In 1990, the National Party government, under acting President F. W. de Klerk and Foreign Minister Roelof ("Pik") Botha took the first steps, making a five-year plan, toward negotiating itself out of power. After consultation with Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, the National Party lifted the ban on the ANC and other left-wing political organizations and released Nelson Mandela from prison after 27 years of incarceration.

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Post-apartheid

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Apartheid legislation was gradually removed from the statute books, and the first multi-racial elections were held in 1994. The ANC won by an overwhelming majority and has been in power ever since.

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Despite the end of apartheid, millions of South Africans, mostly Black, continue to live in poverty. This is attributed to the legacy of the apartheid regime and, increasingly, what many see as the failure of the current government to tackle social issues, coupled with the monetary and fiscal discipline of the current government to ensure both redistribution of wealth and economic growth. However, the ANC's social housing policy has produced some tax improvement in living conditions in many areas by redirecting fiscal spending and improving the efficiency of the collection system.

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Geography

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South Africa is located at the southernmost region of Africa, with a long coastline that stretches more than 1,550 miles  and across two oceans, (the Atlantic and the Indian). South Africa is the world's 25th-largest country and is nearly twice the size of the state of Texas. Njesuthi in the Drakensberg at 11,181 feet is the highest peak in the Republic of South Africa. The nation has a great variety of climate zones, from the extreme conditions of the southern Namib desert in the far northwest to the lush subtropical climate in the east along the Mozambique border and the Indian Ocean. From the east, the land quickly rises over a mountainous escarpment toward the interior plateau known as the Highveld. Even though South Africa is classified as semi-arid, there is considerable variation in climate as well as topography.

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South Africa has one possession, the small sub-Antarctic archipelago of the Prince Edward Islands, consisting of Marion Island and Prince Edward Island (not to be confused with the Canadian province of the same name).

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Flora and fauna

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South Africa has more than 20,000 different plants, or about 10 percent of all the known species of plants on Earth, making it particularly rich in plant biodiversity. But while it has a great wealth of flowering plants, it has few forests. Only one percent of South Africa is forest, almost exclusively in the humid coastal plain along the Indian Ocean.

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South Africa has lost extensive acreage of natural habitat in the last four decades, primarily due to overpopulation, sprawling development patterns, and deforestation during the nineteenth century. South Africa is one of the worst affected countries in the world when it comes to invasion by alien species, with many posing a significant threat to the native biodiversity and the already scarce water resources. Pine trees are being removed from all of South Africa, to allow indigenous fynbos and Afro-montane forests to be re-established.

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Some 297 species of mammal have been recorded in South Africa, of which 30 species are considered threat- ened. The Kruger National Park, in the east of the country, is one of the largest national parks in the world, with an area of 7,523 sq miles of grassland with scattered trees. It supports a wide range of ungulates including Burchell's zebra, impala, greater kudu, blue wildebeest, waterbuck, warthog, Cape buffalo, giraffe and hippopotamus. There are also black and white rhinoceroses, elephant, African wild dog, cheetah, leopard, lion and spotted hyena.

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Primates are represented by the Mohol bush baby, the brown greater galago, the Sykes' monkey, the vervet mon- key and the chacma baboon. Smaller carnivores include mongooses, genets, the caracal, the serval, the African wildcat, the Cape fox, the side-striped jackal, the black-backed jackal, meerkats, and the African clawless otter. Elsewhere in the country there are gemsbok, alternatively known as oryx, nyala, bushbuck and springbok. There are 17 species of golden mole, a family limited to southern Africa, five species of elephant shrew, many species of shrews, the southern African hedgehog, the aardvark, various hares and the critically endangered riverine rabbit. There are numerous species of bat and a great many species of rodent.

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There is a rich fauna of reptiles with 447 species of reptile recorded in the country, and 132 species of amphibians.  South Africa has the richest diversity of reptiles of any African country. Endemic species include the angulate tortoise and geometric tortoise, the Zululand dwarf chameleon, the Transkei dwarf chameleon and the Robertson dwarf chameleon, the Broadley's flat lizard, the dwarf Karoo girdled lizard, the Soutpansberg rock lizard, and the yellow-bellied house snake.

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Also included among the fauna are the Nile crocodile, the leopard tortoise, the Speke's hinge-back tortoise, the serrated hinged terrapin, various chameleons, lizards, geckos and skinks, the cape cobra, the black mamba, the eastern green mamba, the puff adder, the mole snake, and a range of other venomous and non-venomous snakes.

