South Africa : economy statistics and industry reports

The Boers resisted British encroachments but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902); however, the British and the Afrikaners, as the Boers became known, ruled together beginning in 1910 under the Union of South Africa, which became a republic in 1961 after a whites-only referendum.

In 1948, the National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races - which favored the white minority at the expense of the black majority.

The African National Congress (ANC) led the opposition to apartheid and many top ANC leaders, such as Nelson MANDELA, spent decades in South Africa's prisons.

Internal protests and insurgency, as well as boycotts by some Western nations and institutions, led to the regime's eventual willingness to negotiate a peaceful transition to majority rule.

The first multi-racial elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid and ushered in majority rule under an ANC-led government.

South Africa since then has struggled to address apartheid-era imbalances in decent housing, education, and health care.

ANC infighting, which has grown in recent years, came to a head in September 2008 when President Thabo MBEKI resigned, and Kgalema MOTLANTHE, the party's General-Secretary, succeeded him as interim president.

Jacob ZUMA became president after the ANC won general elections in April 2009.

In January 2011, South Africa assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term.