Abstract
South Africa is a land of scenic beauty with cloud topped mountains, steep-sided valleys and vast dusty plains. A wealth of minerals is buried in South Africa's rocks. It was the discovery of diamonds and gold that attracted a rush of European fortune-hunters in the 19th century. The Europeans conquered the Africans or occupied their lands. They dug mines and made South Africa the richest and most developed country in the continent. South Africa has an area of 1, 127, 000 sq km2 and has a population of 40.774.000 of which 76% is black, 13% is white, 8.5% is colored and 2.5% Asians. The official languages are English and Afrikaans. Its capital is Cape Town.
