The South African literary landscape from the 19th century to the present day has been fundamentally shaped by the social and political evolution of the country, particularly the trajectory from a colonial trading station to an apartheid state and finally toward a democracy. Primary forces of population growth and economic change, which have propelled urban development, have also impacted on the themes, forms and styles of literature and poetry. South Africa has a rich literary history. Fiction, and poetry specifically, has been written in all of South Africa's 11 official languages.