CIA World Fact Book, 2004/South Africa


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!| 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.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: land: 1,219,912 sq km note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island) water: 0 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 0.79% other: 87.13% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
 * 29 00 S, 24 00 E
 * Africa
 * total: 1,219,912 sq km
 * slightly less than twice the size of Texas
 * total: 4,862 km
 * 2,798 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
 * vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
 * lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
 * gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
 * arable land: 12.08%
 * 13,500 sq km (1998 est.)
 * prolonged droughts
 * 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
 * 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
 * South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland
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!| Population: note: South Africa took a census October 1996 that 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 2004 est.) !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 65.3% (male 13,898,269; female 14,017,559) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 886,801; female 1,323,508) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 24.2 years female: 25.3 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 58.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 65.87 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 44.39 years female: 43.98 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: South African !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 86.4% male: 87% female: 85.7% (2003 est.)
 * 42,718,530
 * 0-14 years: 29.5% (male 6,337,468; female 6,254,925)
 * total: 24.7 years
 * -0.25% (2004 est.)
 * 18.38 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 20.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * -0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
 * total: 62.18 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 44.19 years
 * 2.18 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * 21.5% (2003 est.)
 * 5.3 million (2003 est.)
 * 370,000 (2003 est.)
 * noun: South African(s)
 * black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6%
 * 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%
 * 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
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!| Country name: conventional short form: South Africa former: Union of South Africa abbreviation: RSA !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 2 June 1999 (next to be held 24 April 2004) 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 election results: Thabo MBEKI elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation) note: ANC-IFP is the governing coalition !| Legislative branch: elections: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces - last held 14 April 2004 (next to be held NA 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: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607 telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400 chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 !| Diplomatic representation from the US: 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:
 * conventional long form: Republic of South Africa
 * republic
 * Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center
 * 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Western Cape
 * 31 May 1910 (from UK); note - South Africa became a republic in 1961 following an October 1960 referendum
 * Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)
 * 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
 * based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * 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
 * 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
 * Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts
 * African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE, president]; African National Congress or ANC [Thabo MBEKI, president]; Democratic Alliance or DA (formed from the merger of the Democratic Party or DP and the Freedom Alliance or FA) [Anthony LEON]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; New National Party or NNP [Marthinus VAN SCHALKWYK]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA]
 * 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
 * ACP, AfDB, AU, BIS, C, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, NSG, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Joyce Mosima MASEKELA
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Cameron H. HUME
 * 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
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 31% services: 65.2% (2003) !| Investment (gross fixed): !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: 45.9% (1994) !| Distribution of family income - Gini index: !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $41.46 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (2003) !| Public debt: !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Oil - proved reserves: !| Natural gas - production: !| Natural gas - consumption: !| Natural gas - exports: !| Natural gas - imports: !| Natural gas - proved reserves: !| Current account balance: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * 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. High crime and HIV/AIDS infection rates also deter investment. 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.
 * purchasing power parity - $456.7 billion (2003 est.)
 * 1.9% (2003 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $10,700 (2003 est.)
 * agriculture: 3.8%
 * 16% of GDP (2003)
 * 50% (2000 est.)
 * lowest 10%: 1.1%
 * 59.3 (1993-94)
 * 5.9% (2003 est.)
 * 16.35 million economically active (2003)
 * agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.)
 * 31% (includes workers no longer looking for employment) (2003 est.)
 * revenues: $37.48 billion
 * 38.2% of GDP (2003)
 * corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products
 * mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs
 * 5% (2003 est.)
 * 195.6 billion kWh (2001)
 * 181.2 billion kWh (2001)
 * 6.91 billion kWh (2001)
 * 6.2 billion kWh (2001)
 * 196,200 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 460,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * 7.84 million bbl (1 January 2002)
 * 1.8 billion cu m (2001 est.)
 * 1.8 billion cu m (2001 est.)
 * 0 cu m (2001 est.)
 * 0 cu m (2001 est.)
 * 14.16 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
 * $-1.234 billion (2003)
 * $36.77 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment (1998 est.)
 * UK 12.6%, US 12.4%, Japan 9.2%, Germany 8.1%, China 4.7%, Italy 4.4% (2003)
 * $33.89 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs (2000 est.)
 * Germany 16.6%, UK 8.5%, US 8.2%, Japan 5.9%, China 5.9%, Saudi Arabia 5.2%, France 5% (2003)
 * $7.972 billion (2003)
 * $25.9 billion (2003 est.)
 * $487.5 million (2000)
 * rand (ZAR)
 * ZAR
 * rand per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999)
 * 1 April - 31 March
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: 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: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 4.844 million (2002)
 * 16.86 million (2003)
 * general assessment: the system is the best developed and most modern in Africa
 * AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998)
 * 17 million (2001)
 * 556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997)
 * 6 million (2000)
 * .za
 * 288,633 (2003)
 * 150 (2001)
 * 3.1 million (2002)
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!| Railways: narrow gauge: 21,984 km 1.065-m gauge (10,436 km electrified); 314 km 0.610-m gauge note: includes a 2,228 km commuter rail system (2003) !| Highways: paved: 73,506 km (including 2,032 km of expressways) unpaved: 288,593 km (2000) !| Pipelines: !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: by type: container 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 2 registered in other countries: 7 (2004 est.) foreign-owned: Denmark 1, Netherlands 1 !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 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: 11 (2004 est.) !| Airports - with unpaved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 300 under 914 m: 250 (2004 est.)
 * total: 22,298 km
 * total: 362,099 km
 * condensate 100 km; gas 1,052 km; oil 847 km; refined products 1,354 km (2004)
 * Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha
 * total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 31,505 GRT/37,091 DWT
 * 728 (2003 est.)
 * total: 144
 * total: 584
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!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - military age and obligation: !| Military manpower - availability: !| Military manpower - fit for military service: !| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: !| Military - note:
 * South African National Defense Force: Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services
 * 18 years of age for voluntary military service (October 2004)
 * males age 15-49: 11,924,500 (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 7,247,696 (2004 est.)
 * males: 471,221 (2004 est.)
 * $2,653.4 million (2003)
 * 1.7% (2003)
 * 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
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