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
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
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.)
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
29 12 S, 28 10 E
time difference
UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
note
Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital)
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 institution's 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
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 - 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 Africa's 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
Industries
mining (world's 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 - production by source
fossil fuel
93.5%
hydro
1.1%
nuclear
5.5%
other
0% (2001)
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
7.84 million bbl (1 January 2002)
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)
Currency code
ZAR
Exchange rates
rand per US dollar - 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002)
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)
Radios
17 million (2001)
Television broadcast stations
556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997)
Televisions
6 million (2000)
Internet country code
.za
Internet hosts
645,179 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
150 (2001)
Internet users
5.1 million (2005)
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 (8,868 km electrified); 436 km 0.610-m gauge (2005)
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 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.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49
512,407
females age 18-49
506,078 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
1.7% (2006)
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
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
Refugees and internally displaced persons
refugees (country of origin): 10,609 (Democratic Republic of Congo), 7,548 (Somalia), 5,764 (Angola) (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
Illicit drugs
transshipment center for heroin, hashish, and cocaine, as well as a major cultivator of marijuana in its own right; cocaine and heroin consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries, but increasingly producing its own synthetic drugs for domestic consumption; attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region and the size of the South African economy
