Sources: All information stated in this article is based on reliable information, and is summarized at the end of this article.
It is known as the country favored by God, with a small area but vast resources, and has squeezed into the front row of the world several times.
It is also because this resource is regarded as a "developed country", but the transition from "developed" to "poor" is "instantaneous".
Obviously rich in resources, the envy of all countries in the world, why has it changed its former "developed appearance" so much?
Countries with developed resources
Even today, South Africa is still recognized as a "resource power" in the world, to put it bluntly, it is God to eat and be favored by God.
When it comes to this mineral alone, South Africa's mineral content is unmatched by the rest of the world.
South Africa is one of the world's five largest mineral resource countries, with the world's second richest mineral structure, of which the content of gold, manganese, platinum group metals and other perennial ranks first in the world, and other mines also have diamonds, coal, copper, etc.
Don't look at the fact that South Africa has an area of only more than 1.22 million square kilometers, but the "small land and rich things" are especially suitable for South Africa.
South Africa is the world's largest producer of diamonds, accounting for more than 25% of the world's production.
Kimberley Pit
In addition, South Africa's iron ore reserves reach 1 billion tons, accounting for more than 40% of Africa's total iron ore reserves, and the vast majority of this iron ore is rich in iron ore.
The resources of manganese ore once accounted for 46% of the world's total reserves, and because of its abundance, it is divided into two categories: chemical grade and metallurgical grade.
Rich in minerals, this coal resource is also beyond the reach of other countries.
South Africa is the largest coal producer and exporter in Africa, and the amount of coal exported from South Africa in 2015 and 2016 has reached 142.9 million tons of oil, equivalent to 250 million tons of coal, ranking seventh in the world.
In 2023, South Africa's total coal production will reach 228.5 million tons, and relevant data show that South Africa's annual coal production alone is about 250 million tons, of which bituminous coal production accounts for 99% of the total output, and anthracite production accounts for more than 1%.
The Asian market alone accounts for 81.9% of total exports.
There are both minerals and coal, and even paper South Africa is an important production base in the world, and Africa occupies the fifth place in the world in terms of global pulp and paper production regions.
Although Africa can be seen as an almost "neglected" region in terms of the structure of the world's paper-producing regions, the demand for paper still makes African production a key foundation.
South Africa is a major producer of pulp and paper in Africa.
The total mineral reserves are large and of excellent quality, accounting for 50% of Africa's total resources, ranking fifth in the world alone. Coal resources are also among the best in the world, and they are the world's main producers of paper towels.
It is a country that can eat by the sky, and its resources are so developed, how did it end up with the "poor" appearance it is today?
Why is it said that the development of South Africa at this time is not led by the "South Africans"?
South Africa's development is "doubtful"?
Colonization is a history that is difficult for the South African people to ignore, having been colonized by the Dutch, French and British in ancient times, and this is one of the reasons why South Africa has never become a permanent residence of any ethnic group.
South Africa also began to become a large trading port on this basis.
The proportion of whites from the "colonizers" to blacks in South Africa became the contenders on "South African" soil.
White settlements in South Africa
Most of the colonists who came to the Netherlands were engaged in agriculture and herding, and the level was basically the same as that of the native blacks in South Africa, which also led to whether the land belonged to the black people of South Africa or the white colonizers from outside.
It was also because of this that in order to seize most of the rich land in South Africa, the colonists began to drive out the local blacks.
Of course, the white class that competes with black South Africans is called "poor whites", and it is not they who really control the South African economy.
However, as the local black people in South Africa became more and more powerful, South Africa was fed by the discovery of gold mines in the seventies of the nineteenth century, which changed the economic structure of South Africa dramatically.
Naturally, cheap black labor gradually replaced the "poor whites", and for this reason it also sparked a struggle between blacks and whites.
Although South Africa has the power to hand over the so-called federal power of South Africa, the real power is still in the hands of white people, and even the first South African cabinet was composed entirely of white people.
The first Cabinet of South Africa
In order to protect the rights of whites, the "General Order of Civilized Labor" promulgated in 1924 reserved all "civilized labor" with good treatment to whites, and threw "uncivilized labor" with bad treatment to blacks.
In other words, it seems that the South African economy has undergone a major transformation, but the actual control is still in the hands of the white people.
Different signage for blacks and whites
Since the 60s, South Africa's economic growth has been astonishing, even on par with Japan's rapid development at the time.
The more developed the economy, the less power the black people have, and the wealth is basically in the hands of the whites who make money.
Black power is getting smaller and whites are getting bigger and bigger, and with Mandela's "revolt", there is a shift in South Africa's "economy".
The Mandela government's policy of black supremacy, which began to vigorously support black businesses and thus suppressed white businesses, can be said to have changed the South African economy again.
In addition, the South African government's unlimited admission of African refugees has led to a surge in the domestic population, a large influx of refugees, the strained resources of social welfare institutions, and the unlimited development of the market.
As a result, South Africa's economy began to decline sharply, with a lack of talent in high-skilled industries, and government agencies accepting a large number of refugees, making it difficult to maintain policies that overwhelmed the South African government.
In the past, the "developed", now the downfall, the economy can not keep up, even South Africa's particularly confident mineral resources, after the abolition of the gold standard, South Africa's currency depreciation has caused domestic prices to soar, and people's living standards have fallen again.
Of course, in addition to this, the factors of South Africa's economic downturn are multifaceted, but South Africa's predicament has fallen from this.
Five years in power, five years of loneliness, five years of South Africa has changed. The wealth accumulated for decades in the past has also been repeatedly lost.
Resources:
Analysis of the current situation of South Africa's mining industry and the prospect of cooperation with the mainland, mining research and development, CNKI
Exclusive V view丨Hello South Africa, Guangming.com