The Republic of South Africa (Afrikaans: Die Republiek van Suid-Afrika) is the country at the southern tip of
Africa. It borders the
Atlantic and
Indian oceans and
Namibia,
Botswana,
Zimbabwe,
Mozambique,
Swaziland, and
Lesotho, an independent
enclave surrounded by South African territory. South Africa is a member of the
Commonwealth of Nations, and, due to its having the largest economy in Africa, is widely regarded as the most socially, economically and infrastructurally developed country on the
continent.
South Africa has experienced a different history from other nations in Africa because of early
immigration from
Europe and the strategic importance of the
Cape Sea Route. European immigration began shortly after the
Dutch East India Company founded a station at what would become Cape Town, in
1652 CE. The closure of the
Suez Canal during the
Six-Day War exemplified its significance to East-West trade. The country's relatively developed infrastructure made its mineral wealth available and important to
Western interests, particularly throughout the late nineteenth century and, with international competition and rivalry, during the
Cold War. South Africa is ethnically diverse, with the largest
Caucasian,
Indian, and
racially mixed communities in Africa.
Black South Africans, who speak nine officially recognised languages, and many more dialects, account for slightly less than 80% of the population.