|
South Africa
- General Information |
 |
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 and democracy. |
|
|
Government |
|
  Country
Name:
Conventional long form:
Republic of South Africa
Conventional
short form: South Africa
Former:
Union of South Africa
Abbreviation:
RSA
Government
type:
republic
Capital:
Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative
center and Bloemfontein the judicial center
Administrative
divisions:
9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng,
KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West,
Northern Cape, Western Cape
Independence:
31 May 1910 (from UK); note - South Africa
became a republic in 1961 following an October
1960 referendum
National
holiday:
Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)
Constitution:
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
Legal
system:
based on Roman-Dutch law and English common
law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive
branch:
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
elections: president elected by the National
Assembly for a five-year term; election
last 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
Flag
description:
 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 |
|
|
Geography |
|
Co-ordinates:
29 00 S, 24 00 E
Area:
total: 1,219,912 sq km
land: 1,219,912 sq km
note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion
Island and Prince Edward Island)
water: 0 sq km
Land
Boundaries:
total: 4,862 km
border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho
909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km,
Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km
Coastline:
2,798 km
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
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m
Natural
Resources:
gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore,
manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium,
gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium,
salt, natural gas
Land
Use:
arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 0.77%
other: 87.1% (1998 est.)
Natural
Hazards:
prolonged droughts
Note:
South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho
and almost completely surrounds Swaziland
|
|
|
People |
|
Population:
42,768,678
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 2003 est.)
Age
Structure:
0-14 years: 30% (male 6,460,273; female
6,377,090)
15-64 years: 65% (male 13,807,922; female
13,970,088)
65 years and over: 5% (male 864,441; female
1,288,864) (2003 est.)
Median
Age:
total: 24.5 years
male: 24 years
female: 25 years (2002)
Birth
Rate:
18.87 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death
Rate:
18.42 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS:
5 million (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS
- deaths:
360,000 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
noun: South African(s)
adjective: South African
Ethnic
groups:
Black 75.2%, White 13.6%, Colored 8.6%,
Indian 2.6%
Religions:
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%
Languages:
11 official languages, including Afrikaans,
English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga,
Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and
write
total population: 86.4%
male: 87%
female: 85.7% (2003 est.) |
|
|
Communication |
|
Telephones
- main lines in use:
more than 4.844 million (2002)
Telephones
- mobile cellular:
16.86 million (2003)
Telephone
system:
general assessment: the system is the best
developed and most modern in Africa
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: 2 submarine cables; satellite
earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean
and 2 Atlantic Ocean)
Radio
broadcast stations:
AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave
1 (1998)
Television
broadcast stations:
556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997)
Internet
country code:
.za
Internet
Service Providers (ISPs):
150 (2001)
Internet
users:
3.1 million (2003) |
|
This page was last
updated on 02 October, 2005 |
|
|
|
