Demographic changes and sustainable land use in South Africa.

GENUS abstract: It is popular belief in demography that demographic changes in a country have an impact on the way the land of that same country is used by its population and that, on the other hand, the land use conditions the demographic development. The paper intends to verify these hypotheses in South Africa, starting from the last century, highlighting the consequences of the most recent demographic developments on land use and, in particular, their compatibility with the current expectations regarding land use. To this regard, the author points out the main stages of the demographic transition in South Africa, the most important characteristics of the traditional land owning system, the most recent orientations and the political options for the development of the country.