South Africa

§1. South Africa Introduction

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.

§2. South Africa Geography

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 kmē
  land: 1,219,912 kmē
  water: 0 kmē
  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

Coastline:
  2,798 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 kmē (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

§3. South Africa People

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.)

§4. South Africa Government

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

§5. South Africa Economy

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

Currency:
  rand (ZAR)

Currency code:
  ZAR

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

§6. South Africa Communications

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)

§7. South Africa Transportation

Railways:
  total: 21,431 km
  narrow gauge: 20,995 km 1.067-m gauge (9,087 km electrified); 436 km
    0.610-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
  total: 358,596 km
  paved: 59,753 km (including 1927 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 298,843 km (1996)

Waterways:
  NA

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.)

§8. South Africa Military

Military branches:
  South African National Defense Force or SANDF (includes Army, Navy, Air
  Force, and Medical Services), South African Police Service or SAPS

Military manpower - military age:
  18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
  males age 15-49: 11,469,812 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
  males age 15-49: 6,977,328 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
  males: 466,399 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $2 billion (FY00/01)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  1.5% (FY99/00)

Military - note:
  the National Defense Force continues to integrate former military, black
  homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces

§9. South Africa Transnational Issues

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
