South Africa was once divided into two British Colonies, namely the Colony of Natal and the Cape Colony, and two “Boer” Afrikaner Republics, namely the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. The Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 after 8 years of negotiations after the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 – 1902. The Republic of South Africa as it is today was form in 1961, which covers the southern tip of Africa and an area of 1,2 million square kilometers.

South Africa has a two tier government, a national government with a democratically elected president and each province has its own provincial legislature. Since the political change of 1994 the South African society has made great strides towards a democratic, socially more equitable and economically more globally competitive country. It has, in fact, become a leader in many spheres of international north-south relations. Recent growth of the South African economy is largely based on the tourism sector, a gradually diversifying and increasingly competitive manufacturing sector, value-adding beneficiation of mineral and agricultural raw materials and a sophisticated trading, financial and professional services sector. Internationally South Africa can be ranked amongst “upper middle income countries” like Chile, Portugal, Korea, Malaysia, Turkey, Brazil and Poland.