About South Africa

Republic of South Africa

President: Thabo Mbeki (1999)

Total area: 471,008 sq mi (1,219,912 sq km)

Population (2007 est.): 43,997,828 (growth rate: –0.5%); birth rate: 17.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 59.4/1000; life expectancy: 42.5; density per sq mi: 93

Administrative capital (2003 est). Pretoria, 1,541,300 (metro. area), 1,249,700 (city proper); Legislative capital and largest city: Cape Town, 3,140,600 (metro. area), 2,733,000 (city proper). Judicial capital: Bloemfontein, 378,000. No decision has been made to relocate the seat of government. South Africa is demarcated into nine provinces, consisting of the Gauteng, Northern Province, Mpumalanga, North West, KwaZulu/Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Northern Cape, and Free State. Each province has its own capital

Other large cities: Durban/Pinetown, 2,396,100; Johannesburg, 1,675,200; East Rand, 1,378,792 (part of Johannesburg metro. area, 2000 est.)

Monetary unit: Rand

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)

Ethnicity/Race: black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001)

Religions: Zion Christian 11%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8%, Catholic 7%, Methodist 7%, Dutch Reformed 7%, Anglican 4%, other Christian 36%, Islam 2%, none 15% (2001)

Literacy rate: 86% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $534.6 billion; per capita $12,100. Real growth rate: 4.6%. Inflation: 4.6%. Unemployment: 25.2%. Arable land: 12%. Agriculture: corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products. Labor force: 15.23 million economically active; agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.). Industries: mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair. Natural resources: gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas. Exports: $50.91 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment. Imports: $52.97 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs. Major trading partners: U.S., UK, Japan, Germany, Netherlands, China, France, Saudi Arabia, Iran (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: more than 5 million (2001); mobile cellular: 7.06 million (2001). 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 Service Providers (ISPs): 150 (2001). Internet users: 3.068 million (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 22,298 km (2002). Highways: total: 362,099 km; paved: 73,506 km (including 2,032 km of expressways); unpaved: 288,593 km (2000). Ports and harbors: Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha. Airports: 727 (2002).

International disputes: managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River.