Africa: African countries. South African Republic - population of South Africa

POPULATION
The average population density is 36.8 people. per 1 sq. km (2001). The most densely populated areas are the cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. From the end Since the 1990s, average annual population growth has dropped sharply due to the high incidence of AIDS. In 2002 it was approx. 1%, in 2005 had a negative indicator (-0.31%). Birth rate – 18.48 per 1000 people, mortality – 21.32 per 1000 people. Infant mortality is 61.8 per 1000 births. The fertility rate (average number of children born per woman) is 2.2 children. 30.3% of the population are children under 14 years of age. Residents over 65 years of age – 5.2%. The average age of the population is 23.98 years. Life expectancy is 43.27 years (men – 43.47, women – 43.06). (All indicators are given in estimates for 2005).

South Africa is a multiracial and multiethnic state. Racially, the population consists of representatives of African peoples (79%), “whites” (9.6%), Asians (2.5%) and Khoi (Bushmen (Khoi-Sans) and Hottentots), numbering several thousand people . 8.9% of the residents of South Africa are mestizo (the so-called “colored” - descendants of mixed marriages of Europeans with Africans) - 2001. Among the African population, the most numerous ethnic groups are Zulu (23.8%), Xhosa (17.6) , Pedi (9.4%), Tswana (8.2%), Sotho (7.9%), Tsonga (4.4%), Ndebele (approx. 2%), Venda (1.3%) and Swazi (approx. 1%) - 2001. The European population consists of Afrikaners (descendants of Dutch, German, French settlers) (see also BOERS) and the British. Among the Asian population, Indians predominate; there are also Chinese, Malays, etc. There is still a certain amount of hostility between different racial groups in society. Afrikaans (the lingua franca) is spoken by 13.3% of the country's population, and English by 8.2%. Of the African official languages, isiZulu is the most widely spoken. See also AFRICAN LANGUAGES.

The urban population is 64% (2004). The cities are inhabited by approx. 80% "white" population. Large cities are Cape Town (approx. 4 million people - 2005), Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Pietermaritzburg and Bloemfontein.

Among those who came to the country for permanent residence in con. 1990s - early In the 2000s, there were many citizens of Zimbabwe, which in turn accepted refugees from South Africa during the years of the apartheid regime (in 2004 there were 2 million Zimbabweans in South Africa), Nigeria, China and Great Britain. According to established tradition, labor migrants from Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana come to work in the mines and on farms in South Africa (12 thousand people officially immigrate from Botswana to work in the mines annually, and about 30 thousand people work illegally in the manufacturing industry and on farms).

There is a Russian diaspora, which includes both the descendants of Russian gold and diamond miners who came to South Africa in the 1870s, and emigrants who left Russia after the 1917 revolution. There are also Russian entrepreneurs who immigrated to the country in 1990–2000.

Emigrants from South Africa live in Namibia and other African countries. There is a problem with the so-called "brain drain" In 2003, more than 10 thousand people emigrated from South Africa to the USA, European countries, Australia and New Zealand, among whom were many medical workers (including about 200 experienced doctors), accountants, teachers (about 700 people). ), as well as specialists in the field of information technology.

Since the 2000s, the gap between the numbers of emigrants and immigrants has been slowly narrowing.

Religions. Complete freedom of religion is enshrined in law. More than 80% of the population are Christians (the majority are Protestants). The spread of Christianity began in the middle. 17th century and is associated with the activities of European missionaries. In the city of Midrand, located near the capital, there is the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh (the first Russian church in Southern Africa). There are a number of Christian African churches that arose in the 1880s on the basis of schismatic movements. Some Africans adhere to traditional African beliefs (animalism, fetishism, cult of ancestors, guardians of the hearth, forces of nature, etc.). The Muslim community (the majority profess Sunni Islam) includes Cape Malays, Indians, people from northern Mozambique, etc. Among the Indian population there are also Shia Ismailis. There is a Hindu community. Judaism is widespread, there are approx. 200 Jewish societies.

Gender age

The proportion of children under the age of 15 for non-whites is 45%, while for whites it is only 33%. The number of elderly people among non-whites does not exceed 5%, and among whites it is above 10%. These data serve as one of the objective evidence of the difficult conditions in which the majority of the country’s population lives.

The size of the male and female population in the country as a whole is approximately the same, although in some areas there is a sharp disproportion (for example, in Bantustans the female population sharply exceeds the male population). Average life expectancy (as of 1998): 60 years (men), 65 years (women); for the white population this figure is 73 years, and for Africans it is only 57 years.

National composition

The ethnic composition of the South African population is very complex. The most ancient inhabitants of the country are the Bushmen, Hottentots and numerous peoples of the Bantu language family. Rock paintings by Bushmen dating back thousands of years have been found on the rocks and mountain caves of the South Coast. Archaeological excavations have discovered a number of Bantu settlements in the central regions of the country dating back to the 1st millennium AD.

The history of the formation of the population of South Africa is typical for many settler colonies. The influx of Europeans from Holland, England, France, Portugal and other European countries, the import of slaves from Madagascar and West Africa, and the attraction of Indians - these are the factors that contributed to the creation of the modern ethnolinguistic composition of the country's population.

In 2001, the entire population of South Africa, according to official statistics, was divided into 4 racial and ethnic groups: Africans (about 34 million); white (people of European descent) (6.9 million); mestizos or, according to the official terminology adopted in South Africa, “colored” (4.4 million) and Asians (1.3 million).

Fearing the unification of national liberation forces in the country, the government artificially seeks to divide individual ethnic groups, preserve tribal remnants among Africans, and incite national enmity between different peoples.

