Is the country on the brink of collapse? Today South Africans turn out for a general election, and the party which has ruled the country for 30 years could finally lose power.
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Mandela legacy at risk as South Africa votes
Is the country on the brink of collapse? Today South Africans turn out for a general election, and the party which has ruled the country for 30 years could finally lose power.
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On 11 February 1990, the whole world watched the doors of a prison in South Africa. Soon, Nelson Mandela walked out as a free man for the first time in 27 years.
Mandela was a leader of the African National Congress (ANC), which led the fight against South Africa's racistBelieving that a person's skin colour makes them better than others. apartheidA system of legally-enshrined racial discrimination and oppression which existed in South Africa from 1948 until the 1990s. It denied non-white South Africans basic human rights. system. He had been sent to prison for his work.
In 1989 South Africa's leader FW de Klerk decided Mandela must be freed. In 1994, Mandela was elected as president of South Africa.
Mandela had a message of hope and peace. South Africa became known as "the Rainbow Nation" where people of every kind were welcome.
Thirty years later, the picture is very different. In the words of The Observer's Steve Bloomfield, it is "the most unequal country in the world and among the most dangerous...
"Basic public services are falling apart. In many parts of the country there is no clean water, while... power cuts have become a regular feature of daily life."
After Jacob Zuma became president in 2009, corruptionWhen someone abuses their power for personal gain. It often involves bribery. became common. Then the next president Cyril Ramaphosa struggled to cope with the chaos.
He hopes to lead the ANC to victory in this electionA vote in which someone is chosen to represent a group of people. . But opinion polls say the party could receive less than 50% of the vote and have to share power.
Is the country on the brink of collapse?
Yes! South Africa has a big problem with corruption and crime. Meanwhile, the power keeps going off. The situation is already very bad.
No! South Africa is a nation full of diverse and hopeful people. Its journalists are free to report on the situation. The country will not collapse like other nations.
Racist - Believing that a person's skin colour makes them better than others.
Apartheid - A system of legally-enshrined racial discrimination and oppression which existed in South Africa from 1948 until the 1990s. It denied non-white South Africans basic human rights.
Corruption - When someone abuses their power for personal gain. It often involves bribery.
Election - A vote in which someone is chosen to represent a group of people.
Mandela legacy at risk as South Africa votes
Father of the nation: 10 years after his death, Nelson Mandela’s ANC party has become a byword for corruption. Glossary
Racist - Believing that a person's skin colour makes them better than others.
Apartheid - A system of legally-enshrined racial discrimination and oppression which existed in South Africa from 1948 until the 1990s. It denied non-white South Africans basic human rights.
Corruption - When someone abuses their power for personal gain. It often involves bribery.
Election - A vote in which someone is chosen to represent a group of people.