|
| Background: |
After
the British seized the Cape of Good Hope
area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers
(the Boers) trekked north to found their
own republics. The discovery of diamonds
(1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and
immigration and intensified the
subjugation of the native inhabitants. The
Boers resisted British encroachments, but
were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902).
The resulting Union of South Africa
operated under a policy of apartheid - the
separate development of the races. The
1990s brought an end to apartheid
politically and ushered in black majority
rule. |
| Location: |
Southern
Africa, at the southern tip of the
continent of Africa |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
29
00 S, 24 00 E |
| Area: |
total:
1,219,912 sq km
land: 1,219,912 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Prince Edward
Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward
Island) |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly
less than twice the size of Texas |
| Land
boundaries: |
total:
4,750 km
border countries: Botswana
1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491
km, Namibia 855 km, Swaziland 430 km,
Zimbabwe 225 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous
zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m
depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200
NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
mostly
semiarid; subtropical along east coast;
sunny days, cool nights |
| Terrain: |
vast
interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills
and narrow coastal plain |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest
point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408
m |
| Natural
resources: |
gold,
chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore,
manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin,
uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper,
vanadium, salt, natural gas |
| Land
use: |
arable
land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 67%
forests and woodland: 7%
other: 15% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
12,700
sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
prolonged
droughts |
| Environment
- current issues: |
lack
of important arterial rivers or lakes
requires extensive water conservation and
control measures; growth in water usage
threatens to outpace supply; pollution of
rivers from agricultural runoff and urban
discharge; air pollution resulting in acid
rain; soil erosion; desertification |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party
to: Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements |
| Geography
- note: |
South
Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and
almost completely surrounds Swaziland |
| Population: |
43,586,097
note: South Africa took a
census October 1996 which showed a
population of 40,583,611 (after an
official adjustment for a 6.8%
underenumeration based on a
postenumeration survey); estimates for
this country explicitly take into account
the effects of excess mortality due to
AIDS; this can result in lower life
expectancy, higher infant mortality and
death rates, lower population and growth
rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would
otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14
years: 32.01% (male 7,023,639;
female 6,928,559)
15-64 years: 63.11% (male
13,264,654; female 14,244,484)
65 years and over: 4.88%
(male 798,914; female 1,325,847) (2001
est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.26%
(2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
21.12
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
16.77
deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-1.73
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at
birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female
(2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
60.33
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 48.09 years
male: 47.64 years
female: 48.56 years (2001
est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.43
children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
19.94%
(1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
4.2
million (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
250,000
(1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun:
South African(s)
adjective: South African |
| Ethnic
groups: |
black
75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian
2.6% |
| Religions: |
Christian
68% (includes most whites and Coloreds,
about 60% of blacks and about 40% of
Indians), Muslim 2%, Hindu 1.5% (60% of
Indians), indigenous beliefs and animist
28.5% |
| Languages: |
11
official languages, including Afrikaans,
English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi,
Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.8%
male: 81.9%
female: 81.7% (1995 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Republic of South
Africa
conventional short form:
South Africa
former: Union of South Africa
abbreviation: RSA |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| Capital: |
Pretoria;
note - Cape Town is the legislative center
and Bloemfontein the judicial center |
| Administrative
divisions: |
9
provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State,
Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga,
North-West, Northern Cape, Northern
Province, Western Cape |
| Independence: |
31
May 1910 (from UK) |
| National
holiday: |
Freedom
Day, 27 April (1994) |
| Constitution: |
10
December 1996; this new constitution was
certified by the Constitutional Court on 4
December 1996, was signed by then
President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and
entered into effect on 3 February 1997; it
is being implemented in phases |
| Legal
system: |
based
on Roman-Dutch law and English common law;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations |
| Suffrage: |
18
years of age; universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief
of state: President Thabo MBEKI
(since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy
President Jacob ZUMA (since 17 June 1999);
note - the president is both the chief of
state and head of government
head of government: President
Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999);
Executive Deputy President Jacob ZUMA
(since 17 June 1999); note - the president
is both the chief of state and head of
government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by
the president
elections: president elected
by the National Assembly for a five-year
term; election last held 2 June 1999 (next
scheduled for sometime between May and
July 2004)
election results: Thabo MBEKI
elected president; percent of National
Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation)
note: ANC-IFP governing
coalition |
| Legislative
branch: |
bicameral
parliament consisting of the National
Assembly (400 seats; members are elected
by popular vote under a system of
proportional representation to serve
five-year terms) and the National Council
of Provinces (90 seats, 10 members elected
by each of the nine provincial
legislatures for five-year terms; has
special powers to protect regional
interests, including the safeguarding of
cultural and linguistic traditions among
ethnic minorities); note - following the
implementation of the new constitution on
3 February 1997 the former Senate was
disbanded and replaced by the National
Council of Provinces with essentially no
change in membership and party
affiliations, although the new
institution's responsibilities have been
changed somewhat by the new constitution
elections: National Assembly
and National Council of Provinces - last
held 2 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: National
Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC
66.4%, DP 9.6%, IFP 8.6%, NP 6.9%, UDM
3.4%, ACDP 1.4%, FF 0.8%, other 2.9%;
seats by party - ANC 266, DP 38, IFP 34,
NP 28, UDM 14, ACDP 6, FF 3, other 11;
National Council of Provinces - percent of
vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ANC
61, NP 17, FF 4, IFP 5, DP 3 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Constitutional
Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High
Courts; Magistrate Courts |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
African
Christian Democratic Party or ACDP
[Kenneth MESHOE, president]; African
National Congress or ANC [Thabo MBEKI,
president]; Democratic Alliance (formed
from the merger of the Democratic Party or
DP and the New National Party or NP)
[Anthony LEON, leader]; Freedom Front or
FF [Constand VILJOEN, president]; Inkatha
Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI,
president]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC
[Stanley MOGOBA, president]; United
Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
Congress
of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [Zwelinzima
VAVI, general secretary]; South African
Communist Party or SACP [Blade NZIMANDE,
general secretary]; South African National
Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi
HLONGWANE, national president]; note -
COSATU and SACP are in a formal alliance
with the ANC |
| International
organization participation: |
ACP,
AfDB, BIS, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
MONUC, NAM, NSG, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU,
SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNITAR, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief
of mission: Ambassador Makate
Sheila SISULU
chancery: 3051 Massachusetts
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400
FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607
consulate(s) general:
Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief
of mission: Ambassador Delano E.