In South Africa, 11 languages ​​of various nationalities and ethnic groups inhabiting the country have been approved as state languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Xhosa, Zulu, Pedi, Sutho, Tswana, Swazi, Venda, Tsonga. According to statistics from 1996, the most widely spoken language is Zulu. The second most popular language is Xhosa; followed by Afrikaans. English is spoken by about 8.6% of the population. However, this language is widely used in official and business contacts.

Africans are the largest group (about 77% of the total population). The African population consists of Bantu, Bushmen and Hottentot peoples. As the Bantu moved south, they pushed back the Bushmen and Hottentots, who, having settled in the Transvaal and Orange Province, were partially assimilated among the Bantu. There are now very few Bushmen left, most of them living in the barren, malarial areas of the northwestern Kalahari.

Numerous Bantu tribes came to South Africa from East Africa and the upper reaches of the river. Congo back in the first centuries of our era. By the time Europeans arrived, numerous tribes lived in Natal and the eastern regions of the Cape Province, which by the end of the 19th century. formed into two nationalities - Zulu and Xhosa.

The High and Middle Weald were inhabited by Basotho and Bechuana. Northern Transvaal - Bavenda. From the very beginning of European colonization, the South African Bantu fought against their enslavers, during which the processes of consolidation of a number of South African peoples intensified, and state formations of the Zulu and Basotho were created, led by Chaka, Dingaan, Ketchwayo and Moshesh.

Currently, the most numerous are Zulu (in the early 90s - 5029 thousand people), Xhosa (4897 thousand), Tswana (2013 thousand) and Swazis (590 thousand). Zulu, Xhosa and Swazi are usually grouped as Nguni by language. A single linguistic group consists of Basotho and Bechuana. The Basotho population exceeds 2 million people, of which approximately? live in South Africa - in the Transvaal and Orange provinces.

The Bechuanas, numbering more than 0.5 million people, occupy the northeastern regions of the Cape Province and the Transvaal. In the areas of Natal and Transvaal adjacent to Mozambique, the Bavenda live, and in the northwestern regions of the Cape Province, near the border with Namibia, Bantus can be found speaking the Herero language.

Significant changes have occurred in the social life of Africans: large patriarchal families have been replaced by small ones; the number of polygamous families has sharply decreased; Religious views have changed.

Instead of traditional tribal cults, European colonists imposed Christianity on the Bantu. In Bantustans, the long-established Bantu division of labor between men and women has been violated. If earlier men were engaged in cattle breeding, and women – in agriculture, now almost all work in bantustans is performed by women and old people. Young men are forced to spend most of their time working outside the Bantustans. Africans are the main labor force in the South African economy: 58.6% of employees in non-agricultural sectors and 84.9% in agriculture.

Whites (people of European descent) are the second largest group in the country's population (11%). Its core consists of Afrikaners, or Boers (about 60% of the European population), and the British (38%). People from other European countries and the Middle East also live in South Africa. The most numerous of them are Germans and Jews (1% each). The European community in South Africa is one of the richest in the world. The spiritual kinship of the rulers of South Africa and Israel, the identity of the tasks assigned to them by world imperialism, explain the increasingly strengthening alliance between Pretoria and Tel Aviv.

Afrikaners, descendants of the first Dutch colonists, have long lost ties with the Netherlands and consider South Africa their homeland.

The Afrikaner language - Afrikaans - has absorbed many elements of German, French, Bantu languages ​​and only very vaguely resembles its base language - Dutch. In contrast, the British maintain close ties with their homeland, first of all, this is expressed in a common language. At the same time, language is one of the significant differences between Afrikaners and the British. Both Afrikaans and English are official languages ​​in South Africa. Even in schools, teaching is often conducted in parallel in two languages. Afrikaners and the British also differ in religion. Afrikaners belong to the Dutch Reformed Church, and the British belong to the Anglican, Lutheran, etc.

Historically, the Boers were primarily engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding, while the British were involved in trade and industry. Recently, the existing division of spheres of activity between these ethnic groups has disappeared. Over the past quarter century, the process of Afrikaners taking over key positions in various industries has intensified. Afrikaners predominate in the police, army and civil servants.

People of color (9%) are a very heterogeneous group of the population. Three quarters of this group are actually people of color, whose racial identity is not possible to determine. These are descendants of mixed marriages of Europeans with representatives of the indigenous population of South Africa - mestizos. Along with them, this group includes the Cape Malays and others. Official South African statistics also incorrectly include the Bushmen and Hottentots here.

Coloreds speak either Afrikaans or English. The vast majority of them live in the cities of the Cape Province (about 90%), where they are employed in services, manufacturing and construction.

Asians (mostly South Asians) make up the youngest group (3%). It began to take shape only in the 60s of the 19th century, when contracted agricultural workers from India began to be imported to southern Africa to expand sugar cane plantations in Natal and due to a lack of skilled labor. In less than half a century, from 1870 to 1911, the number of imported Indians reached 100 thousand, and in 1980 it amounted to 792 thousand people.

Religious composition

Although South Africa is the most Christianized state in modern Africa, the dominant religion among the white and colored population is Protestantism; about 50% of Africans adhere to indigenous beliefs and about 15% are members of Christian African churches and sects. The rest are Africans and the majority of the white and colored population are Christians.

More than 80% of the population of South Africa are adherents of Christianity: independent African churches unite more than 8 million believers, the second place in terms of the number of parishioners is occupied by the Reformed Church, and the third by the Roman Catholic Church.

A small percentage of believers are distributed among the Methodist, Anglican, Apostolic, Lutheran and Presbyterian Churches. More than 400 thousand people profess Hinduism, 300 thousand profess Islam.

Most Mestizos are Christians and follow a distinctly Western way of life, they speak Afrikaans. About 1.5 million people belong to the Reformed Church (Afrikaner). More than 80 percent of them live in the Cape Province. The people of Asian descent in South Africa are mostly Indian, but there are also people from other countries.

People of color are almost 90% Christian; more than 500 thousand of them form a large community in the Reformed Church. In addition, among them there are many Anglicans, Methodists, Congregationalists and Catholics. The Cape Malays practice Islam. The majority of Indians (over 2/3) profess Hinduism, more than 1/5 are supporters of Islam, about 7% are Christians and about the same number are representatives of other religions - Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, etc.

Although Christianity and other introduced religions arrived in southern Africa earlier than in other areas of the continent, a significant number of the African population continues to adhere to traditional beliefs and religions.

Education

The training of whites has the task of broadly and comprehensively preparing them to perform leadership functions in society. Non-whites, and especially Africans, receive the minimum knowledge necessary to perform work at the lower levels of modern production. Discrimination permeates all areas of the education system.

According to the Bantu Education Act of 1953, schools for Africans were removed from the jurisdiction of provincial authorities and transferred to the Ministry of Bantu Education (since 1977 - the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training). In 1961, Colored Vocational and Technical Education was transferred to the Department of Colored Affairs, and in 1963, all Colored elementary and secondary schools were transferred. Later, similar measures were taken against Indians.

Per capita education spending varies widely across racial groups. In the late 1990s, an average of R64 was allocated per African student and R561 per European student per year.

African parents are forced to pay for their children’s education from their meager funds or to compensate for monetary contributions with personal labor (construction and maintenance of school buildings, etc.). Education for children of white citizens is free.

Africans must pay tuition fees and exam fees, and bear the costs of purchasing textbooks, school uniforms, transportation and school lunches.

Education in secondary school is divided into two cycles: the first - 3 years and the second - 2 years, a total of 5 years, preceded by 2 preparatory years. For African students, the 8th year of primary school is provided - "standard 6". If for white children schooling is compulsory for nine years (from 7 to 16), then for Africans it is compulsory only for four years, and for colored children it is compulsory for seven years, “where necessary and where facilities allow.”

Most Africans who enroll in school receive only a primary education, as tuition costs rise sharply in the upper grades. A quarter drop out after the first year, only 1% receive a diploma, and only 0.2% enter universities. Much the same situation exists in the colored and Indian schools. Among white students, 63% remain in primary school, 30% go on to secondary school, and 7% go on to university. In 1990, 60.3% of the male and 55.4% of the female population of Bantustans did not study at all.

In addition to regular schools in South Africa, there are so-called farm schools, primitive in terms of education and equipment, for children of Africans employed in agriculture. Such schools are entirely dependent on farmers. The purpose of schooling is to attach students to the farm as hired laborers.

Vocational and trade schools in South Africa are few in number and, in accordance with the principle of separate development, are strictly demarcated in terms of goals and objectives. Those schools that are intended for Africans aim to prepare young people for work in areas where Africans settled.

In general, the South African education system ensures 100% literacy among the white population. Among the African population, in 1992 it was 66%.

The establishment of schools or classes for the education of illiterates is prohibited by law unless they are officially "registered". In total, there are 54 evening schools in South Africa, including about 10 in rural areas, where there is a particular need for such educational institutions. Consequently, without receiving sufficient knowledge at school, the African population is deprived of the opportunity to supplement their education in the future.

Healthcare

The South African health care system, as well as all other areas of social welfare, exemplify the severe racial discrimination faced by non-white residents of the country. In South Africa, there are several health services targeting each of the racial groups: whites, Africans, coloreds and Asians. The level of health care provided to each of these populations varies widely.

Medical care for the population in South Africa is better than in some Western developed capitalist countries. In 1991, there was one doctor for every 450 whites (the highest rate in the west), allowing South African authorities to promote South Africa as a “land of health.”

At the same time, among Asians there was one doctor per 960 people, among coloreds - per 6.2 thousand, and among Africans - per 44 thousand people. Thus, in terms of the number of doctors available to the entire population, South Africa is approximately 2.5 times inferior to England, France and Germany.

Medical personnel are subject to wage discrimination. In the 90s, a colored doctor's salary was 80% and an African doctor's salary was 70% of the salary of their equally qualified white colleague.

A two-week hospital stay for a white person with three children and an annual income of R2,400 costs R1. Other groups of the population with a similar family and income cost R37.5 to treat over the same period. The lack of access to treatment, combined with difficult socio-economic living and working conditions, has the most adverse impact on the health of these South African citizens.

The state of health of the population is also evidenced by such an important indicator as the mortality rate of children under one year of age per 1 thousand newborns.

Fertility and mortality in 1999 - 2000. (per 1000 people)

Table 4

In 1975-1976 government spending on health care for the white population amounted to 224.6 million rands, for the African population - 394.1 million rands (including 64.4 million rands in the Bantustans). White private health care costs accounted for 94% of all costs in the sector. In the Bantustans this figure was 20 times lower.

The total population of the English possessions is about 15 million, the southern part of Portuguese Mozambique is about 2.5 million. These data are approximate. General censuses that more or less accurately determine the population are carried out in the Union of South Africa (the last census was carried out on 7 May 1946) and in Southern Rhodesia (last census - August 1, 1948). Statistics for other territories, to a certain extent, fully take into account only the adult male population: this is necessary for taxation and identification of the remaining colonial population. officials take into account very approximately, while allowing great arbitrariness.

Professor Schapera of the University of Cape Town speaks of the population censuses for Bechuanaland as follows: 4 / “None of these censuses can be considered accurate, ... earlier censuses cannot be trusted at all.” To support this assessment, he gives two striking examples. One of the official reports on the population of the Ghanzi region indicated that 7 thousand men live there, 3 thousand. women, and only 10 thousand people. The male to female ratio (7:3) was clearly absurd, yet this data was included in the report. Two years later, another colonial official assigned to this area reported that “approximately 2 thousand people” lived in the Ghanzi region. Another example: a report for 1936 indicated that 42,158 people lived in the Tawana Reserve; in 1939-1940 a commission to study sleeping sickness visited all the villages of this reserve, counted the population of each village and came to the conclusion that the population of the reserve does not exceed 35 thousand 1

The accounting of the ethnic composition of the population is even worse. The accounting is based on the racial principle - based on skin color: whites - Europeans, blacks - natives, “colored” - mulattoes, etc. All speakers of Bantu languages ​​are united into one general group “natives”, and in some cases they are included in it and mulattoes, Hottentots and Bushmen; in others, mulattoes, Hottentots and Bushmen are counted separately under the “colored” group. Only Europeans are accurately counted.

