Background: Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of modern day South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the Far East founding the city of Cape Town. 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 Second Anglo Boer War (1899-1902); however the British and the Afrikaners as the Boers became known ruled together beginning in 1910 under the Union of South Africa which became a republic in 1961 after a whites-only referendum. In 1948 the National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races - which favored the white minority at the expense of the black majority. The African National Congress (ANC) led the opposition to apartheid and many top ANC leaders such as Nelson MANDELA spent decades in South Africa's prisons. Internal protests and insurgency as well as boycotts by some Western nations and institutions led to the regime's eventual willingness to negotiate a peaceful transition to majority rule. The first multi-racial elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid and ushered in majority rule under an ANC-led government. South Africa since then has struggled to address apartheid-era imbalances in decent housing education and health care. ANC infighting which has grown in recent years came to a head in September 2008 when President Thabo MBEKI resigned and Kgalema MOTLANTHE the party's General-Secretary succeeded him as interim president. Jacob ZUMA became president after the ANC won general elections in April 2009. National presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for May 2014.

Geographic coordinates: 29 00 S 24 00 E

Area
Rank: 25
Land: 1,214,470 km²
Water: 4,620 km²
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries
Border countries: (6) Botswana 1840 km; Lesotho 909 km; Mozambique 491 km; Namibia 967 km; Swaziland 430 km; Zimbabwe 225 km

Coastline: 2,798 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin

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 highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m

Natural resources: gold chromium antimony coal iron ore manganese nickel phosphates tin rare earth elements uranium gem diamonds platinum copper vanadium salt natural gas

Land use
Permanent crops: 0.34%
Other: 89.79% (2011)

Irrigated land: 16,700 km² (2012)

Total renewable water resources: 51.4 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: prolonged droughts
Volcanism: the volcano forming Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands which last erupted in 2004 is South Africa's only active volcano

Geography
Note: South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland

Population: 48,375,645
Rank: 28
Growth rate: -0.48% (2014 est.)
Growth rate rank: 222
Below poverty line: 31.3% (2009 est.)

Nationality
Adjective: South African

Ethnic groups: black African 79.2% white 8.9% colored 8.9% Indian/Asian 2.5% other 0.5% (2011 est.)

Languages: IsiZulu (official) 22.7% IsiXhosa (official) 16% Afrikaans (official) 13.5% English (official) 9.6% Sepedi (official) 9.1% Setswana (official) 8% Sesotho (official) 7.6% Xitsonga (official) 4.5% siSwati (official) 2.5% Tshivenda (official) 2.4% isiNdebele (official) 2.1% sign language 0.5% other 1.6% (2011 est.)

Religions: Protestant 36.6% (Zionist Christian 11.1% Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2% Methodist 6.8% Dutch Reformed 6.7% Anglican 3.8%) Catholic 7.1% Muslim 1.5% other Christian 36% other 2.3% unspecified 1.4% none 15.1% (2001 census)

Age structure
15-24 years: 20.2% (male 4,914,394/female 4,866,121)
25-54 years: 38.2% (male 9,543,746/female 8,923,605)
55-64 years: 7.1% (male 1,470,282/female 1,950,499)
65 years and over: 6.1% (male 1,205,657/female 1,826,638) (2014 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 45.2 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 8.7 %
Potential support ratio: 11.5 (2014 est.)

Median age
Male: 25.4 years
Female: 26 years (2014 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.48% (2014 est.)
Rank: 222

Birth rate: 18.94 births/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 93

Death rate: 17.49 deaths/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 1

Net migration rate: -6.27 migrant(s)/1000 population
Rank: 200

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 1.21% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: Johannesburg 3.844 million; Cape Town (legislative capital) 3.562 million; Ekurhuleni (East Rand) 3.357 million; Durban 3.012 million; PRETORIA (capital) 1.501 million; Vereeniging 1.2 million; Bloemfontein (judicial capital) 468,000 (2011)

Environment
Current issues: 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 22.5

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 51
Male: 45.25 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 37.9 deaths/1000 live births (2014 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 222
Male: 50.52 years
Female: 48.58 years (2014 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.23 children born/woman (2014 est.)
Rank: 99

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 59.9% (2003/04)

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 0.76 physicians/1000 population (2011)

Hospital bed density: 2.8 beds/1000 population (2005)

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 17.9% (2012 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 4
People living with hivaids: 6,070,800 (2012 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 1
Deaths: 235,100 (2012 est.)
Deaths rank: 2

Major infectious diseases
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2013)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 31.3% (2008)
Rank: 24

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 8.7% (2008)
Rank: 71

Education expenditures: 6% of GDP (2010)
Rank: 42

Literacy
Total population: 93%
Male: 93.9%
Female: 92.2% (2011 est.)