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Amphibian diversity reflects the many diverse habitats around the country. Species include the endemic western leopard toad and the arum frog, the bronze caco, the spotted snout-burrower and the critically endangered Rose's ghost frog, found only on the slopes of Table Mountain. Another troubed endemic species is the Natal diving frog.

The brown fur seal and other species of seal occur on the coasts and the waters around the country are visited by numerous species of whale and dolphin.

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Birds of South Africa

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With its diverse habitat types, South Africa has a wide range of residential and migratory avain species. According to the 2018 edition of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 849 species of bird have been recorded in South Africa and its offshore islands. Of these, 125 species are vagrants, and about 30 are endemic either to South Africa, or the more inclusive South Africa/Lesotho/Eswatini region.  

 

The endemic species include the southern black and blue korhaans, the grey-winged francolin, Knysna turaco, the Fynbos buttonquail,  southern bald ibis, forest buzzard,  ground woodpecker, Cape and Drakensberg rock- jumpers, Cape, eastern and Agulhas long-billed larks, red Karoo, Rudd's and Botha's larks, Cape bulbul, Vic- torin's and Knysna warblers, Drakensberg prinia, bush blackcap, Cape sugarbird, chorister robin-chat, sentinel and Cape rock thrushes,  buff-streaked chat, pied starling, African Penguin, and orange-breasted sunbird.

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The common ostrich is plentiful on the open grassland and savannah areas.  Some birds breed elsewhere but migrate to South Africa to overwinter, while others breed in the country but migrate away in the non-breeding season. Migratory species include the greater striped swallow, white-rumped swift, white stork, African pygmy kingfisher, yellow-billed kite, and European bee-eater.

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Politics

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South Africa has a bicameral parliament: the 90 members of the National Council of Provinces (the upper house), and the 400 members of the National Assembly (the lower house). Members of the lower house are elected on a population basis by proportional representation. Half of the members are elected from national lists and half are elected from provincial lists. Ten members are elected to represent each province in the National Council of Prov- inces, regardless of the population of the province. Elections for both chambers are held every five years. The government is formed in the lower house; the leader of the majority party in the National Assembly is the president.

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Current South African politics are dominated by the African National Congress (ANC). The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary representative democratic republic. The president of South Africa serves both as head of state and as head of government. The president is elected by the National Assembly (the lower house of the South African Parliament) and must retain the confidence of the Assembly in order to remain in office. South Africans also elect provincial legislatures which govern each of the country's nine provinces.

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Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the ANC has dominated South Africa's politics. The ANC is the ruling party in the national legislature, as well as in eight of the nine provinces (Western Cape is governed by the Democratic Alliance). The ANC received 57.50 percent of the vote during the 2019 general election. It had received 62.9 percent of the popular vote in the 2011 municipal election.

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The main challenger to the ANC's rule is the Democratic Alliance, led by John Steenhuisen (previously by Mmusi Maimane), which received 20.77 percent of the vote in the 2019 election. Other major political parties represented in Parliament include the Economic Freedom Fighters and the Inkatha Freedom Party, which generally represents Zulu voters.

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The formerly dominant New National Party, which both introduced and ended apartheid through its predecessor the National Party, disbanded in 2005 to merge with the ANC. Jacob Zuma served as President of South Africa since May 2009 until his resignation in February 2018. Zuma was replaced by Cyril Ramaphosa. The nation's 2019 general election was held on May 8.

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Administrative divisions

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The primary administrative divisions of South Africa are the nine provinces. The provinces are divided into metro- politan and district municipalities, with the district municipalities being further divided into local municipalities. Met- ropolitan and local municipalities are divided into wards. Since 1994, South Africa has been divided into nine pro- vinces: the Eastern Cape, the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, the Northern Cape and the Western Cape. The boundaries of the provinces, which are specified in the national cons- titution, have been altered twice by constitutional amendment.

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Each province is governed by a unicameral legislature elected by party-list proportional representation, and a Premier elected by the legislature. The provincial legislatures are represented in the national Parliament by their delegations to the National Council of Provinces. Eight of South Africa's largest cities are governed as metropoli- tan municipalities, which exercise all municipal functions in their areas, in contrast with the divided responsibilities in areas with the district/local system. Metropolitan municipalities are governed by councils in which half of the councillors are directly elected from the wards and half are elected by party-list proportional representation.

