Development of the Republic of South Africa and Cooperation with the European Union

Africa, the cradle of humanity. The second largest continent in the world, home to approximately one billion people in 55 countries. The continent is rich in natural resources (minerals, oil), yet at the same time it is the poorest and least developed, which means high growth potential in the future. South Africa, the ignorance and contemptuous opinion of numerous people motivated me to write this diploma thesis, the main purpose of which is to determine ** why the Republic of South Africa is amongst developing countries, what is the actual state of the country's economic development, the reasons for such a state and what role the European Union plays in its economic development**. Following the introductory presentation of the diploma thesis, the second chapter will present the past of the Republic of South Africa, which has also marked it.

Problem

Africa, the cradle of humanity. The second largest continent in the world, home to approximately one billion people in 55 countries. In Africa there are more than 3,000 different population groups and more than 2,000 languages.

Solution and Method

The continent is rich in natural resources (minerals, oil), yet at the same time it is the poorest and least developed, which means high growth potential in the future. Africa has in recent years, marked by the global economic and financial crisis, proved to be very ** resistant to the difficulties of the rest of the world**. In 2009, alongside Asia, it was the only region that showed positive economic growth, which was around 2.0 per cent.

Since then, it has been in a trend of economic growth (Finančna hiša d.o.o., 2012). When the word Africa is mentioned, most people think of poverty, hunger, disease, wars and wild animals. Many people have a very negative, one could even say contemptuous, opinion about Africans and their way of life.

The author heard many bad, negative things when she was setting off to visit her sister in Africa, in the southernmost country, the Republic of South Africa (hereinafter: RSA). Her sister Karmen has been living there with her husband and four-year-old son for nine years. She has visited them six times and whenever she is there, she wonders: is life in Africa really worse than at home, in Europe?

On her first visit, which was in 2006, she was, despite the fact that her sister had told her a great deal about the way of life, poverty, beauty, about the unwritten rules she must follow, positively surprised. During the drive from Johannesburg to Pretoria, where her sister lives, she enjoyed the beautiful nature. Well-maintained roads, heavy traffic, large new cars, enormous shopping centres…

However, she must admit that she was (despite knowing about the great poverty) shaken when she saw on the left and right along the motorway the shanty settlements (so-called townships). Settlements made of corrugated iron, where mainly black people from poorer parts of the countryside live, who came to look for work in the cities. Yes, that is South Africa.

On one side, life as we know it in Europe, perhaps even more beautiful and easier, on the other side great poverty, which does not exist in Europe, or if it does, we do not yet see it.

Results

South Africa, the ignorance and contemptuous opinion of numerous people motivated me to write this diploma thesis, the main purpose of which is to determine why the Republic of South Africa is amongst developing countries, what is the actual state of the country's economic development, the reasons for such a state and what role the European Union plays in its economic development. Following the introductory presentation of the diploma thesis, the second chapter will present the past of the Republic of South Africa, which has also marked it.

This will be followed by the third chapter, in which the role that the European Union plays in the Republic of South Africa will be described. In addition to being its largest donor, it is also its largest trading partner, with which it has concluded various preferential agreements. In the fourth chapter, the development of South Africa from the fall of apartheid to the present day will be analysed.

The development of the RSA will be analysed using indicators of economic development, which will be compared with other economies. At the end there will be a conclusion, in which the findings will be interpreted and the validity of the hypotheses verified.