The following table, compiled from the latest censuses and estimates of the last five years, gives a rough picture of the ethnic composition of the English possessions (thousands):

In Mozambique, the Bantu population in 1940 was estimated at 5 million, Europeans and other non-Bantus in 1945 numbered 60 thousand, including 15 thousand mulattoes and 10 thousand Indians; It is not possible to separately determine the ethnic composition of the population of southern Mozambique.

Bantu

The majority of the population of South Africa (about 78%) is therefore Bantu.

Bantu speak several languages. The most important of them:

The Xhosa are a well-established and most numerous South African Bantu people. All Xhosa live in South Africa, mainly (85.3%) in the eastern part of the Cape Province, in the Transkei and Ciskei reserves (“on the other” and “this” side of the Kei River). The Zulus are also a well-established people. Most of them live in the province of Natal (76% of the total population of the province). Outside of South Africa, Zulus live in Swaziland and Basutoland. In addition to the Zulus themselves, the Zulu language is spoken by the Matabele in Southern Rhodesia and the Ndebele in the northwestern part of the Transvaal. Most of the Swazis (223 thousand) live in the Transvaal; Only 160 thousand Swazis live in the territory of the Swaziland protectorate. The Xhosa, Zulu and Swazi languages ​​are related (they are combined into one group under the general name Nguni). The total number of peoples speaking them is more than 5 million. They inhabit, with the exception of the Matabele and Ndebele, one continuous territory and have all the prerequisites for merging into one nation. Basotho live mainly in South Africa, in the Transvaal and Orange Free State provinces. About half a million Basotho live in the Basutoland Protectorate. Among the Basotho of the Transvaal, the northern Basotho, or Pedi, are distinguished by their language. More than half (68.9%) of the Bechuanas also live in South Africa, mainly in the Transvaal and Cape Province. The Basotho, Bechuanas and Pedi together make up more than 3 million people, they mostly inhabit a continuous territory and form a single ethnic massif. The Mashona live mainly in Southern Rhodesia, making up, together with the Matabele, the main population of the colony. About 20% of the Mashona live in Mozambique. The Tsonga inhabit Mozambique and the surrounding areas of the Transvaal and Natal. The Ndonga, Kuanyama and Herero languages ​​are spoken by the Bantus of SWA and adjacent areas of Angola.

A review of Bantu settlement shows a picture typical for all of Africa: colonial boundaries do not correspond to ethnic boundaries, tearing peoples apart. This circumstance, along with the general colonial regime, greatly impedes the merging of the South African Bantu tribes and nationalities into national communities.

The table shows the composition of the Bantu population of South African provinces and protectorates by main ethnic groups (as a percentage of the total) 1.

On the one hand, compact ethnic tracts of Xhosa, Zulus, Basotho and Bechuana stand out. On the other hand, significant interpenetration and mixing of ethnic groups has already occurred; The territorial boundaries of ethnic groups are erased and crossed. Recently, due to the growth of the population of cities and mining centers, this process is proceeding quite quickly. Now it is still difficult to judge the contours of the emerging nations; they will be finally determined only with the victory of the anti-imperialist forces and the liberation of the Bantu from colonial enslavement.

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REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, South Africa. State in southern Africa. Capital– Pretoria (1.9 million people – 2004). Territory– 1.219 million sq. km. Administrative division– 9 provinces. Population– 46.3 million people. (2005). Official languages– Afrikaans, English, isiZulu, isiXhosa, isindebele, sesotho sa leboa, sesotho, setswana, siwati, tshivenda and hitsonga. Religions– Christianity, etc. Currency– rand National holiday– April 27 – Freedom Day (1994). South Africa is a member of more than 50 international organizations, incl. The UN since 1946, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) since 1994, and since 2002 its successor - the African Union (AU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) since 1994, a member of the Commonwealth (an association of countries that were part of the British Empire) and etc.

The urban population is 64% (2004). The cities are inhabited by approx. 80% "white" population. Large cities are Cape Town (approx. 4 million people - 2005), Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Pietermaritzburg and Bloemfontein.

Among those who came to the country for permanent residence in con. 1990s - early In the 2000s, there were many citizens of Zimbabwe, which in turn accepted refugees from South Africa during the years of the apartheid regime (in 2004 there were 2 million Zimbabweans in South Africa), Nigeria, China and Great Britain. According to established tradition, labor migrants from Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana come to work in the mines and on farms in South Africa (12 thousand people officially immigrate from Botswana to work in the mines annually, and about 30 thousand people work illegally in the manufacturing industry and on farms).

There is a Russian diaspora, which includes both the descendants of Russian gold and diamond miners who came to South Africa in the 1870s, and emigrants who left Russia after the 1917 revolution. There are also Russian entrepreneurs who immigrated to the country in 1990–2000.

Emigrants from South Africa live in Namibia and other African countries. There is a problem with the so-called "brain drain" In 2003, more than 10 thousand people emigrated from South Africa to the USA, European countries, Australia and New Zealand, among whom were many medical workers (including about 200 experienced doctors), accountants, teachers (about 700 people). ), as well as specialists in the field of information technology.

Since the 2000s, the gap between the numbers of emigrants and immigrants has been slowly narrowing.

Religions.

Complete freedom of religion is enshrined in law. More than 80% of the population are Christians (the majority are Protestants). The spread of Christianity began in the middle. 17th century and is associated with the activities of European missionaries. In the city of Midrand, located near the capital, there is the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh (the first Russian church in Southern Africa). There are a number of Christian African churches that arose in the 1880s on the basis of schismatic movements. Some Africans adhere to traditional African beliefs (animalism, fetishism, cult of ancestors, guardians of the hearth, forces of nature, etc.). The Muslim community (the majority profess Sunni Islam) includes Cape Malays, Indians, people from northern Mozambique, etc. Among the Indian population there are also Shia Ismailis. There is a Hindu community. Judaism is widespread, there are approx. 200 Jewish societies.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

State structure.

Parliamentary republic. The constitution adopted in 1996 is in force. The head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces is the president, who is elected during the first meeting of the National Assembly after the elections from among its deputies. The term of office of the president is 5 years, he can be elected to this post no more than two times. Legislative power is exercised by a bicameral parliament, which consists of the National Assembly (400 seats) and the National Council of Provinces (NCP, 90 seats). Members of the National Assembly are elected on the basis of proportional representation from the provinces for a 5-year term. The NSP performs the functions of the Senate and coordinates the activities of all regions. Composition of the NSP: 54 permanent representatives from the provinces (6 from each of the 9 provinces) and 36 alternative representatives (4 from each province).

Increased racial discrimination.

Apartheid became the cornerstone of National Party policy. A law passed in 1949 prohibited whites from marrying people of color or Africans. The Population Registration Act of 1950 provided for the classification and registration of South Africans by race; in accordance with the Group Settlement Act adopted in the same year, the so-called. “ethnic” zones were racial ghettos for Africans, Coloreds and Indians, where they had the right to own property. The government achieved the adoption of constitutional amendments that changed the voting rights of the colored population of the Cape Province: now it could elect four white deputies to parliament. Declaring that, in accordance with the Statute of Westminster, there was no longer a need to obtain the required two-thirds majority in Parliament, as provided for in the South Africa Act of 1910, which formed the basis of the South African Constitution, in 1951 the government passed the Separate Voting Act with a simple majority of votes. " The ensuing constitutional crisis was overcome in 1955 by increasing the number of members of the Senate in such a way that the government could always count on the two-thirds vote it needed. The Bantu Self-Government Act adopted in 1959 provided for the creation of new political institutions in South Africa - Bantustans (the first of them, Transkei, was created in 1963). The law provided that in 1960 the representation of the African population in the lower house of parliament by three white deputies would be abolished. In the 1960s, the process of dividing the population along racial lines and Africans along linguistic lines continued. Legislation passed in 1963–1964 regulated living and working in “white” areas. Under new legislation in 1968, the non-white population of the Cape Province was deprived of the right to elect four white members of Parliament.

In order to further strengthen the apartheid system, the Public Safety Act, better known as the “sabotage” law, was passed in 1962. Under this law, anyone who committed a criminal act, from a common offense to murder, or who attempted to “bring about or promote social or economic change” in the country could be summarily sentenced to prison or even death. The Subversive Activities Law, passed in 1967, provided for the detention of people without an arrest warrant, detention in solitary confinement, detention for an indefinite period, holding a general trial of people who committed various types of crimes and sentencing a group of people for illegal acts. actions of one person in certain situations. According to the law of 1969, the State Security Department was created in South Africa, the activities of which could only be controlled by a minister specially appointed by the president. A law was also passed prohibiting the dissemination of information harmful to state security.

The situation of the Asian population.

The National Party government abolished the existing immigration system, under which more than 40 thousand British subjects entered the country between 1948 and 1950. In 1949, the period before which emigrants from the countries of the Commonwealth, led by Great Britain, did not receive voting rights was increased from 18 months to five years. Since many Afrikaners did not want to bother learning English, the bilingual education system was abolished in educational institutions. In 1961, South Africa seceded from the Commonwealth and declared itself the Republic of South Africa, thereby avoiding harsh criticism from Asian and African members of the Commonwealth.

It had long been believed that the Indian population, concentrated mainly in the province of Natal and to a much lesser extent in the Transvaal, could not be assimilated. The South African government has developed a whole incentive system to encourage Indians to leave the country. But many Indians prospered in their new homeland and began to acquire property, which caused growing concern among the white population of Natal. In 1940 and 1943, commissions were set up to investigate the “penetration” of Indians into the country; in 1943, the rights of Indians to own property in South Africa were curtailed. According to the law of 1946, areas of the country were established where immigrants from India had the right to own property. After 1950, under the Group Resettlement Act, many Indians were forcibly relocated to designated areas.

Organizations of non-white people.

Before the nationalists came to power in 1948 and in subsequent years, the activities of organizations of the non-white population that professed nonviolent methods of struggle did not have much influence on the political life of the country. The leading organization of the African population was the African National Congress (ANC), created in 1912, which until 1960 adhered to non-violent methods of opposing the white minority regime.

Attempts were made to create trade unions for African workers. However, the Union of Industrial and Trade Workers, created in 1917, and the South African Federation of Trade Unions, which emerged in 1928, lost their influence by the early 1930s.

For many years, the main spokesman for the interests of the colored population was the African Political Organization, created in 1902 (it later renamed itself the African People's Organization). In 1909–1910 she tried unsuccessfully to extend the suffrage enjoyed by the colored population of the Cape Province to the colored people of the northern provinces. In 1944, the National Union of Colored People was formed, which called for cooperation with the white authorities rather than with the African majority of the South African population.

In 1884, Gandhi, who lived in South Africa, created the Natal Indian Congress, which in 1920 merged with the South African Indian Congress (SIC). It was the Indians who introduced methods of nonviolent resistance into political struggle. During the Second World War, the UIC took more decisive action and began to advocate for the unity of non-white forces, which ultimately led to the unification of the efforts of the UIC and the ANC.

