster succeeded him. Vorster used South African forces to prevent black majority rule in South Africa's neighbouring states. The crushing of the Soweto uprising (1976) sparked a new wave of opposition. In 1978, P. W. Botha was elected Prime Minister. During the 1970s, four bantustans (homelands) gained nominal independence. Sanctions forced Botha to adopt a new constitution in 1984, which gave Indian and Coloured minorities limited political representation; black Africans were still excluded. From 1985 to 1990, South Africa was in a state of emergency: Archbishop Desmond Tutu pressed for further sanctions. In 1989, President de Klerk began the process of dismantling apartheid.

In 1990, Mandela was released and resumed leadership of the ANC. Clashes continued between the ANC and Chief Buthelezi's Zulu Inkatha movement. The ANC won South Africa's first multi-racial elections in 1994, and Mandela became president. The homelands re-integrated and South Africa divided into nine provinces. In 1995, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, headed by Tutu, began to investigate political crimes committed under apartheid. In 1999, Thabo Mbeki, who replaced Mandela as president of the ANC in 1997, became president of South Africa. AIDS is a major problem.

Economy

Mining forms the base of Africa's most industrialized economy (2000 GDP per capita, US$8500). South Africa is the world's leading producer of gold and fifth-largest producer of diamonds. Chromite, coal, copper, iron ore, manganese, platinum, silver, and uranium are also mined. Sanctions, the falling price of gold, and civil and industrial strife created prolonged recession. Unemployment stood at 45% (1995). Major manufactures include chemicals, iron, and steel. Agriculture employs more than 33% of the workforce. Major products include fruits, grapes for wine-making, maize, meat and sugar cane.

Political map

Physical map

Websites

http://www.gov.za; http://www.saembassy.org