1994 in South Africa

← 1993 1992 1991 1994 in South Africa → 1995 1996 1997
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	1994 in South African sport List of years in South Africa

1994 in South Africa saw the transition from South Africa's National Party government who had ruled the country since 1948 and had advocated the apartheid system for most of its history, to the African National Congress (ANC) who had been outlawed in South Africa since the 1950s for its opposition to apartheid. The ANC won a majority in the first multiracial election held under universal suffrage. Previously, only white people were allowed to vote. There were some incidents of violence in the Bantustans leading up to the elections as some leaders of the Bantusans opposed participation in the elections, while other citizens wanted to vote and become part of South Africa. There were also bombings aimed at both the African National Congress and the National Party and politically-motivated murders of leaders of the opposing ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).^[1]

During this time, South Africa was re-admitted into the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee lifted its ban on South Africa participating in the Olympic Games. The elections took place on 27 April and Nelson Mandela was sworn in as president on 10 May.