Country name
Conventional short form: South Africa
Former: Union of South Africa
Abbreviation: RSA

Government type: republic

Capital
Geographic coordinates: 25 42 S 28 13 E
Time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces; Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga Northern Cape North West Western Cape

Independence: 31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony Natal Transvaal and Orange Free State); 31 May 1961 (republic declared); 27 April 1994 (majority rule)

National holiday: Freedom Day 27 April (1994)

Constitution: several previous; latest drafted 8 May 1996 approved 4 December 1997 effective 4 February 1997; amended many times last in 2013 (2013)

Legal system: mixed legal system of Roman-Dutch civil law English common law and customary law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Head of government: President Jacob ZUMA (since 9 May 2009); Deputy President Matamela Cyril RAMAPHOSA (since 26 May 2014)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
Elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 21 May 2014 (next to be held on May 2019)
Election results: Jacob ZUMA re-elected president unopposed; he was sworn in on 24 May 2014

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consisting of 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) and the National Assembly (400 seats; members elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
Elections: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces - last held on 7 May 2014 (next to be held in May 2019)
Election results: National Council of Provinces - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 62.2% DA 22.2% EFF 6.4% IFP 2.4% NFP 1.6% other 5.2%; seats by party - ANC 249 DA 89 EFF 25 IFP 10 NFP 6 other 21

Judicial branch
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court of Appeals president and vice-president appointed by the national president after consultation with the Joint Services Commission (JSC) a 22-member body of judicial and other government officials and a law academics; other Supreme Court judges appointed by the national president on the advice of the JSC and hold office until discharged from active service in terms of an Act of Parliament; Constitutional Court chief and deputy chief justices appointed by the national president after consultation with the JSC and with heads of the National Assembly; other Constitutional Court judges appointed by the national president after consultation with the chief justice and leaders of the National Assembly; Constitutional Court judges appointed for 12-year non-renewable terms or until age 70
Subordinate courts: High Courts; Magistrates' Courts; labor courts; land claims courts;

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AU BIS BRICS C CD FAO FATF G-20 G-24 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA MONUSCO NAM NSG OECD (Enhanced Engagement OPCW Paris Club (associate) PCA SACU SADC UN UNAMID UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNITAR UNSC (temporary) UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chancery: 3,051 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 232-4,400
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607
In the us consulate general: Chicago Los Angeles New York
From the us embassy: 877 Pretorius Street Arcadia Pretoria
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 9,536 Pretoria 0001
From the us telephone: [27] (12) 431-4,000
From the us FAX: [27] (12) 342-2,299
From the us consulate general: Cape Town Durban Johannesburg

Flag description: two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band that 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; the flag colors do not have any official symbolism but the Y stands for the 'convergence of diverse elements within South African society taking the road ahead in unity'; black yellow and green are found on the flag of the African National Congress while red white and blue are the colors in the flags of the Netherlands and the UK whose settlers ruled South Africa during the colonial era

National symbols: springbok antelope

National anthem
Lyrics and music: Enoch SONTONGA and Cornelius Jacob LANGENHOVEN/Enoch SONTONGA and Marthinus LOURENS de Villiers

Economy overview: South Africa is a middle-income emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial legal communications energy and transport sectors and a stock exchange that is the 16th largest in the world. Even though the country's modern infrastructure supports a relatively efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region unstable electricity supplies retard growth. The global financial crisis reduced commodity prices and world demand. GDP fell nearly 2% in 2009 but has recovered since then albeit slowly with 2014 growth projected at about 2%. Unemployment poverty and inequality - among the highest in the world - remain a challenge. Official unemployment is at nearly 25% of the work force and runs significantly higher among black youth. Eskom the state-run power company has built two new power stations and installed new power demand management programs to improve power grid reliability. Construction delays at two additional plants however mean South Africa is operating on a razor thin margin; economists judge that growth cannot exceed 3% until those plants come on line. South Africa's economic policy has focused on controlling inflation however the country has had significant budget deficits that restrict its ability to deal with pressing economic problems. The current government faces growing pressure from special interest groups to use state-owned enterprises to deliver basic services to low-income areas and to increase job growth.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 26

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 143

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 108

Gross national saving:
Rank: 109

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 24%
Investment in fixed capital: 22%
Investment in inventories: -0.8%
Exports of goods and services: 30.6%
Imports of goods and services: -39.6%: (2013 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 29%
Services: 68.4% (2013 est.)

Agriculture products: corn wheat sugarcane fruits vegetables; beef poultry mutton wool dairy products

Industries: mining (world's largest producer of platinum gold chromium) automobile assembly metalworking machinery textiles iron and steel chemicals fertilizer foodstuffs commercial ship repair

Industrial production growth rate: 0.9% (2013 est.)
Rank: 154

Labor force: 18.54 million (2013 est.)
Rank: 33
By occupation industry: 26%
By occupation services: 65% (2007 est.)

