Rich in natural resources, South Africa comprises a central plateau, or veld, bordered to the south and east by the Drakensberg Mountains. After eight decades of white minority rule, with racial segregation under the apartheid policy since 1948, South Africa held its first multiracial elections in 1994. The revolution in South Africa's politics began in 1990, when black freedom groups were legalized and the dismantling of apartheid began. The African National Congress (ANC), under Nelson Mandela and his successor Thabo Mbeki, is now the leading political movement.

Under apartheid, South Africans were divided into racial categories: whites (Afrikaners and English-speakers), and three black groups (Coloreds, people whose descent was deemed mixed; Asians, mainly Indians; and Africans). Each category had different political, economic, and social rights, with whites enjoying the most privileges and Africans the fewest. While blacks now dominate politics, English-speaking whites continue to control the economy.

The extended family has been undermined by regulations forcing men to migrate for work, leaving their wives and children in the rural areas. A small black middle class has developed, but most black South Africans are underemployed.

The expected postapartheid ethnic conflict failed to materialize, although Inkatha has exploited feelings of Zulu identity in its quest for greater political power. An area of the Kalahari Desert was returned to a Khomani San (Bushmen) tribe in 1999.

Many women are now prominent in public life. The new constitution guarantees equality of the sexes.

Strengths

Africa's largest and most developed economy; highly diversified with modern infrastructure. Strong financial sector for mobilizing investment. Growing manufacturing sector. Varied resource base, particularly of strategically important minerals.

Weaknesses

Political fears deter foreign investment. Growth too low to overcome deprivation among black majority. Black unemployment growing by 2.5% a year. Emigration of skilled workers. Population boom. Rand at record low in 2001. Falling gold price undermines many sectors.

Profile

South Africa has a large and diverse private sector, much of it controlled by multinationals. International sanctions forced the government to play a central economic role through state corporations in the 1980s. This is now being reduced in a series of privatizations. The ANC has declared its intention to work with big business in order to revivify the economy and develop the townships.

South Africa became a multiracial democracy following elections in 1994.

Profile

The 1994 elections ended 45 years of apartheid, and Nelson Mandela was elected president. A new liberal constitution was adopted in 1996. The 1999 elections saw the ANC slightly increase its majority; Thabo Mbeki succeeded Mandela as president. The DP overtook the strife-ridden NNP to become the official opposition, and in 2000 the two organizations merged briefly to form an opposition Democratic Alliance (DA). However, in 2001, the NNP formed an unlikely alliance with the ANC.

Main Political Issues

Maintaining unity

In April 1994, South Africa confounded the proponents of violence and ethnic division by holding peaceful elections. The ANC-dominated government, while heeding the aspirations of the black majority, has tried to avoid marginalizing minorities. To deal with the apartheid past, it mandated an innovative Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Two years of painful and sometimes controversial hearings culminated in a final report in 1998. Initial praise for the report has been modified more recently by allegations of corruption and mishandling of compensation payments for the victims of apartheid.

Reconstruction and development

The costly Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) aims at improving health, housing, and education, and boosting employment. Implementation is too slow for many blacks, who had hoped for immediate benefits from democratic rule, while some members of the minorities see the RDP's affirmative action as reverse discrimination.

After several decades of political isolation and economic sanctions, South Africa has been welcomed back to the international fold, and has rejoined the UN and the Commonwealth. It now hopes to reattract international investors. South Africa has joined the SADC and leads continental opinion on regional issues. Former President Mandela often intervened to help resolve foreign conflicts, and continues to act as a regional mediator, most notably in Burundi. His successor, Thabo Mbeki, has continued this role, notably in pushing forward the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, Mbeki has been internationally criticized for his support of Robert Mugabe's regime in neighboring Zimbabwe, and his controversial opinions about HIV and AIDS.

Post-apartheid South Africa's creation of a truly national defense force seems almost miraculous, as it fuses together once bitter enemies: soldiers from the old white-run army, and guerrillas from the liberation groups.

However, doubts have been raised over the army's ability to operate effectively. A freeze on recruitment since 1994 has raised the average age of troops and created a glut of higher-ranking officers, while prevalence of AIDS is increasing. A large arms procurement program, announced in late 1998, failed to overcome the effects of previous swingeing cuts in spending. Few tanks are operational and the air force tends to run out of fuel toward the end of each financial year.

The legacy of sanctions is a major arms industry.

