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South Africa is a large, diverse and incredibly beautiful country. The size of France and Spain combined, and roughly twice the size of Texas, it varies from the picturesque Garden Route towns of the Western Cape to the raw subtropical coast of northern KwaZulu-Natal, with the vast Karoo semi-desert across its heart and one of Africa's premier safari destinations, Kruger National Park, in the northeast. It's also one of the great cultural meeting points of the African continent, a fact obscured by years of enforced racial segregation, but now manifest in the big cities.
Many visitors are pleasantly surprised by South Africa's excellent infrastructure, which draws favourable comparison with countries such as Australia or the United States. Good air links and bus networks, excellent roads and a growing number of first-class B&Bs and guesthouses make South Africa a perfect touring country. For those on a budget, mushrooming backpacker hostels and backpacker buses provide cost-efficient means of exploring.

Yet despite all these facilities, South Africa is also something of an enigma; after so long as an international pariah, the "rainbow nation" is still struggling to find its identity. The country was organized for the benefit of whites, so it's easy to get a very white-oriented experience of Africa. Most of the tourist industry remains white-run and, as a visitor, you'll have to make an effort to meet members of the country's African majority on equal terms. Apartheid may be dead, but its heritage still shapes South Africa in a very physical way. Nowhere is this more in evidence than in the layout of towns and cities, the African areas - often desperately poor - are usually tucked out of sight.

South Africa's population doesn't reduce simply to black and white. The majority are Africans (79.5 percent of the population); whites make up 9 percent, followed by coloureds (just under 9 percent) - the descendants of white settlers, slaves and Africans, who speak English and Afrikaans and comprise the majority in the Western Cape. The remainder (2.5 percent) is comprised of Indians, who came to South Africa at the beginning of the twentieth century as indentured labourers; most of the Indian community live in KwaZulu-Natal.

Even these statistics don't tell the whole story. A better indication of South Africa's diversity is the plethora of official languages, most of which represent a distinct culture with rural roots in different parts of the country. In each region you'll see distinct styles of architecture, craftwork and sometimes dress. Perhaps more exciting still are the cities, where the whole country comes together in an alchemical blend of rural and urban, traditional and thoroughly modern.

Crime isn't the indiscriminate phenomenon that press reports suggest, but it is an issue. Really, it's a question of perspective - taking care but not becoming paranoid. Statistically, the odds of becoming a victim are highest in downtown Johannesburg, where violent crime is a daily reality. Other cities present a reduced risk - similar to, say, some parts of the United States.

Fact file

. Covering 1,219,090 square kilometres, South Africa has a population of 48 million and eleven official languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Pedi, English, Ndebele, Sotho, Setswana, siSwati, Venda and Tsonga. The country's religions comprise Christianity (68 percent), Islam (2 percent), Hinduism (1.5 percent) and indigenous beliefs (28.5 percent).
. South Africa is a multipartydemocracy, the head of state being President Thabo Mbeki. Parliament sits in Cape Town, the legislative capital, while Pretoria is the executive capital, from where the President and his cabinet run the country. The judicial capital is Bloemfontein, where the Supreme Court of Appeal sits, though the Constitutional Court is in Johannesburg. Each of the nine provinces has its own government.
. South Africa has the most advanced economy in Africa, with well-developed mining, manufacturing, agricultural and financial sectors. The country also has one of the greatest disparities of wealth in the world.
. Lesotho covers 30,355 square kilometres and has a population of 2 million. It is a constitutional monarchy, with King Letsie III as its head. The official languages are Sesotho and English.
. The kingdom of Swaziland, ruled by King Mswati III, has an area of 17,363 square kilometres and a population of 1 million. The official languages are siSwati and English.

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