Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of modern day South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the Far East, founding the city of Cape Town. 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); however, the British and the Afrikaners, as the Boers became known, ruled together beginning in 1910 under the Union of South Africa, which became a republic in 1961 after a whites-only referendum. In 1948, the National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races - which favored the white minority at the expense of the black majority. The African National Congress (ANC) led the opposition to apartheid and many top ANC leaders, such as Nelson MANDELA, spent decades in South Africa's prisons. Internal protests and insurgency, as well as boycotts by some Western nations and institutions, led to the regime's eventual willingness to negotiate a peaceful transition to majority rule. The first multi-racial elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid and ushered in majority rule under an ANC-led government. South Africa since then has struggled to address apartheid-era imbalances in decent housing, education, and health care. ANC infighting, which has grown in recent years, came to a head in September 2008 when President Thabo MBEKI resigned, and Kgalema MOTLANTHE, the party's General-Secretary, succeeded him as interim president. Jacob ZUMA became president after the ANC won general elections in April 2009. In January 2011, South Africa assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term.

Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights

vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain

gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas

lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification

South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland

black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001 census)

IsiZulu (official) 23.82%, IsiXhosa (official) 17.64%, Afrikaans (official) 13.35%, Sepedi (offcial) 9.39%, English (official) 8.2%, Setswana (official) 8.2%, Sesotho (official) 7.93%, Xitsonga (official) 4.44%, siSwati (official) 2.66%, Tshivenda (official) 2.28%, isiNdebele (official) 1.59%, other 0.5% (2001 census)

Protestant 36.6% (Zionist Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%), Catholic 7.1%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census)

48,810,427 (July 2012 est.)

19.32 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

17.23 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-6.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Johannesburg 3.607 million; Cape Town 3.353 million; Ekurhuleni (East Rand) 3.144 million; Durban 2.837 million; PRETORIA (capital) 1.404 million (2009)

300 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

2.28 children born/woman (2012 est.)

0.77 physicians/1,000 population (2004)

2.84 beds/1,000 population (2005)

urban: 84% of population

rural: 65% of population

total: 77% of population

urban: 16% of population

rural: 35% of population

total: 23% of population

5.6 million (2009 est.)

9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North-West, Western Cape

31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 31 May 1961 (republic declared); 27 April 1994 (majority rule)

Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)

10 December 1996; note - certified by the Constitutional Court 4 December 1996; was signed by then President MANDELA 10 December 1996; and entered into effect 4 February 1997

mixed legal system of Roman-Dutch civil law, English common law, and customary law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Council of Provinces (90 seats; 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities) and the National Assembly (400 seats; members elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms)

Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts

African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE]; African National Congress or ANC [Jacob ZUMA]; Congress of the People or COPE [Mosiuoa LEKOTA]; Democratic Alliance or DA [Helen ZILLE]; Freedom Front Plus or FF+ [Pieter MULDER]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Motsoko PHEKO]; United Christian Democratic Party or UCDP [Lucas MANGOPE]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA]

Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [Zwelinzima VAVI, general secretary]; South African Communist Party or SACP [Blade NZIMANDE, general secretary]; South African National Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi HLONGWANE, national president]

ACP, AfDB, AU, BIS, BRICS, C, CD, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, NSG, OECD (Enhanced Engagement, OPCW, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNSC (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band that splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes; the flag colors do not have any official symbolism, but the Y stands for the "convergence of diverse elements within South African society, taking the road ahead in unity"; black, yellow, and green are found on the flag of the African National Congress, while red, white, and blue are the colors in the flags of the Netherlands and the UK, whose settlers ruled South Africa during the colonial era

South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that is the 18th largest in the world; and modern infrastructure supporting a relatively efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. Growth was robust from 2004 to 2007 as South Africa reaped the benefits of macroeconomic stability and a global commodities boom but began to slow in the second half of 2007 due to an electricity crisis and the subsequent global financial crisis' impact on commodity prices and demand. GDP fell nearly 2% in 2009 but recovered in 2010-12. Unemployment remains high, at nearly one-quarter of the work force, and outdated infrastructure has constrained growth. State power supplier Eskom encountered problems with aging plants and meeting electricity demand necessitating "load-shedding" cuts in 2007 and 2008 to residents and businesses in the major cities. Daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era - especially poverty, lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups, and a shortage of public transportation. South Africa's economic policy focuses on controlling inflation, however, the country has had significant budget deficits that hamper its ability to deal with pressing economic problems. The current government must contend with the impact of the global crisis and is facing growing pressure from special interest groups to use state-owned enterprises to deliver basic services to low-income areas and to increase job growth.

