CIA World Factbook Entry for the Republic of South Africa
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Brief History
South Africa has experienced a different history from other nations in Africa because of early immigration from Europe and the strategic importance of the Cape Sea Route. European immigration began shortly after the Dutch East India Company founded a station at what would become Cape Town, in 1652. The closure of the Suez Canal during the Six-Day War highlighted its significance to East-West trade. The country's relatively developed infrastructure made its mineral wealth available and important to Western interests, particularly throughout the late nineteenth century and, with international competition and rivalry, during the Cold War. South Africa is ethnically diverse, with the largest Caucasian, Indian, and racially mixed communities in Africa.
Racial strife between the white minority and the black majority has played a large part in South Africa's history and politics, culminating in apartheid, which was instituted in 1948 by the National Party (although segregation existed before that time). The laws that defined apartheid have continued to grow over the years despite (or because of) a long and sometimes violent struggle by the Black majority as well as many White, Coloured, and Indian South Africans.
In 1915 "South West Africa" (Namibia) was taken from Germany during World War I, and declared a League of Nations Mandate under the Treaty of Versailles, with South Africa responsible for its administration.
With the fall of the League of Nations following World War II, the Union of South Africa refused to agree to allow the territory to begin any transition to independence as it was essentially considered to be a de facto fifth province of South Africa, even though it was never actually incorporated into the country. South Africa's stance on its ownership to South-West Africa was due to the fact that she governed the territory for decades and had invested a lot of money on its infrastructure and modernization. South Africa also formally excluded Walvis Bay from the mandate and annexed it as a South African exclave.
In 1961, the Union of South Africa faced growing friction with the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations over the practice of Apartheid. The Republic of South Africa was declared, leaving behind Commonwealth Realm status and South Africa left the Commonwealth of Nations.
In 1965, following ongoing border conflicts with Botswana, South Africa declared a full state of war. By the closing months of 1966, all of Botswana was under South African rule. The territory was formally annexed on December 26th of that year.
In 1968, facing growing internal problems from the black majority, particularly in the South West Africa and the North Province (formerly Botswana), significant additional laws were created, strengthening Apartheid.
Due to heavy economic pressures and the threat of military force, in 1972 both Swaziland and Lesotho were forced into union with South Africa.
In the heat of the Cold War in 1973, with South Africa facing constant struggle against the African National Congress and other "communist" groups, roundups of "dangerous" Black South Africans began. The Blacks were placed into large forced labor camps guarded by well-armed, well-trained White soldiers.
By 1976, word had begun to reach the world of the "Black Holocaust" in South Africa. Rumors of forced sterilization, biological weapons testing, and worse from the forced labor camps received some confirmation. The government of the Republic of South Africa denied all allegations.
By 1978, intelligence reports pointed to a decrease in the more extreme and offensive measures at the forced labor camps following extensive international pressure. The Republic of South Africa refused to end the practice of roundups or work camps, but it seemed clear that more moderation was in use, or counter-intelligence had gotten much better. Still, somewhere between 1 and 2 million Blacks from South Africa were believed to have been killed during the previous 5 years.
Communist forces in Madagascar, believed to be strongly supported by the USSR, launched surprise attacks on South Africa in 1982. Cooperating with the African National Congress and other underground forces, numerous insurgent attacks occurred as South Africa mobilized to handle both renewed internal conflict and an external threat.
In the early years of 1983, it seemed possible that the Republic of South Africa would be defeated mostly by internal revolts. The President of the Republic authorized extreme counter-insurgent measures, including extermination of entire Black villages for every attack on White South Africans.
The heavy-handed tactics bought the South African military enough time to defeat the Madagascar navy and begin heavy, indiscriminate bombardment of the island's cities by the beginning of 1984. By the end of 1984, most of Madagascar was reduced to rubble, it's military destroyed and little remained intact. South Africa formally annexed the island in December of 1984.
With the war against Madagascar complete, but still on full war footing, the Republic of South Africa turned its attention to Mozambique and the guerrilla forces that continually crossed the border. Mozambique responded with a full declaration of war. Over the course of ten months, South Africa pulverized the countryside indiscriminately. By the end of 1985, Mozambique had been annexed by South Africa as well.
Insurgent forces, particularly in the newly annexed territories, proved to be a constant struggle over the next few years. The government of Zimbabwe gave covert support to the insurgent groups, believing that South Africa would either fall under pressure or prove unable to muster enough force to openly go to war.
By the spring of 1988 however, South African forces began an extensive bombing raids into Zimbabwe. Support that Zimbabwe had been anticipating from other nations failed to materialize and by the end of 1988, Zimbabwe had been annexed by South Africa.
Government
South Africa is nominally a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, wherein the President of South Africa, elected by parliament, is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of Parliament, the Council of Provinces and the National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Government is three-tiered, with representatives being elected at the national, provincial and local levels.
However, only Whites are eligible to vote or hold any official government position. In addition, the military exerts considerable influence, particularly in regions plagued by insurgent forces.
Politics
The National Party has a de facto hold on both the Presidency and Parliament and has held power for more than 40 years. The National Party is socially conservative and fiscally centrist. The primary concern of the party for decades has been security and the primacy of White culture and values.
The Democratic Party is the largest minority party. It is socially moderate and fiscally liberal. The Democratic Party primarily focuses on supporting less government intervention in trade and the markets, while urging more moderation on social matters.
Numerous political parties have been banned and leftist or anti-Apartheid politicians are prone to "disappearing".
Economy
The economy of the Republic of South Africa is the largest Africa, but wealth distribution is enormously disproportionate. The White population, no more than a fifth of the total population, controls approximately 95% of the wealth. Blacks, Indians and Coloureds who are not in labor camps often live in stark poverty. Indians are the best off apart from the Whites.
The Republic of South Africa is a mixed economy, leaning heavily towards corporatism. Industries that are deemed important to the health of the state are heavily subsidized. Taxes are moderate-to-high, though government services only support White citizens of the nation.
GDP/Capita: €
GDP total: €
Demographics
Capital: Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial), Cape Town (legislative)
Official Language: English
Population:
Pop. Breakdown:
- 65% Black
- 20% White
- 10% Coloured
- 5% Indian
Military
This is made of British and American goods.
Yearly budget:
Army:
Airforce:
Navy: