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.

Area
Total: 1,219,912 km²
Land: 1,219,912 km²
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Comparative note: Includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)

Land boundaries: Total 4,750 km, 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
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Exclusive fishing 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
Extremes highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m

Natural resources:

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

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

Population:
Growth rate:

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

Ethnic groups:

Languages: Eleven official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu

Religions: Christian (most whites and Coloreds and about 60% of blacks), Hindu (60% of Indians), Muslim 2%

Population growth rate:

Birth rate:

Death rate:

Net migration rate:

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
Current issues Natural hazards: prolonged droughts
International agreements: party to_Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified_Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
International agreements note: South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
All ages:

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 59.47 years (1996 est.), 65.42 years (1995 est.)
Male: 57.21 years (1996 est.), 62.68 years (1995 est.)
Female: 61.8 years (1996 est.), 68.25 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate:

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over that can read and write (1980)
Total population: 81.8%
Male: 81.9%
Female: 81.7%

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: 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Eastern Transvaal, KwaZulu/Natal, Northern Cape, Northern Transvaal, Northwest, Orange Free State, Gauteng, Western Cape

Independence: 31 May 1910 (from U.K.)

National holiday: Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)

Constitution: 27 April 1994 (interim constitution, replacing the constitution of 3 September 1984; note_on 8 May 1996, the Constitutional Assembly voted 421 to two to pass a new constitution which, after certification by the Constitutional Court, will gradually go into effect over a three-year period and come into full force with the next national elections in April 1999

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

Executive branch: Chief of state and head of government:Executive President Nelson MANDELA (since 10 May 1994); Deputy Executive President Thabo MBEKI (since 10 May 1994); Deputy Executive President Frederik W. DE KLERK (since 10 May 1994)
Note: Any political party that wins 20% or more of the National Assembly votes in a general election is entitled to name a deputy executive president; moreover, any party that wins 20 or more seats in the National Assembly is entitled to become a member of the governing coalition; currently, the ANC, the IFP, and the NP constitute a Government of National Unity (GNU)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the Executive President

Legislative branch: Bicameral National Assembly:Elections last held 26-29 April 1994 (next to be held NA); results_ANC 62.6%, NP 20.4%, IFP 10.5%, FF 2.2%, DP 1.7%, PAC 1.2%, ACDP 0.5%, other 0.9%; seats_(400 total) ANC 252, NP 82, IFP 43, FF 9, DP 7, PAC 5, ACDP 2 Senate:The Senate is composed of members who are nominated by the nine provincial parliaments (which are elected in parallel with the National Assembly) and has special powers to protect regional interests, including the right to limited self-determination for ethnic minorities; seats_(90 total) ANC 61, NP 17, FF 4, IFP 5, DP 3
Note: When the National Assembly meets in joint session with the Senate to consider the provisions of the constitution, the combined group is referred to as the Constitutional Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

International organization participation: BIS, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Flag description: Two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horozontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side, embracing a black isoceles 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 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 U.K. 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 for the remainder of the 1990s will be driven largely by the new government's attempts to improve black living conditions, to set the country on an aggressive export-led growth path, and to cut back the enormous numbers of unemployed. The economy in recent years has absorbed less than 5% 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, much less reduce the accumulated total.

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:

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:

Industrial production growth rate: Growth rate NA; accounts for about 40% of GDP

Labor force: 14.2 million economically active (1996)
By occupation Services: 35%
By occupation Agriculture: 30%
By occupation Industry: 20%
By occupation Mining: 9%
By occupation Other: 6%

Unemployment rate:

Budget
Revenues: $30.5 billion (FY94/95 est.), $26.3 billion (FY93/94 est.)
Expenditures: $38 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.6 billion (FY94/95 est.), $34 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.5 billion (FY93/94 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 April_31 March

Exports:
Commodities:
Partners:

Debt external:

Exchange rates: Rand (R) per US$1_3.6417 (January 1996), 3.6266 (1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991), 2.5863 (1990)

Electricity
Capacity: 39,750,000 kW
Consumption: 163 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 3,482 kWh (1993)

Telephone system: Over 5,206,235 telephones (1993 est.); the system is the best developed, most modern, and has the highest capacity in Africa
Domestic: consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, and radiotelephone communication stations; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria; nationwide GSM mobile phone system
International: 1 submarine cable; 3 INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) earth stations

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $2.9 billion, 2.2% of GDP (FY95/96), $3.2 billion, 2.8% of GDP (FY93/94)

Airports: 667
With paved runways over 3047 m: 10
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 33
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 280 (1995 est.)
With paved runways under 914 m: 221

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

Merchant marine: total:4 container ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 211,276 GRT/198,602 DWT

Illicit drugs: Transshipment center for heroin and cocaine; cocaine consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries