South Africa is the country that our group had the opportunity to discuss in terms of international trade and financial markets. Specifically, our discussion topics will begin with the South African context, which will go into details such as historical and demographic information, the global economy and how it relates to the South African economy, and current events in the country. The information will then move from the Background to the International Trade and Finance section. The International Trade and Finance section will include major trading partners, major imports and exports, and financial markets. The final part will be South African policy analysis, including information on past and present policies, as well as information on tariffs and quotas. Geography: South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It has 2,798 kilometers (1,739 miles) of line stretching along the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. To the north are the neighboring countries of the Republic of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east there are Mozambique and Swaziland; and within it lies Lesotho, an enclave enclosed by South African territory. The African country is the 25th largest country in the world by surface area and, with almost 53 million inhabitants, it is the 24th most densely populated country in the world. Government: Republic. History: The San people were the first settlers; the Khoikhoi and Bantu speaking tribes followed. The Dutch East India Company landed the first European settlers on the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, creating a colony that at the end of the 18th century had only about 15,000 inhabitants. Known as Boers or Afrikaners, and they speak a Dutch dialect... center of the card... as indicated above. South Africa should maintain an import quota, albeit a small one, for only some products as the economy is still unstable, but it should not have any export quotas. With programs like NGP and IPAP, the economy will begin to prosper, but it will take time. Until it can stand on its own two feet, the country should try to attract as much foreign investment as possible, as the Chinese have recently done with recent calls from South African officials to invest in the country's infrastructure. (Agencies) In conclusion, South Africa's background, international trade and finance and their policies were good topics to research because they were different from what we usually see here in America; Because of this difference, the research we have done has opened our eyes to how other parts of the world operate.