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South Africa has a population of nearly 48 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages and beliefs. Over 40% of South Africa’s population live outside the cities, in rural villages.

The Republic of South Africa is on the southern tip of the African continent and is bordered by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. South Africa completely encircles Lesotho and surrounds much of Swaziland. Pretoria is South Africa's administrative capital.

South Africa is in its 13th year of democracy after decades of apartheid (legal segregation on the grounds of race). The country has seen remarkable social and economic stability but despite its successes, South Africa remains a highly unequal society.

South Africa has one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world; at the end of 2005, 18.8% of the population aged 15-49 were thought to be living with the disease. Life expectancy in South Africa is about 50 years. Primary school enrolment is at around 87%. 99% of South Africa’s urban population have access to safe, clean drinking water, yet 11% of the population still live on below US$1 a day.

Music and dance are integral parts of South Africa's culture, and the country has delivered some of the most memorable voices from the African continent, such as Miriam Makeba and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

South African food is greatly influenced by the varied ethnic origins of its inhabitants. The Dutch introduced baked foods, the English meat pies, and the Indians and Malays brought Asian food to South Africa. Food developed by the Boers (farmers), and used as provisions for their long treks north, includes boerewors (a sausage), biltong and droewors (dried salted meat).

Nearly 70% of the people in South Africa are Christian, and the major Christian celebrations of Christmas and Easter are recognized as national holidays. There are also small minorities of Hindus and Muslims. A number of people also practise traditional African religions that include animist beliefs.

South Africa is divided into 9 provinces. From miles of coastline to steep mountain ranges to game reserves, there is plenty to offer in the way of natural beauty.

South Africa has a generally temperate climate, due in part to it being surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans on 3 sides. South Africa is famous for its sunshine and is a relatively dry country, but it does rain a fair amount in the winter. South Africa is in the southern hemisphere so its seasons are the reverse of ours in the UK. That means when it’s summer here, it’s winter there.

In the mid-17th century, the Dutch East India Company sent a number of people from the Netherlands to start a settlement in South Africa. These colonists were joined by French Protestants (Huguenots); their descendants were known as Boers (farmers) or Afrikaners.

The indigenous people, already living in the region, were the San and Bantu. The Dutch brought slaves to South Africa from other parts of Africa, Madagascar, Malaysia and Java. Later, in 1860, a labour force from India arrived to work on the sugar plantations. This has all contributed to the diversity of South Africa’s population. As a result it is often called the ‘Rainbow Nation’.

Following the Napoleonic War, the area was assigned to the UK, with the first British colonists arriving in 1820.

With the introduction of British administration, many Afrikaners trekked north to found their own Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal.

Conflict continued between the Boers and the British and in 1880 the First Anglo-Boer War started between the British and the Transvaal. This was followed in 1899 by the outbreak of the Second Boer War. The war resulted in a victory for the British (1902), followed by self-government of the Transvaal and Orange Free State, within the British Empire.

In 1910 the Cape, Natal, the Transvaal and Orange Free State became the Union of South Africa.

The 1st government of the new Union was run by the South Africa National Party, which followed a pro-British white-unity line. There was no place in the new Union for blacks even though they constituted 75% of the population. They were denied voting rights in the Transvaal and Orange Free State areas, and in the rest of the country there was a property ownership qualification. It wasn’t long before a barrage of oppressive legislation was passed and, in 1913, the Natives Land Act reserved just 8% of the land for black ownership while 90% was reserved for whites who made up just 20% of the population. This was the start of the policy of apartheid or segregation.

This led to the setting up of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1923 to represent black interest.

After World War II, the Nationalists came to power after campaigning on its policy of apartheid. Once in power, the policy became institutionalised. Laws included the enforcement of black and coloured people to carry ID at all times, the banning of them going into certain white-only areas and the segregation of schools, hospitals, buses, beaches and even park benches.

Britain opposed the system of apartheid and in 1961 the South African government severed its ties with Britain and South Africa and became a republic.

In 1976, a rebellion in the black township of Soweto, near Johannesburg, was sparked by the imposition of the Afrikaans language (the language of apartheid) in black schools. Over the next months, rioting spread leading to the deaths of hundreds of the black population. Eventually, a new Constitution included "coloureds" and Indians in the parliamentary system although the whites still held the majority and blacks were excluded.

In 1990, Nelson Mandela - leader of the ANC - was released, after 27 years in prison. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid and the ANC won an overwhelming victory with Nelson Mandela becoming the country's leader. In 1999, Thabo Mbeki succeeded Mandela as President of the African National Congress and President of South Africa.