Population: 49,052,489 (July 2009 est.)

Capital: Pretoria (administrative capital), Bloemfontein (judiciary), and Cape Town (legislative)

Area: 470,693 square miles (1,219,090 sq km)

Coastline: 1,738 miles (2,798 km)

Highest Point: Njesuthi at 11,181 feet (3,408 m)

South Africa is the southernmost country on the African continent. It has a long history of conflict and human rights issues but it has always been one of the most economically prosperous nations in southern Africa due to its coastal location and the presence of gold, diamonds and natural resources.

History of South Africa

By the 14th century C.E, the region was settled by the Bantu people who migrated from central Africa. South Africa was first inhabited by Europeans in 1488 when the Portuguese arrived at the Cape of Good Hope. However, permanent settlement did occur until 1652 when the Dutch East India Company established a small station for provisions on the Cape. In following years, French, Dutch and German settlers began to arrive in the region.

By the late 1700s, European settlements were spread throughout the Cape and by the end of the 18th century the British controlled the entire Cape of Good Hope region. In the early 1800s in an effort to escape British rule, many native farmers called Boers migrated north and in 1852 and 1854, the Boers created the independent Republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State.

After the discovery of diamonds and gold in the late 1800s, more European immigrants arrived in South Africa and eventually led to the Anglo-Boer Wars, which the British won, causing the republics to become part of the British Empire.

In May 1910 though, the two republics and Britain formed the Union of South Africa, a self-governing territory of the British Empire and in 1912, the South African Native National Congress (eventually called the African National Congress or ANC) was founded with the goal of providing blacks in the region with more freedom.

Despite the ANC in an election in 1948, the National Party won and began passing

3168 Black Facts for May