$578.6 billion (2012 est.)

$564 billion (2011 est.)

$546.9 billion (2010 est.)

$390.9 billion (2012 est.)

17.89 million (2012 est.)

19.5% of GDP (2012 est.)

24.4% of GDP (2012 est.)

-5.4% of GDP (2012 est.)

43.3% of GDP (2012 est.)

38.6% of GDP (2011 est.)

7% (31 December 2009)

11.5% (31 December 2008)

8.8% (31 December 2012 est.)

9% (31 December 2011 est.)

$117 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$117.3 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$277 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$314.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$287.9 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$284.7 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$855.7 billion (31 December 2011)

$1.013 trillion (31 December 2010)

$704.8 billion (31 December 2009)

corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products

-$21.33 billion (2012 est.)

-$13.68 billion (2011 est.)

$101.2 billion (2012 est.)

$102.9 billion (2011 est.)

gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment

China 12.7%, US 8.6%, Japan 7.9%, Germany 6%, UK 4.1% (2011)

$106.8 billion (2012 est.)

$100.4 billion (2011 est.)

machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs

China 14.3%, Germany 10.7%, US 8%, Japan 4.7%, Saudi Arabia 4.5%, India 4%, UK 4% (2011)

$54.98 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$48.87 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$47.56 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$47.49 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$162.9 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$158.9 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$88.59 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$88.95 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

rand (ZAR) per US dollar -

232.1 billion kWh (2009 est.)

206.1 billion kWh (2009 est.)

14.65 billion kWh (2010 est.)

12.19 billion kWh (2010 est.)

44.26 million kW (2009 est.)

90.8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

4.1% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

1.5% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0.5% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

169,000 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

402,300 bbl/day (2009 est.)

15 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

516,100 bbl/day (2008 est.)

590,900 bbl/day (2011 est.)

49,430 bbl/day (2008 est.)

60,290 bbl/day (2008 est.)

970 million cu m (2010 est.)

4.01 billion cu m (2010 est.)

3.04 billion cu m (2010 est.)

27.16 million cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

465.1 million Mt (2010 est.)

4.127 million (2011)

the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) operates 4 TV stations, 3 are free-to-air and 1 is pay TV; e.tv, a private station, is accessible to more than half the population; multiple subscription TV services provide a mix of local and international channels; well developed mix of public and private radio stations at the national, regional, and local levels; the SABC radio network, state-owned and controlled but nominally independent, operates 18 stations, one for each of the 11 official languages, 4 community stations, and 3 commercial stations; more than 100 community-based stations extend coverage to rural areas (2007)

4.761 million (2012)

condensate 11 km; gas 908 km; oil 980 km; refined products 1,382 km (2010)

Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay

South African National Defense Force (SANDF): South African Army, South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), Joint Operations Command, Military Intelligence, South African Military Health Services (2009)

18 years of age for voluntary military service; women are eligible to serve in noncombat roles; 2-year service obligation (2007)

with the end of apartheid and the establishment of majority rule, former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces were integrated into the South African National Defense Force (SANDF); as of 2003 the integration process was considered complete

South Africa has placed military along the border to apprehend the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing economic dysfunction and political persecution; as of January 2007, South Africa also supports large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (33,000), Somalia (20,000), Burundi (6,500), and other states in Africa (26,000); managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa

transshipment center for heroin, hashish, and cocaine, as well as a major cultivator of marijuana in its own right; cocaine and heroin consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries, but increasingly producing its own synthetic drugs for domestic consumption; attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region and the size of the South African economy