Unemployment rate: 25.1% (2012 est.)
Rank: 173

Population below poverty line: 31.3% (2009 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Highest 10: 51.7% (2009 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index: 59.3 (1994)
Rank: 2

Budget
Expenditures: $105.5 billion (2013 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -4.8% of GDP (2013 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 163

Taxes and other revenues: 25% of GDP (2013 est.)
Rank: 130

Public debt: 42.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 81

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 5.7% (2012 est.)
Rank: 167

Central bank discount rate: 7% (31 December 2009)
Rank: 43

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 8.75% (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 100

Stock of narrow money: $122 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 34

Stock of broad money: $220.1 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 37

Stock of domestic credit: $298.8 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 38

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 15

Current account balance: -$24.07 billion (2012 est.)
Rank: 183

Exports: $93.48 billion (2012 est.)
Rank: 42
Commodities: gold diamonds platinum other metals and minerals machinery and equipment
Partners: China 11.8% US 8.3% Japan 6% Germany 5.7% India 4.2% (2012)

Imports: $102.6 billion (2012 est.)
Rank: 34
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals petroleum products scientific instruments foodstuffs
Partners: China 14.4% Germany 10.1% Saudi Arabia 7.7% US 7.4% Japan 4.6% India 4.5% (2012)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $50.7 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 42

Debt external: $130.4 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 40

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $139 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 34

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $82.82 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 30

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 257.9 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Production rank: 16
Consumption: 234.2 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Consumption rank: 16
Exports: 15.04 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 13
Imports: 11.89 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 16
Installed generating capacity: 44.26 million kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 22
Generation sources fossil fuels: 90.8% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 74
Generation sources nuclear: 4.1% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 23
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 1.5% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 141
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0.5% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 85

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 181,000 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 41
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 177
Crude oil imports: 385,100 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 23
Crude oil proven reserves: 15 million bbl (1 January 2013 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 86

Refined petroleum
Products production: 437,600 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 33
Products consumption: 590,900 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 29
Products exports: 80,460 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 50
Products imports: 79,010 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 57

Natural gas
Production: 1.28 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 62
Consumption: 4.01 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 67
Exports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 178
Imports: 3.3 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 41
Proven reserves: 16 billion m³ (1 January 2012 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 78

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 461.6 million Mt (2011 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 4.03 million (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 42
Mobile cellular: 68.4 million (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 19

Telephone system
Domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 140 telephones per 100 persons; 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; the SAT-3/WASC and SAFE fiber-optic submarine cable systems connect South Africa to Europe and Asia; the EASSy fiber-optic cable system connects with Europe and North America; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) (2011)

Broadcast media: the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) operates 4 TV stations 3 are free-to-air and 1 is pay TV; e.tv a private station is accessible to more than half the population; multiple subscription TV services provide a mix of local and international channels; well developed mix of public and private radio stations at the national regional and local levels; the SABC radio network state-owned and controlled but nominally independent operates 18 stations one for each of the 11 official languages 4 community stations and 3 commercial stations; more than 100 community-based stations extend coverage to rural areas (2007)

Internet
Country code: .za
Hosts: 4.761 million (2012)
Hosts rank: 23
Users: 4.42 million (2009)
Users rank: 54

Military expenditures:
Rank: 101

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; women are eligible to serve in noncombat roles; 2-year service obligation (2012)

Airports: 566 (2013)
Rank: 11
With paved runways over 3047 m: 11
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 7
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 52
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 65
With paved runways under 914 m: 9 (2013)
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 31
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 258
With unpaved runways: 132 (2013)

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines: condensate 94 km; gas 1293 km; oil 992 km; refined products 1460 km (2013)

Railways
Rank: 14
Narrow gauge: 19,756 km 1.065-m gauge (8,271 km electrified); 122 km 0.750-m gauge; 314 km 0.610-m gauge (2008)

Roadways
Rank: 19
Paved: 62,995 km (includes 254 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 301,136 km (2002)

Merchant marine
Rank: 134
By type: petroleum tanker 3
Registered in other countries: 19 (Australia 1 Isle of Man 2 Mexico 1 NZ 1 Seychelles 1 Singapore 13) (2010)

Ports and terminals
Container port: Durban (2,712,975)

Disputes international: South Africa has placed military units to assist police operations along the border of Lesotho Zimbabwe and Mozambique to control smuggling poaching and illegal migration; the governments of South Africa and Namibia have not signed or ratified the text of the 1994 Surveyor's General agreement placing the boundary in the middle of the Orange River

Illicit drugs: transshipment center for heroin hashish and cocaine as well as a major cultivator of marijuana in its own right; cocaine and heroin consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries but increasingly producing its own synthetic drugs for domestic consumption; attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region and the