SOUTH AFRICA

Area

1.221.037 Kmq

Mortalità infantile

60 per 1.000

(Fonts - population, annual growth, life expectancy, infant mortality, imports and exports: The World Factbook 2000, www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook - GNP per capita: UNDP, Human Development Report 2000, Oxford 2000 - other infos: Instituto del Tercer Mundo, Guya del mondo 1999/2000, Montevideo 1999) www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook

HISTORY

Lying at the southern tip of Africa, South Africa is the richest country in the continent and one of the most prosperous in the world. The exploitation of mineral resources and raw materials forms the basis of its economy. South Africa is the world's largest producer of gold and diamonds, the second largest producer of manganese and the eighth largest of coal. It is a modern and economically advanced country, with a European and western character, formed in the last four centuries by a very complex ethnic make-up, rich in different customs, cultures, languages and religions. The majority of the population are of African origin, including predominantly the ethnic groups of Bantu stock, which represent over 76% of the total; these are followed by the Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Sotho, Tswana, Tsonga, Swazi, Ndebele and Venda. The population of European origin makes up less than 13% of the total. Less than 10% of the population are of mixed origin and the Asians, especially Indians, are less than 3%. The predominant religion is Christianity, which includes many independent African churches, and is practised by almost 70% of the population. The modern history of South Africa has unquestionably been characterized by the decades of the apartheid regime (segregationist and racist against the African populations) which has only recently been overcome. It was not until 1990 that the African National Congress and other political groups of opposition to apartheid were legalized and the same year, on 11th February, Nelson Mandela, the most famous prisoner and black political leader was released from prison after 27 years. At the end of 1990 racial segregation was abolished in all public places. The first multi-ethnic elections in South Africa (26th-29th April 1994) were won by the ANC and gave rise to a government of national unity under Mandela. In 1996, the creation of the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation, chaired by Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu, was an absolutely unique and original experience, with the aim of re-establishing historical and juridical truth on the crimes perpetrated by the apartheid regime and to start up a genuine process of national reconciliation based on the recognition of truth, political and personal responsibility and forgiveness.

ETNIE

• ZULU

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MOFOLO T., Chaka, Edizioni Lavoro 1988

LUGAN B., STORY del Sudafrica : dall'antichità a oggi, Milano : Garzanti 1989

BECK R. B., The history of South Africa, Westport, Conn 1997

CHRISTOPHER A. J., The atlas of changing South Africa, London ; New York 2001

South African Internet Resources

ITALIAN NGO IN SUDAFRICA

ITER, PROSVIL, SENIORES