A young girl walks home from school in the Drakensberg mountains, near Loskop. © Chris de Bode (Panos)
Nearly 16 years since its first democratic elections, South Africa plays an important global role as a large emerging economy.
It is the only African member of the G20, and actively promotes Africa’s interests internationally in areas such as trade, peace and security and climate change.
The country’s 15-year review, published in 2008, recognised remarkable progress in addressing the legacy of decades of apartheid.
However, it also emphasises that South Africa remains a highly unequal society with critical challenges around poverty, unemployment, skills and health.
The DFID Southern Africa office in Pretoria works on growth and poverty reduction in South Africa.
We also manage bilateral programmes in Angola and Lesotho.
Through our Regional Programme we work with the regional economic communities of Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and their member states, to support regional integration and poverty reduction.