In 1952, a campaign of nonviolent action against discriminatory laws began, during which 10 thousand Africans were arrested. The government brutally suppressed the speeches of non-white people. In March 1960, the radical Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), created in 1959, organized a mass demonstration in Sharpeville, which was dispersed by the police, with 67 demonstrators killed. After this, the government banned the activities of the ANC and PAC, which abandoned nonviolent methods of struggle and went underground.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, South Africa experienced a period of economic prosperity. The government ensured the country's internal security by strengthening the police force and modernizing and increasing the size of the army.

Speeches by the African population. Following the fall of the Portuguese colonial empire in Africa in the mid-1970s, South Africa's ruling regime faced a serious threat. In 1974–1975, the national liberation struggle in Mozambique ended with the rise to power of left-wing radical Africans, who provided political asylum to guerrillas fighting the white minority regime in Southern Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe). The South African police assisted the Southern Rhodesian government. In Angola, after the departure of the Portuguese, a civil war began between rival factions that waged an armed anti-colonial struggle. South Africa provided assistance to the one supported by the United States. However, the victory in 1976 was won by a group that enjoyed the support of the USSR and Cuba. Thus, a regime hostile to South Africa became a neighbor of South-West Africa (modern Namibia). The national liberation movement also covered a significant part of the territory of Namibia itself. South Africa unsuccessfully tried to create a multiracial independent government in this country, which should not include figures of the national liberation movement, and in 1990 South African troops were withdrawn from Namibia.

On June 16, 1976, race riots swept South Africa itself. On this day, students from the black Johannesburg suburb of Soweto, where approx. 2 million inhabitants demanded the abolition of Afrikaans as a compulsory language in schools. The police opened fire on the students, after which the riots spread throughout Soweto. Although the government made concessions to students, until the end of 1976, protests against the apartheid regime continued among the urban African population. More than 600 Africans were killed during the suppression of the unrest.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, approx. 3.5 million Africans were forcibly evicted to the territory of Bantustans, created along ethnic lines. On October 26, 1976, the South African government announced the granting of “independence” to the Bantustan Transkei, December 6, 1977 - Bophuthatswana, September 13, 1979 - Venda and December 4, 1981 - Ciskei. Millions of Africans living in and assigned to Bantustans were stripped of their South African citizenship.

In 1977, one of the leaders of the African movement, Stephen Biko, was killed in police cells. That same year, the South African authorities banned almost all organizations that opposed apartheid policies. Against this background, the number of sabotage acts by the ANC against state-owned enterprises and institutions has increased. In June 1980, riots occurred in Cape Town, during which more than 40 people were killed.

New constitution.

In 1983, Prime Minister P.V. Botha proposed changes to the constitution that would provide for some participation of the colored and Asian population in government. Despite stubborn resistance from the most conservative elements of the white population and opposition from Africans, the proposed constitutional changes received the support of the majority of the white population in a referendum held in November 1983. On September 3, 1984, a new constitution came into force, under which President Botha also became head of the executive branch and a tricameral parliament (representatives of whites, coloreds and Indians) was created. The majority of the colored and Indian population considered the reforms insufficient and refused to participate in the elections.

The ANC's armed struggle against the apartheid regime continued. A new generation of African and colored youth rioted in the streets, clashed with the police, and attacked those Africans who collaborated with the white minority regime. Demonstrations were prohibited, but the funerals of Africans killed by police bullets turned into rallies of thousands. Forces opposed to the regime demanded the release of ANC leader Nelson Mandela from prison.

Intensifying the struggle against the apartheid regime.

In the face of ongoing unrest, local authorities in African settlements practically ceased to function, and young ANC activists began to create new bodies of self-government. In July 1985, the government introduced a state of emergency across large parts of the country. By the end of November of that year, more than 16 thousand Africans had been arrested. Many of those subsequently released spoke about the use of torture in dungeons.

In the summer of 1985, South Africa faced serious financial difficulties. The country's external debt reached 24 billion dollars, of which 14 billion were short-term trade loans, which were to be renewed periodically. As the struggle against the racist regime of South Africa intensified, foreign banks refused to provide short-term loans. In September, the South African government announced a freeze on foreign debt payments.

By intensifying the fight against the opposition, the South African government tried to create the appearance of reforming the apartheid system. In April 1986, the pass laws for Africans were repealed, but the replacement of passes with identity cards made little difference. The state of emergency was lifted in March, but already in June measures to maintain law and order were tightened throughout the country. Many thousands of Africans were thrown into prison.

Real power in South Africa increasingly passed into the hands of the command of the country's armed forces. In May 1986, South African commandos carried out attacks on ANC bases in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Between September 1984 and August 1986, more than 2.1 thousand people were killed in South Africa itself, almost all of them were Africans.

On the way to reforms.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, South Africa embarked on a path of gradual abandonment of apartheid policies. This government course was largely forced: the country’s economic situation has deteriorated significantly, not least because of economic sanctions undertaken by the EU countries, the USA and other countries in order to put pressure on the South African authorities. In addition, private foreign companies and lenders began to curtail their activities in South Africa, fearing further destabilization. Despite state repression and strict censorship of the media, African resistance to the racist regime grew steadily.

At the beginning of 1989, P.V. Botha suffered a stroke, and instead of him, the leader of the party branch in the Transvaal, Frederick W. de Klerk, became the leader of the National Party and the president of the country. During his election campaign on the eve of the 1989 parliamentary elections, de Klerk put forward a five-year plan to dismantle the apartheid system, which, however, did not provide for the transfer of power to the African majority. The National Party won the parliamentary elections, but the far-right Conservative Party received a large number of votes.

