South Africa is a vast country, five times the size of the UK. Divided into nine provinces, the country completely surrounds Lesotho and almost all of Swaziland, two separate countries. The distance from Johannesburg to Cape Town is the same as from London to Rome. The people of South Africa have experienced enormous changes since the end of apartheid, a racist form of government that discriminated against non-white South Africans until 1994. The process of change has not been easy, but most South Africans today hope that the country's different peoples can live together fairly and peacefully to reflect the country's nickname, the 'rainbow nation'.

Click on the map for a larger version

� Jon Spaull/Panos Pictures.

27th April has become a national holiday called 'Freedom Day'. This celebrates the first multiracial election and the end of the apartheid system in 1994.

To find out more about life in South Africa during the apartheid years

� Dominic Sansoni/Panos Pictures.

South Africa's population is growing rapidly. As 42% of South Africans are under 18 years old, the population is likely to continue to grow, depending on the effect of HIV/AIDS . Click on the picture to see the population pyramid for South Africa in 2000

Get to know students living in South Africa, and find out more about their country by visiting the BBC South Africa 2000 website, www.bbc.co.uk/education/sa2000
You can also take part in discussions and debates, and you can e mail the students directly...