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The eight metropolitan municipalities are: Buffalo City (East London), City of Cape Town (Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, (East Rand), eThekwini (Durban), City of Johannesburg, Mangaung (Bloemfontein), Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth), and City of Tshwane (Pretoria). Outside the metropolitan municipalities, the rest of South Africa is divided into 44 district municipalities. These cover large regions of the provinces, and are in turn divided into local municipalities.  The district municipalities are responsible for "district-wide" municipal functions, including develop- ment planning, bulk supply of utilities, arterial roads, and public transport. In district councils, 60 percent of the councillors are nominated by the councils of the constituent local municipalities, while the remaining 40 percent are elected by the population by party-list proportional representation.

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The district municipalities are divided into a total of 205 local municipalities. In general, a local municipality includes one or more towns and the surrounding villages and rural areas. A local municipality exercises all the municipal functions not carried out by the district municipality within which it lies. Local municipalities' councils are elected in the same way as those of metropolitan municipalities: half from wards and half by proportional repre- sentation.

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Military

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South Africa's armed forces, known as the South African National Defense Force (SANDF), were created in 1994. In recent years, it has become a major peacekeeping force in Africa and been involved in operations in Lesotho, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burundi, among others. It has also participated as a part of multi- national UN peacekeeping forces.

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South Africa undertook a nuclear weapons program in the 1970s and may have conducted a nuclear test over the Atlantic Ocean in 1979. It has since renounced its nuclear program and, after destroying its small nuclear arsenal, signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1991. It is the only African country to have successfully developed nuclear weapons and, to date, the only country in the world to have voluntarily dismantled its entire nuclear weapons arsenal.

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Economy

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By UN classification South Africa is a middle-income country with an abundant supply of resources; well-devel-oped financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that ranks among the 10th largest in the world; and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. South Africa's per capita GDP positions the country as one of the 50 wealthiest in the world. It is estimated that South Africa accounts for up to 30 percent of the gross domestic product of the entire African continent. South Africa is also the continent's largest energy producer and consumer.

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In many respects, South Africa is developed; however, this development is primarily centered in four areas, namely Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, and Pretoria/Johannesburg. Beyond these four economic centers, develop- ment is marginal and poverty still reigns despite government strategies. Large income gaps and a dual economy designate South Africa as developing; South Africa has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the world. Growth rates in the last 10 years are helping lower unemployment, but daunting economic problems remain. Other problems are crime, corruption, and HIV/AIDS.

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Refugees from poorer neighboring countries abound, with immigrants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and many others representing a large portion of the informal sector. With high unemployment levels, many poorer South Africans resent immigrants, who are seen to be depriving them of jobs, a feeling given credibility by the fact that many South African employers have employed migrants from other countries for lower pay than South African citizens, especially in the construction, tourism, agriculture, and dom- estic service industries.

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Agriculture

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South Africa has a large agricultural sector and is a net exporter of farm products. The agricultural industry con- tributes a relatively low amount of formal employment compared to other parts of Africa, as well as providing work for casual laborers. Due to the aridity of the land, only 13.5 percent can be used for crop production, and only 3 percent is considered high-potential land.

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Although the commercial farming sector is relatively well-developed, people in some rural areas still survive on subsistence agriculture. It is one of the largest producers of wine and sunflower seeds. South Africa is a net exporter of agricultural products and foodstuffs, the largest number of exported items being sugar, grapes, citrus, nectarines, wine, and deciduous fruit. The largest locally produced crop is corn. Livestock are also popular on South African farms, with the country producing 85 percent of all meat consumed. There is also a substantial dairy industry.

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The agricultural sector has introduced several reforms, some of which are controversial, such as land reform and the deregulation of the market for agricultural products. Land reform has been criticized by both farmers' groups and landless workers, the latter alleging that the pace of change has not been fast enough, and the former alleging racist treatment and expressing concerns that a similar situation to Zimbabwe's land reform policy may develop. The sector continues to face problems, with increased foreign competition and crime being two of the major challenges for the industry.

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Demographics

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South Africa is a nation of people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and beliefs. Though the major part of the population classified itself as African or black, those people are not culturally or linguistically homogeneous. Major ethnic groups include the Zulu, Xhosa, Basotho (South Sotho), Bapedi (North Sotho), Venda, Tswana, Tsonga, Swazi, and Ndebele, all of which speak Bantu languages.

