After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902).

The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule.

The new constitution was certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by then President Nelson Mandela on 10 December 1996. It entered into effect on 3 February 1997 and is being implemented in phases. President Thabo Mbeki took over from Mandela on 16 June 1999 and is the chief of state and head of government.

The country is located in Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa. It covers a total area of 1 219 912 sq km and borders on Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. It completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland.

Pretoria is the capital, Cape Town the legislative centre and Bloemfontein the judicial centre.

South Africa is a middle-income, developing country with an abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world, and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centres throughout the region.

However, growth has not been strong enough to cut into high unemployment, and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially the problems of poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups.

Other problems are crime, corruption, and HIV/Aids. At the start of 2000, President Mbeki vowed to promote economic growth and foreign investment, and to reduce poverty by relaxing restrictive labour laws, stepping up the pace of privatisation, and cutting unneeded governmental spending. The economy slowed in 2001, largely the result of the slowing of the international economy.

Source: CIA World Factbook

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