South Africa has some of the continent's richest natural resources, in particular minerals. Its dominance of the world market in gold and diamonds helped it survive sanctions during apartheid. The falling price of gold in 2000 meant that for the first time sales of platinum group metals outstripped those of gold. South Africa is the largest single producer of manganese, chrome ore, vanadium, and vermiciline. It also produces uranium.

With no oil, South Africa pioneered the transformation of coal into oil, and otherwise uses its huge coal reserves to generate electricity. About 80% of black homes lack electricity, and the government is considering non-grid options. Agriculture is varied and provides lucrative export earnings.

Floods and drought are familiar hazards. The main concern is protecting animal species. The creation of the world's largest game park, in cooperation with the governments of Zimbabwe and Mozambique, began in 2001.

Priorities include expanding port capacity and cross-border rail networks such as the Maputo Corridor. South African Airways was effectively renationalized in 2001 on the collapse of major shareholder Swissair.

Health services were formally desegregated in 1990, but equal access to care is still a distant goal. Statistics on medical provision hide a strong bias toward whites and urban areas, where 80% of doctors work. Poor provision for rural areas may explain why one in five children there die before the age of five – a rate considerably higher than the sub-Saharan average. The incidence of tuberculosis is 60 times higher than in the USA; South Africa has 5 million AIDS sufferers, more than any other country. The government has won the right to buy cheaper generic drugs for AIDS sufferers and has increased spending but balked at the potential cost of widespread provision.

Educational reform is a central task of the post-apartheid government. Progress has been made in improving national literacy, and access to education has been widened through the Tirisano (working together) education program, launched in 2000.

South Africa is a dangerous country: murders occur with extreme frequency, and rape, armed robberies, and muggings are rife. Vigilantism is a huge problem in the Cape. New gun laws were introduced in 2000. The death penalty was abolished in 1997.

In South Africa, the black majority forms the poorest group in society. Wealth disparities are marked. At the top, the white elite enjoys living standards similar to those of Californians. In contrast, black living conditions are among Africa's poorest. Nearly half of black adults are unemployed. In between are the mixed race and Asian communities, who enjoyed more privileges under apartheid's strict racial hierarchy. However, a small black middle class is growing slowly, with some black-owned firms doing well on the stock market.

South Africa has huge tourist potential, with attractions ranging from beaches to mountains, from prize-winning vineyards to world renowned wildlife reserves. The enormous Kruger National Park boasts 137 species of mammal and 450 species of bird. Annual visitor numbers increased throughout the 1990s, but tourism is still recovering from its isolation during the apartheid era. Today, the key constraint on growth is rising crime. Studies suggest that by 2005 tourism could create an additional 450,000 jobs and contribute 10% toward GDP (compared with 4% in 1995).

Until 1652, what is now South Africa was peopled by Bantu-speaking groups and Bushmen. Then Dutch settlers arrived. British colonizers followed in the 18th century.

• 1910 Union of South Africa set up as British dominion; white monopoly of power formalized.
• 1912 ANC formed.
• 1934 Independence.
• 1948 NP takes power; apartheid segregationist policy introduced.
• 1958–1966 Hendrik Verwoerd prime minister. "Grand Apartheid" policy implemented.
• 1959 Pan African Congress (PAC) formed.
• 1960 Sharpeville massacre. ANC, PAC banned.
• 1961 South Africa becomes republic; leaves Commonwealth.
• 1964 Senior ANC leader Nelson Mandela jailed.
• 1976 Soweto uprisings by black students; hundreds killed.
• 1978 P. W. Botha in office.
• 1984 New constitution: Indians and Coloreds get some representation. Growing black opposition.
• 1985 State of emergency introduced. International sanctions.
• 1989 F. W. De Klerk replaces Botha as president. Elections underline white conservative hostility to change.
• 1990 De Klerk legalizes ANC and PAC; frees Nelson Mandela.
• 1990–1993 International sanctions gradually withdrawn.
• 1991 Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) starts work.
• 1992 De Klerk wins whites-only referendum.
• 1993 Mandela and De Klerk win Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1994 Multiracial elections won by ANC; Mandela president.
• 1996 TRC begins work.
• 1997 New constitution takes effect.
• 1998 TRC report condemns both apartheid crimes and ANC excesses.
• 1999 ANC election victory; Thabo Mbeki succeeds Mandela.
• 2000 DA wins nearly 25% of votes in local elections.
• 2001 December, rand hits record low.
• 2002 August, world summit on sustainable development held in Johannesburg.