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.

Map reference: Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total: 1,221,040 km²
Land: 1,221,040 km²

Land boundaries:

Coastline: 2,881 km
Continental shelf: 200 m depth or to depth of exploitation
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: mostly semiarid; subtropical along coast; sunny days, cool nights

Terrain: vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain salt, natural gas

Land use
Arable land: 10%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 65%
Forest and woodland: 3%
Other: 21%

Irrigated land: 11,280 km² (1989 est.)

Population: 42,792,804 (July 1993 est.)
Growth rate: 2.63% (1993 est.)

Nationality
Noun: South African(s)
Adjective: South African

Ethnic groups: black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6%

Languages:
Total population: 76%
Male: 78%
Female: 75%

Religions:

Population growth rate: 2.63% (1993 est.)

Birth rate: 33.77 births/1000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate: 7.65 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.15 migrant(s)/1000 population (1993 est.)

Environment
Current issues: lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures
Current issues note: Walvis Bay is an exclave of South Africa in Namibia; South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland

Infant mortality rate: 48.3 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 64.81 years
Male: 62.07 years
Female: 67.63 years (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.4 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of South Africa
Conventional short form: South Africa
Abbreviation: RSA

Government type: republic

Capital: Pretoria (administrative; Cape Town (legislative; Bloemfontein (judicial)

Administrative divisions:

Independence: 31 May 1910 (from UK)

Constitution: 3 September 1984

Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal, but voting rights are racially based

Executive branch: state president, Executive Council (cabinet), Ministers' Councils (from the three houses of Parliament)

Legislative branch: tricameral Parliament (Parlement) consists of the House of Assembly (Volksraad; whites), House of Representatives (Raad van Verteenwoordigers; Coloreds), and House of Delegates (Raad van Afgevaardigdes; Indians)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

International organization participation:

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Princeton N. LYMAN
In the us chancery: 3,051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: 27 (12) 28-4,266
In the us consulates general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg
In the us embassy: Thibault House, 225 Pretorius Street, Pretoria
In the us fax: 27 (12) 21-9,278

Flag description: actually four flags in one - three miniature flags reproduced in the center of the white band of the former flag of the Netherlands, which has three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and blue; the miniature flags are 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

Economy overview: Many of the white one-seventh of the South African population enjoy incomes, material comforts, and health and educational standards equal to those of Western Europe. In contrast, most of the remaining population suffers from the poverty patterns of the Third World, including unemployment and lack of job skills. The main strength of the economy lies in its rich mineral resources, which provide two-thirds of exports. Economic developments in the 1990s will be driven partly by the changing relations among the various ethnic groups. The shrinking economy in recent years has absorbed less than 10% of the more than 300,000 workers entering the labor force annually. Local economists estimate that the economy must grow between 5% and 6% in real terms annually to absorb all of the new entrants.

Real gdp growth rate: -2% (1992)

Real gdp per capita: $2,800 (1992)

Agriculture products: accounts for about 5% of GDP and 30% of labor force; diversified agriculture, with emphasis on livestock; products - cattle, poultry, sheep, wool, milk, beef, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; self-sufficient in food

Industries: mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemical, fertilizer, foodstuffs

Labor force: 13.4 million economically active (1990)
By occupation services: 55%
By occupation agriculture: 10%
By occupation industry: 20%
By occupation mining: 9%
By occupation other: 6%

Unemployment rate: 45% (well over 50% in some homeland areas) (1992 est.)

Budget: revenues $28 billion; expenditures $36 billion, including capital expenditures of $3 billion (FY93 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Exports: $23.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
Commodoties: gold 27%, other minerals and metals 20-25%, food 5%, chemicals 3%
Partners: Italy, Japan, US, Germany, UK, other EC countries, Hong Kong

Imports: $18.2 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
Commodoties: machinery 32%, transport equipment 15%, chemicals 11%, oil, textiles, scientific instruments
Partners: Germany, Japan, UK, US, Italy

Exchange rates: rand (R) per US$1 - 3.1576 (May 1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991), 2.5863 (1990), 2.6166 (1989), 2.2611 (1988)

Electricity
Production: 46,000,000 kW capacity; 180,000 million kWh produced, 4,100 kWh per capita (1991)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - $2.9 billion, about 2.5% of GDP (FY93 budget)

Airports: 899
Usable: 713
With permanentsurface runways: 136
With runways over 3659 m: 5
With runways 2440-3659 m: 10
With runways 1220-2439 m: 221

Pipelines: crude oil 931 km, petroleum products 1,748 km, natural gas 322 km

Merchant marine:

Disputes international: claim by Namibia to Walvis Bay exclave and 12 offshore islands administered by South Africa; South Africa and Namibia have agreed to jointly administer the area for an interim period; the terms and dates to be covered by joint administration arrangements have not been established at this time; and Namibia will continue to maintain a claim to sovereignty over the entire area