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Some, such as the Zulu, Xhosa, Bapedi, and Venda groups, are unique to South Africa. Other groups are distrib- uted across the borders with South Africa's neighbors: The Basotho group is also the major ethnic group in Leso- tho. The Tswana ethnic group constitute the majority of the population of Botswana. The Swazi ethnic group is the major ethnic group in Swaziland.

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The Ndebele ethnic group is also found in Matabeleland in Zimbabwe, where they are known as the Matabele. These Ndebele people are, however, in effect Zulu people because the language they speak is Zulu and they are the descendants of a faction under the warrior Mzilikazi (ca. 1790-1868) that escaped persecution from Shaka by migrating to their current territory. The Tsonga ethnic group is also found in southern Mozambique, where they are known as the Shangaan.

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The White population descends largely from colonial immigrants: Dutch, German, French Huguenot, and British. Culturally and linguistically, they are divided into the Afrikaners, who speak Afrikaans, and English-speaking groups, many of whom originated from British immigrants. Small communities that immigrated over the last century retain the use of other languages. The White population is decreasing due to a low birthrate and emigration. As a factor in their decision to emigrate, many cite the high crime rate and the government's affirmative action policies.

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The term "Colored" is still largely used for the people of mixed race descended from slaves brought in from East and Central Africa, the indigenous Khoisan who lived in the Cape at the time, indigenous African Blacks, Whites (mostly the Dutch/Afrikaner and British settlers) as well as an admixture of Javanese, Malay, Indian, Malagasy, and other Europeans (such as Portuguese) and Asian blood (such as Burmese). The majority speak Afrikaans.

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Khoisan is a term used to describe two separate groups, physically similar in that they were light-skinned and small in stature. The Khoikhoi, who were called Hottentots by the Europeans, were annihilated. The San, called Bushmen by the Europeans, were hunter-gatherers. Within what is known as the Colored community, more recent immigrants will also be found: Coloreds from Zimbabwe) and Namibia and immigrants of mixed descent from India and Burma, who were welcomed to the Cape when the latter countries received their independence.

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The major part of the Asian population of the country is Indian in origin, many of them descended from indentured workers brought in the nineteenth century to work on the sugar plantations of the eastern coastal area then known as Natal. There is also a significant group of Chinese South Africans.

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HIV/AIDS

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As in many sub-Saharan African countries, the spread of AIDS is a serious problem in South Africa. The link between HIV, a virus spread primarily by sexual contact, and AIDS was long denied by the president and the health minister, who insisted that the many deaths in the country were due to malnutrition, and hence poverty, not HIV. Most deaths from AIDS are of people who are economically active, resulting in many families losing their primary wage earners. This results in many orphans who frequently depend on the state for care and financial support. It is estimated that there are 63 percent of orphans in South Africa are orphaned due to AIDS. Elderly people, traditionally supported by younger members of the family, are also becoming more and more dependent on the state for financial support.

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Culture

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It may be argued that there is no "single" culture in South Africa because of its ethnic diversity. Today, the diversity in foods from many cultures is enjoyed by all and especially marketed to tourists who wish to sample the large variety of South African cuisine. In addition to food, music and dance feature prominently. There is great diversity in music from South Africa. Many Black musicians who sang in Afrikaans or English during apartheid have since begun to sing in traditional African languages and have developed a unique style called Kwaito. Of note is Brenda Fassie, who launched to fame with her song "Weekend Special," which was sung in English.

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More famous traditional musicians include Ladysmith Black Mambazo, while the Soweto String Quartet performs classic music with an African flavor. White and Colored South African singers are historically influenced by Euro- pean musical styles, including such Western metal bands such as Seether. Afrikaans music covers multiple gen- res, such as the contemporary Steve Hofmeyr and the punk rock band Fokofpolisiekar. Crossover artists such as Johnny Clegg and his bands Juluka and Savuka have enjoyed success underground, publicly, and abroad.

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The country's Black majority still has a substantial number of rural inhabitants who lead largely impoverished lives. It is among these people, however, that traditional dance and music has survived. As Blacks have become increas- ingly urbanized and westernized, aspects of traditional culture are declining.

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Asians, predominantly of Indian origin, preserve their own cultural heritage, languages, and religious beliefs, being either Christian, Hindu, or Sunni Muslim.

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Jarrette Fellows, Jr. / Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License