Changes in government policy began almost immediately after the elections. In September, one of the leaders of the ANC, Walter Sisulu, was released from prison; in November, racial segregation on beaches and in some places where the white population lived was eliminated. In February 1990, the government lifted the ban on the ANC, and Nelson Mandela was released from prison. In May, at meetings of President F.V. de Klerk with the ANC delegation led by N. Mandela, an agreement was reached on the terms of negotiations on a new constitution. As a gesture of goodwill, the government lifted the state of emergency throughout the country except Natal, and the ANC suspended military operations.

In 1991, the government allowed ANC fighters in Zambia to return to their homeland and released all political prisoners. Two main racist laws were repealed - “On population registration” and “On settlement by groups”. Some states, including the United States, Japan, Canada and India, responded to these steps by easing economic sanctions against South Africa. After a 21-year absence from the international Olympic movement, South Africa was allowed to participate in the 1992 Olympic Games.

In the second half of 1991, facts of secret government funding of the Inkatha movement, a predominantly Zulu organization led by Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, became public. Part of the funds was used to organize rallies of this organization, which the white authorities intended to turn into a reliable counterweight to the more radical ANC and PAC. The government also financed the secret training of Inkatha militants by South African military personnel, many of whom subsequently participated in attacks on the population of African townships that supported the ANC. Inkatha supporters living in workers' dormitories in the 1980s and early 1990s were believed to be responsible for numerous bloody clashes that swept through black townships.

Transition to multiracial democracy.

In December 1991, the first meeting of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA), a forum created by de Klerk and N. Mandela to discuss a new constitution and the country's transition to a multiracial democratic society, took place. The Convention was criticized by pro-apartheid whites, as well as by militant African organizations such as the PAC, which refused to participate in the negotiations. Nevertheless, in the white referendum held on March 18, 1992, de Klerk's efforts to overhaul the country's political system received support in a ratio of 2:1.

Negotiations within the framework of CODESA were almost disrupted in June 1992, when representatives of the ANC and some other African organizations declared it was impossible to continue their work. This demarche was caused by the fact that Inkatha supporters, with the approval or even the active participation of the police, killed at least 45 residents of one of the black townships near Johannesburg. Three months later, during a demonstration in the Bantustan of Ciskei against the local military ruler, 35 ANC supporters died at the hands of soldiers. The escalation of political violence forced F.V. de Klerk and N. Mandela to meet at the end of September; During this meeting, the ANC leader agreed to continue negotiations within the framework of CODES. A protocol was signed stipulating that a new constitution would be drafted by an elected constitutional assembly and that a multiracial transitional government should be formed following the elections. The Inkatha Movement, which now became known as the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), opposed this agreement, and in December 1992, Chief Buthelezi published a draft constitution for the future state of the ethnic bantustan of KwaZulu and the province of Natal. The conservative wing of the Afrikaners responded to the agreement by creating a secret committee to mobilize the disaffected white population to fight the reforms. The ultimate goal of the conspirators was to create, if necessary, a separate Afrikaner state.

Negotiations between the ANC and the de Klerk government continued in 1993 against the backdrop of continued bloody terror against the ANC by Inkatha militants, who enjoyed the support and protection of the South African security forces, who continued the usual practice of carrying out terrorist acts at the hands of their African agents. Supporters of the ANC and PAC responded to the killings with murders. On April 10, 1993, the Secretary General of the South African Communist Party, Chris Hani, was killed at the hands of a white extremist. Several members of the Conservative Party took part in the conspiracy, three of whom were later convicted and imprisoned.

In November 1993, 19 CODESA members approved a draft interim constitution, which in December was ratified by the South African Parliament, thereby voting for self-dissolution.

Now no terrorist actions or provocations on the part of Afrikaner extremists and PSI militants could prevent changes in the life of the country. In March 1994, the bantustan populations of Ciskei and Bophuthatswana overthrew their rulers, and the provisional government of South Africa took over the administration of these territories. That same month, a state of emergency was declared in Natal, where the PSI called for a boycott of the elections and again resorted to violent tactics. However, at the last minute, the PSI leadership still decided to participate in the elections, which took place on April 26–29. On April 27, 1994, an interim constitution came into force, and South Africa became a multiracial democracy.

The ANC came to power with the support of an absolute majority of voters - 63%, while 20% voted for the National Party and 10% of voters voted for the Inkatha Freedom Party. The remaining political parties were unable to overcome the 5% threshold required to include their representatives in the government. As a result, a coalition government of national unity, which was to govern the country for the next five years, was formed from representatives of the ANC, the National Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party.

On May 9, 1994, the National Assembly elected Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa. The outstanding personal qualities of the new president played a decisive role in maintaining stability in the country during the transition period.

In November 1995, local elections were held throughout the country, with the exception of KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Town, again ending in a landslide victory for the ANC, which received the support of 64% of voters, while the National Party - 16% and the Inkatha Freedom Party - 0.4%.

Having expressed disagreement with the policies of the ANC several times, the National Party left the government of national unity in July 1996, becoming the largest opposition force. One of the reasons for the conflict between the parties was the fact that the draft of the new constitution did not provide for the continuation of the coalition government after 1999. The Inkatha Freedom Party made claims to the ANC regarding some provisions of the constitution. This party wanted the country's main document to more firmly enshrine the principles of federalism and boycotted meetings of the Constitutional Assembly as a sign of protest. The Freedom Front also expressed its dissatisfaction, which insisted on mentioning the Volkstaat (Boer People's State) in the text of the constitution. However, the Constitutional Assembly in October 1996 approved a new constitution for South Africa, which came into force on February 4, 1997.

At the end of 1998, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission published its final report, which accused the National Party, as well as the ANC and other political organizations, of massive human rights violations during the apartheid period. Although charges were brought against some members of his own party, Nelson Mandela supported this document.

