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

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.

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.

Key Facts

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 HIV positive (i.e. infected with HIV).

Primary school enrolment is steadily increasing and is currently at around 87%. Male and female literacy rates are fairly equal in South Africa, with approximately 82% of both male and female populations over the age of 15 achieving literacy.

On average, out of every 1,000 children that are born in South Africa, 69 will die before they reach their fifth birthday (in the UK, only 6 out of every 1,000 children do not reach their fifth birthday).

In 2006, DFID (the government’s Department for International Development, who fund Platform2) launched the Regional Plan for Southern Africa to work on areas like growth and poverty. By 2010, it is hoped that DFID’s support will lead to a reduction in malaria related deaths, a reduction in HIV infection rates and an increase in tuberculosis detection and treatment, among other areas.

South Africa is well on course to meet all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs – see below) ahead of the 2015 deadline, but the country must continue working hard to ensure that the goals are met.

Millennium Development GoalsThe Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are 8 international development goals that 189 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organisations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They include halving extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, and developing a global partnership for development.