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| Independence Year : 1910 Population : 40377000 Life Expectancy : 51.1 Capital : 716 GNP : 116729.00 GNP Old : 129092.00 Local Name : South Africa Government Form : Republic Location : Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the African continent Terrain : Plateau, savanna, desert, mountains, coastal plains. Climate: moderate; similar to southern California Climate : Mostly semiarid;subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights Ethnic Group : - Religions : Predominantly Christian; traditional African believes, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish Official Website : www.gov.za |  Genral Information - South Africa Background Often called 'the rainbow nation', South Africa is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Africa. It was inhabited by pastoral Khoekhoe (Khoi), the hunter-gatherer San, the Xhosa, and the Zulu nations and various other indigenous tribes, when Dutch settlers arrived in middle of the 17th century, much to the disadvantage of the Khoekhoe along the southern and western coastal strips. What followed was an aggressive colonial expansion for centuries mainly of settlers of Dutch, German and French Huguenot origin. In 1795 the British took over the Cape from the Dutch, seven years later the colony was returned to the Dutch government, only to come under British rule again in 1806, this circumstance and the rise to power of the Zulu king Shaka, forcing many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) to trek north and east 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 until the end of the 20th century. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid with South Africa's transition to democracy and with Nelson Mandela's inauguration as SA's first democratically elected President 1994. |
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