Apartheid was a system of legal racial segregation in South Africa between 1948 and 1994. It classified inhabitants into racial groups and enforced separation in areas like residential areas, education, healthcare, and public services. Blacks had their citizenship stripped and were classified as citizens of tribal homelands, some of which became nominally independent states. The system also included complex criteria for determining mixed-race classifications and restrictive laws prohibiting most social contact between races and enforcing job and political restrictions based on race.