Today, South Africa is the most industrialized country on the continent.
It grew rich because Dutch colonists discovered gold and diamonds there in the late 1800s.
South Africa still supplies about one third of the world’s gold yearly, mining more gold than any other country.
Other types of mining are important to the South African economy.
In fact, almost every useful mineral on the earth, except for oil, is found there.
South Africa is ethnically diverse, and has the largest European, Asian, and racially mixed communities in Africa.
Even with its vast resources, unemployment in South Africa is extremely high and it is one of the top 10 countries in the world for income inequality.
