South Africa is the
continent's most industrialized nation. Black South Africans make up about 70 percent of
the country's population of 40 million people, while whites, Asians and those of mixed
race make up the balance. The diversity of the country's population is reflected in its
languages and customs. There are 11 official languages, including English and Afrikaans.
There are three capitals: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative) and
Bloemfontein (judicial).
In 1934, South
Africa was established as an independent state within the British Commonwealth. It
declared itself a republic in 1961. For almost 40 years, until the early 1990s, South
Africa was governed by a system of apartheid that denied non-whites many of the basic
political rights and freedoms that whites had.
It was only after
years of political condemnation and isolation, including expulsion from the Commonwealth
and the imposition of tough economic sanctions, that the South African government began
dismantling the apartheid system. This process led to the country's first democratic
elections in 1994 in which Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress party came into
power. Following the election, South Africa has been re-admitted to the Commonwealth and
has become a member of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
South Africa's vast
mineral wealth has always been the backbone of its market economy. The country contributes
about 30 percent of the world's total gold output. It is also the world's largest producer
of manganese, chromite, vermiculite and vanadium. But years of international trade
sanctions and political instability have taken an enormous toll on South Africa's economy.
About half of all adult blacks are unemployed and the national unemployment rate stands at
30 percent.
While South Africa
has yet to reach its desired level of economic stability and growth, the government has
been successful in its efforts to attract and encourage international investment.
Continued progress during the period leading up to the national elections in 1999 will be
crucial, not only for the country's long-term development, but also for the stability and
growth of the entire southern Africa region.
South Africa has a
well advanced telephone network. In 1999, the country had over 5.49 million connected
lines resulting in a telephone density of 12.53 lines per hundred of population.
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