Throughout 1998, South Africa was preparing for the second democratic elections, scheduled for May 1999. In 1997, Thabo Mbeki, the likely successor to Mandela and Vice President of South Africa, became the leader of the African National Congress, and in 1998, the de facto leader of the country. The National and Democratic parties gradually lost their political positions, and the Inkatha Freedom Party continued to cooperate with the ANC in a coalition government of national unity. Trade unions became increasingly disillusioned with the government's policy of creating a market economy in the country and with Mbeki's approach to social and economic problems. Throughout 1998, South Africa continued to move extremely slowly towards achieving its goals of economic growth and a just reconstruction of society. GDP growth was less than 2% per year, and the population was increasing, access to education became more difficult, and medical care for the population deteriorated.

In the parliamentary elections held on June 2, 1999, the ANC won a landslide victory, collecting 66% of the vote. The second place was taken by the Democratic Party (10% of the votes), the third place was taken by the Inkatha Freedom Party.

On June 16, 57-year-old Thabo Mbeki, a friend and ally of N. Mandela, officially took office as President of South Africa.

The new President Mbeki continued the course of his predecessor's government. The political and social base of the government was expanded to include members of opposition parties representing all racial and ethnic groups in the country.

At the turn of the 21st century. The concept of the “African Renaissance” became a key element of South Africa’s foreign and domestic policy. It was put forward by President Mbeki in May 1996 at a parliamentary meeting dedicated to the adoption of the constitution as a new “national idea” that defined the role and place of South Africa in Africa. The concept of “African Renaissance” was officially announced by him at a conference on attracting capital to Africa (Virginia, 1997). Mbeki, together with President of Algeria A. Bouteflika and President of Nigeria O. Obasanjo, became one of the authors of “The Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Program (MAP), put forward at the OAU summit in 1999. In October 2001 in Abuja (Nigeria) at the first meeting of the Program Implementation Committee (by that time the so-called “Omega Plan” of Senegalese President A. Wade had been integrated into it), amendments were made to the document and it was approved called the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The committee secretariat was located in Midrand (a suburb of Pretoria). At the first summit of the African Union (AU), held in Durban on 9–10 July 2002, NEPAD was declared its operational economic programme. Mbeki was elected chairman of the AU.

South Africa in the 21st century

In the beginning The 2000s saw growth in the South African economy, which was driven by high prices for mineral raw materials, an active influx of investment and increased consumer demand, which in turn led to an increase in imports and a strengthening of the national currency. In 2004, government revenues from privatization amounted to $2 million.

In the general elections held on April 14, 2004, the ruling ANC party won a landslide victory, receiving 69.68 votes. She won 279 seats in the National Assembly. In addition, the parties “Democratic Alliance”, DA (50), “Inkatha Freedom Party” (28) and “United Democratic Movement”, UDD (9) received seats in parliament. 131 members of parliament are women. Women have also been appointed to the posts of chairman and speaker of parliament.

In May 2005, celebrations were held in Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban to mark the 60th anniversary of victory in the Second World War. (334 thousand volunteers from South Africa fought in parts of the British army in Italy, North and East Africa). On June 26, 2005, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Freedom Charter, which became the basis of the 1996 constitution, was widely celebrated. In October 2005, Mbeki participated in the next AU summit (Abuja, Nigeria), dedicated to the problem of forming a unified government for the African continent.

In 2005, GDP amounted to 527.4 billion US dollars, its growth was 5%. In the same year, investment was 17.9% of GDP and inflation was 4.6%. The strengthening of the rand in 2003–2005 led to a decrease in exports (in 2005 the trade deficit reached its highest level in 22 years - 4.7% of GDP) and job losses. Unemployment in 2005 was 27.8%. The appreciation of the national currency also led to a decrease in income in the mining industry. The income gap between different segments of the population has increased. The share of the middle class in 2004 was 7.8% (in 1994 – 3.3%). More than 50% of the 7.5 thousand dollar millionaires in Africa are South Africans.

The government's economic policy is aimed at further liberalizing the economy, attracting foreign investment, and combating poverty. In 2005, a special fund of R42 billion was created to issue loans to low-income South Africans for housing construction.

The Africanization policy is being actively pursued not only in relation to changing the racial composition of legislative and executive authorities, but also in the economic sphere - black businessmen are increasingly heading private companies and banks, white citizens are being forced out of some areas of entrepreneurship (for example, taxi services). According to the official statement of the authorities, in March 2006, in order to speed up the progress of land reform, large-scale confiscation of the lands of white farmers with whom the authorities could not agree on compensation within the established time frame will begin. The first case of such confiscation took place in October 2005.

The government is trying to develop a set of measures to eliminate unemployment and fight crime. In April 2005, a law on combating terrorism was adopted.

On June 14, 2005, ANC Deputy President Jacob Zuma, considered the main candidate to succeed the head of state, was dismissed after a case was opened against him for involvement in corruption. According to the decision of the ANC general council, he nevertheless remained as deputy president of the party. In the apparatus of the ruling party, the struggle has intensified over the issue of electing a new leader of the ANC at the congress, which is scheduled for 2007. In early February 2006, President Mbeki announced that he did not intend to amend the constitution in order to gain the opportunity to once again run for the presidency in elections in 2009. The question of a successor, in his opinion, will be decided at the party congress in 2007. Around the same time, Zuma was brought to trial on charges of raping a woman who was a close friend of his family. Zuma's supporters say the campaign against him is political.

In November 2005, a new Anti-Corruption Commission was created. As part of the anti-corruption campaign, 66 South African Home Affairs officials were fired in 2004–2005. At the beginning of February 2006, a new political scandal began, at the center of which was the new deputy president, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Charges were brought against her of embezzling government funds (approx. $100 thousand), which she used to travel with family and friends to the UAE (December 2005) on a government plane. President Mbeki spoke in defense of the accused.

Lyubov Prokopenko

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