LEWIS, Sr.
embassy: 877 Pretorius
Street, Pretoria
mailing address: P. O. Box
9536, Pretoria 0001
telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048
FAX: [27] (12) 342-2244
consulate(s) general: Cape
Town, Durban, Johannesburg |
| Flag
description: |
two
equal width horizontal bands of red (top)
and blue separated by a central green band
which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms
of which end at the corners of the hoist
side; the Y embraces a black isosceles
triangle from which the arms are separated
by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue
bands are separated from the green band
and its arms by narrow white stripes
note: prior to 26 April 1994,
the flag was actually four flags in one -
three miniature flags reproduced in the
center of the white band of the former
flag of the Netherlands, which had three
equal horizontal bands of orange (top),
white, and blue; the miniature flags were
a vertically hanging flag of the old
Orange Free State with a horizontal flag
of the UK adjoining on the hoist side and
a horizontal flag of the old Transvaal
Republic adjoining on the other side |
| Economy
- overview: |
South
Africa is a middle-income, developing
country with an abundant supply of
resources, well-developed financial,
legal, communications, energy, and
transport sectors, a stock exchange that
ranks among the 10 largest in the world,
and a modern infrastructure supporting an
efficient distribution of goods to major
urban centers throughout the region.
However, growth has not been strong enough
to cut into the 30% unemployment, and
daunting economic problems remain from the
apartheid era, especially the problems of
poverty and lack of economic empowerment
among the disadvantaged groups. Other
problems are crime, corruption, and
HIV/AIDS. At the start of 2000, President
MBEKI vowed to promote economic growth and
foreign investment, and to reduce poverty
by relaxing restrictive labor laws,
stepping up the pace of privatization, and
cutting unneeded governmental spending. |
| GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $369 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
3%
(2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $8,500 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
5%
industry: 30%
services: 65% (1999 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
50%
(2000 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest
10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 45.9% (1994) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
5.3%
(2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
17
million economically active (2000) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture
30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999
est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
30%
(2000 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$31.1 billion
expenditures: $34.4 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA
billion (FY01/02) |
| Industries: |
mining
(world's largest producer of platinum,
gold, chromium), automobile assembly,
metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and
steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
2.4%
(2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
186.903
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil
fuel: 92.74%
hydro: 0.39%
nuclear: 6.87%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
172.393
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
3.884
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
2.457
billion kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
corn,
wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables;
beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy
products |
| Exports: |
$30.8
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
gold,
diamonds, other metals and minerals,
machinery and equipment |
| Exports
- partners: |
UK,
Italy, Japan, US, Germany |
| Imports: |
$27.6
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery,
foodstuffs and equipment, chemicals,
petroleum products, scientific instruments |
| Imports
- partners: |
Germany,
US, UK, Japan |
| Debt
- external: |
$25.6
billion (2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$676.3
million |
| Exchange
rates: |
rand
per US dollar - 7.60 (March 2001), 6.93983
(2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998),
4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
1
April - 31 March |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
5.075
million (1999) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
over
2,000,000 (1999) |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: the system is the
best developed and most modern in Africa
domestic: consists of
carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial
cables, microwave radio relay links,
fiber-optic cable, radiotelephone
communication stations, and wireless local
loops; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape
Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port
Elizabeth, and Pretoria
international: 2 submarine
cables; satellite earth stations - 3
Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic
Ocean) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM
14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave
1 (1998) |
| Radios: |
13.75
million (1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
556
(plus 144 network repeaters) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
5.2
million (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.za |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
44
(2000) |
| Internet
users: |
1.82
million (2000) |
| Railways: |
total:
20,384 km
narrow gauge: 20,070 km
1.067-m gauge (9,090 km electrified); 314
km 0.610-m gauge
note: in addition, South
Africa has an electrified 1.065-m gauge
commuter rail system, with a total length
of 1,254 km, which serves
Johannesburg-Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban,
East London, and Port Elizabeth (2001) |
| Highways: |
total:
358,596 km
paved: 59,753 km (including
1927 km of expressways)
unpaved: 298,843 km (1996) |
| Pipelines: |
crude
oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km;
natural gas 322 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Cape
Town, Durban, East London, Mosselbaai,
Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
271,650 GRT/268,604 DWT
ships by type: container 6,
petroleum tanker 2 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: |
741
(2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
142
over 3,047 m: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 47
914 to 1,523 m: 71
under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
599
1,524 to 2,437 m: 33
914 to 1,523 m: 304
under 914 m: 262 (2000 est.) |
| Disputes
- international: |
Swaziland
has asked South Africa to open
negotiations on reincorporating some
nearby South African territories that are
populated by ethnic Swazis or that were
long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom |
| Illicit
drugs: |
transshipment
center for heroin, hashish, marijuana, and
possibly cocaine; cocaine consumption on
the rise; world's largest market for
illicit methaqualone, usually imported
illegally from India through various east
African countries; illicit cultivation of
marijuana |
|
