SOUTH AFRICA, UNION OF, a polit ical division of South Africa, extending from the southernmost point of the Afri can Continent to the course of the Lim popo river, • - i from 34° 50'-22° S. lati tude, and including all the British terri tories within those limits, with the excep tion of Basutoland and the Swaziland and Bechuanaland Protectorates, while provi sion is made for the future inclusion with in the Union of those territories and of the territories of the British South Af frica Company.
Topography and Rivers.—The southern most province contains many parallel ranges, which rise in steps toward the interior. The southwestern peninsula con tains the famous "Table Mountain" (3,582 feet), while the "Great Zwarte Region" and "Lange Bergen" run in parallel lines from W. to E. of the Cape province. Be tween these two ranges and the "Rogge veld" and "Nieuwveld" to the N. is the Great Karoo Plateau, which is bounded on the E. by the "Sneeuwbergen," con taining the highest summit in the prov ince (Compassberg, 7,800 feet). In the E. are ranges which join the "Drakens bergen" (11,000 feet), between Natal and the Orange Free State. The Orange Free State presents a succession of undulating grassy plains with good pasture-land, at a general elevation of some 3,800 feet, with occasional hills or kopjes. The Transvaal is also mainly an elevated pla teau with parallel ridges in the "Maga lies" and "Waterberg" ranges of no great height. The veld or plains of this north ernmost province is divisible into the Hooge Veld of the S., the Banker Veld of the center, and the Bush veld of the N. and E., the first and second forming the grazing and agricultural region of the Transvaal and the last a mimosa-covered waste. The eastern province of Natal has pastoral lowlands and rich agricultural land between the slopes of the Drakens berg and the coast, the interior rising in terraces as in the southern provinces. The Orange, with its tributary, the Vaal, is the principal river of the S., rising
in the Drakensbergen and flowing into the Atlantic between the Protectorate of Southwest Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. The Limpopo, or Crocodile river, in the N., rises in the Transvaal and flows into the Indian Ocean through Portu guese East Africa. Most of the remain ing rivers are furious torrents after rain, with partially dry beds at other seasons.
Area and Population.—The total area of the Union is 473,096 square miles, di vided as follows: Cape of Good Hope, 276,966; Natal, 35,291; Transvaal, 110, 450; Orange Free State, square miles. The white population in 1918 was 1,436,611. The colored population in 1911, the last year for which definite figures are available, was 4,697,152. The princi pal towns are Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Pieter maritzburg, East London, Benoni, Kim berley, Germiston, Bloemfontein, Krugers dorp, and Boksburg. The death rate is usually slightly abstve 10 per thousand, but in 1918, as the result of the influenza epidemic, it rose to over 17 per thousand.
Instruction.—In April, 1918, the insti tutions for higher education were reor ganized, and there are now three univer sities, the University of Cape Town, the University of Stellenbosch, and the Uni versity of South Africa. There are also several colleges administratively con nected with these universities. The total number of students in 1918 was 2,069, the total number of professors and instructors 252. Schools other than those for higher education in 1917 numbered 4,945 for white scholars, with 259,076 students; and 2,670 for colored students, with 187,866 students, having a total of 17,971 teach ers, and expenditures of £3,169,889. There are also a number of training colleges and special schools.
Finances.—The ordinary revenue and expenditures of the Union in 1918-19 was £19,256,000 and £19,858,824 respectively. The public debt of the Union on March 31, 1920, was estimated at £166,270,000.