South Africa

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Introduction - South Africa:
Country	South Africa


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 - South Africa:
Location	Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

Geographic coordinates	29 00 S, 24 00 E

Map references	Africa

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: 4,862 km border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km

Coastline	2,798 km

Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin

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: 12.1% permanent crops: 0.79% other: 87.11% (2005)

Irrigated land	14,980 sq km (2003)

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 outpacing 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, 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

People - South Africa:
Population	43,997,828 note: 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 2007 est.)

Age structure	0-14 years: 29.1% (male 6,447,623/female 6,370,909) 15-64 years: 65.5% (male 14,040,210/female 14,761,179) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 917,227/female 1,460,680) (2007 est.)

Median age	total: 24.3 years male: 23.5 years female: 25.1 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate	-0.46% (2007 est.)

Birth rate	17.94 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate	22.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate	-0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2007 est.)

Sex ratio	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.012 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.628 male(s)/female total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate	total: 59.44 deaths/1,000 live births male: 62.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 55.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth	total population: 42.45 years male: 43.21 years female: 41.66 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate	2.16 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Hiv aids adult prevalence rate	21.5% (2003 est.)

Hiv aids people living with hiv aids	5.3 million (2003 est.)

Hiv aids deaths	370,000 (2003 est.)

Nationality	noun: South African(s) adjective: South African

Ethnic groups	black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001 census)

Religions	Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census)

Languages	IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census)

Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.4% male: 87% female: 85.7% (2003 est.)

Government - South Africa:
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	name: Pretoria (administrative capital) geographic coordinates: 25 42 S, 28 13 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital)

Administrative divisions	9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Western Cape

Independence	31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 31 May 1961 (republic declared)

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 4 February 1997; it is being implemented in phases

Legal system	based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law

Suffrage	18 years of age; universal

Executive branch	chief of state: President Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Phumzile MLAMBO-NGCUKA (since 23 June 2005); 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 Phumzile MLAMBO-NGCUKA (since 23 June 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 24 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2009) election results: Thabo MBEKI elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation)

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 4 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 institutions responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution elections: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces - last held on 14 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 69.7%, DA 12.4%, IFP 7%, UDM 2.3%, NNP 1.7%, ACDP 1.6%, other 5.3%; seats by party - ANC 279, DA 50, IFP 28, UDM 9, NNP 7, ACDP 6, other 21; National Council of Provinces - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA

Judicial branch	Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts

Political parties and leaders	African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE]; African National Congress or ANC [Thabo MBEKI]; Democratic Alliance or DA [Helen ZILLE]; Freedom Front Plus or FF+ [Pieter MULDER]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI]; New National Party or NNP; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Motsoko PHEKO]; 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, AU, BIS, C, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, NSG, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the us	chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Joyce Mosima MASEKELA chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

Diplomatic representation from the us	chief of mission: Ambassador Eric BOST 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

Economy - South Africa:
Economy overview	South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural 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 lower South Africas high unemployment rate, and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era - especially poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. South African economic policy is fiscally conservative but pragmatic focusing on targeting inflation and liberalizing trade as means to increase job growth and household income.

Gdp purchasing power parity	$587.5 billion (2006 est.)

Gdp official exchange rate	$201.4 billion (2006 est.)

Gdp real growth rate	5% (2006 est.)

Gdp per capita ppp	$13,300 (2006 est.)

Gdp composition by sector	agriculture: 2.6% industry: 30.3% services: 67.1% (2006 est.)

Labor force	16.09 million economically active (2006 est.)

Labor force by occupation	agriculture: 30% industry: 25% services: 45% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate	25.5% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line	50% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1.1% highest 10%: 45.9% (1994)

Distribution of family income gini index	59.3 (1995)

Inflation rate consumer prices	5% (2006 est.)

Investment gross fixed	17.1% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget	revenues: $72.15 billion expenditures: $75.93 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Public debt	32.9% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture products	corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products

Industries	mining (worlds largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair

Industrial production growth rate	7.1% (2006 est.)

