South Africa

Abstract

The Republic of South Africa occupies the southernmost part of the African continent.1 It has common borders with the republics of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe on the northern and western sides, and the Republic of Mozambique and the Kingdom of Swaziland in the northeast. South Africa is surrounded by the ocean on three sides—the west, south, and east—and has a long coastline of about 3,000 km.2 The 2001 census accounted for a South African population of about 44.8 million people. Of these, 35 million classified themselves as African, 4.2 million as white, 1.1 million as Asian or Indian, and 3.9 million as colored.3 To cater to South Africa’s diverse people, the Constitution provides for 11 official languages.