Situated at the very tip of Africa, South Africa has the continent's largest and most developed economies. The country's moniker is the 'rainbow nation' because of its ethnically diverse population – a cause for celebration today which carries a darker past within it. Until 1994, the year Nelson Mandela was elected President in the country's first democratic elections, South Africa was ruled under a white minority government which enforced an apartheid policy, advocating for complete race segregation.
With a population of 55.5 million citizens, South African has 11 languages officially spoken across the country, including English, Afrikaans, Sesotho, Setswana, Xhosa, and Zulu. While the economy, culture, and science are on the rise, South Africa's people are struggling with severe economic inequality and experiencing the extremes of climate change, with high impacting droughts and serious water shortages as a result. South Africa's rich wildlife is also facing severe problems due to poaching syndicates, fueled by poverty. These issues constitute ongoing major challenges in need of innovation and strong governance in the years to come.