Electricity production	227.2 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity consumption	207 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity exports	12.4 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity imports	8.026 billion kWh (2004)

Oil production	229,900 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil consumption	502,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil exports	NA bbl/day

Oil imports	398,000 bbl/day (2006)

Oil proved reserves	15.68 million bbl (1 January 2005)

Natural gas production	2.23 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas consumption	2.23 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas exports	0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas imports	0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas proved reserves	28.32 million cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance	-$12.69 billion (2006 est.)

Exports	$59.15 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports commodities	gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment

Exports partners	Japan 12.1%, US 11.8%, UK 9%, Germany 7.6%, Netherlands 5.3%, China 4% (2006)

Imports	$61.53 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs

Imports partners	Germany 12.6%, China 10%, US 7.6%, Japan 6.6%, Saudi Arabia 5.3%, UK 5% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	$23.74 billion (2006 est.)

Debt external	$55.47 billion (30 June 2006 est.)

Economic aid recipient	$487.5 million (2000)

Currency code	rand (ZAR)

Exchange rates	rand per US dollar - 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002)

Communications - South Africa:
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March

Telephones main lines in use	4.729 million (2005)

Telephones mobile cellular	33.96 million (2005)

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: country code - 27; 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)

Television broadcast stations	556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997)

Internet country code	.za

Internet hosts	645,179 (2006)

Internet users	5.1 million (2005)

Transportation - South Africa:
Airports	731 (2006)

Airports with paved runways	total: 146 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 67 under 914 m: 13 (2006)

Airports with unpaved runways	total: 585 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 302 under 914 m: 249 (2006)

Pipelines	condensate 100 km; gas 1,062 km; oil 966 km; refined products 1,354 km (2006)

Railways	total: 20,872 km narrow gauge: 20,436 km 1.065-m gauge (8,931 km electrified); 436 km 0.610-m gauge (2006)

Roadways	total: 362,099 km paved: 73,506 km (includes 239 km of expressways) unpaved: 288,593 km (2002)

Merchant marine	total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 32,815 GRT/39,295 DWT by type: container 1, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Denmark 1) registered in other countries: 8 (Panama 3, UK 5) (2006)

Ports and terminals	Cape Town, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay

Military - South Africa:
Military branches	South African National Defense Force (SANDF): South African Army, South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), Joint Operations Command, Joint Support Command, Military Intelligence, Military Health Service (2007)

Military service age and obligation	18 years of age for voluntary military service; women have a long history of military service in noncombat roles dating back to World War I (2004)

Manpower available for military service	males age 18-49: 10,354,769 females age 18-49: 10,626,550 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service	males age 18-49: 4,927,757 females age 18-49: 4,609,071 (2005 est.)

Military note	with the end of apartheid and the establishment of majority rule, former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces were integrated into the South African National Defense Force (SANDF); as of 2003 the integration process was considered complete

Manpower reaching military service age annually	males age 18-49: 512,407 females age 18-49: 506,078 (2005 est.)

Refugees and internally displaced persons	refugees (country of origin): 10,609 (Democratic Republic of Congo), 7,548 (Somalia), 5,764 (Angola) (2006)

Military expenditures percent of gdp	1.7% (2006)

Trafficking in persons	current situation: South Africa is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation; women and girls are trafficked internally - and occasionally to European and Asian countries - for sexual exploitation; women from other African countries are trafficked to South Africa and, less frequently, onward to Europe for sexual exploitation; men and boys are trafficked from neighboring countries for forced agricultural labor; Asian and Eastern European women are trafficked to South Africa for debt-bonded sexual exploitation tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - South Africa is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to show increasing efforts to address trafficking in 2005

Disputes international	South Africa has placed military along the border to apprehend the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing economic dysfunction and political persecution; as of January 2007, South Africa also supports large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (33,000), Somalia (20,000), Burundi (6,500), and other states in Africa (26,000); managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa