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| South Africa | Introduction | Back to Top |
South Africa, Republic of, republic and southernmost country of continental Africa, bordered on the north-west by Namibia; on the north by Botswana and Zimbabwe; on the north-east by Mozambique and Swaziland; on the east and south by the Indian Ocean; and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The independent country of Lesotho forms an enclave in the eastern part of the country. South Africa has an area of 1,224,691 sq km (472,731 sq mi). The administrative capital of South Africa is Pretoria, the legislative capital is Cape Town, and the judicial capital is Bloemfontein.
Population 42,327,458 (1997 estimate) Population Density 35 people/sq km (90 people/sq mi) (1997 estimate) Urban/Rural Breakdown 60%Urban 40%Rural Largest Cities Cape Town854,616 Durban715,669 Johannesburg712,507 Pretoria525,583 (1991 census) Largest Metropolitan Areas Cape Town2,350,157 Johannesburg1,916,063 Durban1,137,378 Pretoria1,080,187 (1991 census) Ethnic Groups 75.2%Black African including Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, and Sotho 13.6%White including Afrikaners and British 8.6%Coloured (mixed race) 2.6%Asian mostly Indians Languages Official Languages Afrikaans, Tsonga, English, Ndebele, Sesotho, Sesotho sa Lebowa, Swazi, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu Other Languages Portuguese, German, Dutch and other European languages, Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, and other Asian languages Religions 17%Traditional African religions 16%Dutch Reformed Protestantism 13%African Christianity 11%Methodism 9%Roman Catholicism 7%Anglicanism 27%Other including other Christian denominations, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism
| South Africa | Provinces | Back to Top |
9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Northern Province, Western Cape
| South Africa | People | Back to Top |
The largest cities in South Africa (1995 estimate) include Cape Town (2,727,000), the legislative capital; Durban (1,264,000), the country’s leading port; Johannesburg (2,172,000 ), the commercial capital and metropolis of the goldfields; Pretoria (1,314,000), the administrative capital; and Port Elizabeth (1,035,000), an industrial city and major port. Although it is not a city, Soweto, a township outside Johannesburg, is one of the largest communities in South Africa. The 1991 census counted 596,632 residents in Soweto, but estimates have placed the population at as many as 2 million.
The original Khoikhoi and San peoples of South Africa scarcely exist as distinct groups inside the country today. Other African peoples entered the country several hundred and even thousands of years ago, and their descendants today constitute about three-fourths of South Africa's population. The African population is heterogeneous, composed mainly of four linguistic groups. The largest is the Nguni, including various Ndebele, Swazi, Xhosa, and Zulu peoples, who constitute more than half the African population of the country and form the majority in many eastern and coastal regions. The second largest is Sotho-Tswana, which includes numerous Sotho, Pedi, and Tswana peoples and forms a majority in many Highveld areas. The last two are the Tsonga, or Shangaan, concentrated in Northern and Mpumalanga provinces, and the Venda, concentrated in Northern province.
| South Africa | History | Back to Top |
The early history of South Africa dates nearly 3 million years to Australopithicus africanus, one of the earliest human ancestors. Archaeological evidence indicates that people resembling the San (bush people) and the Khoikhoi inhabited southern Africa thousands of years ago. The San were traditionally hunters and gatherers while the Khoikhoi were nomadic and herded cattle. Centuries before whites settled in South Africa, Bantu-speaking groups migrated from west central Africa and settled in a fertile region between the Drakensberg Mountains and the Indian Ocean. These early Bantu people are thought to be the ancestors of the modern Nguni, a people comprising the Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, and other groups.
In 1652 Dutch East India Company official Jan van Riebeeck arrived at the Cape of Good Hope with orders to establish a fort and provision station for company ships on long journeys around Africa to Asia. Below Table Mountain, Cape Town eventually grew out of the first settlements around the Dutch fort. The original inhabitants Riebeeck encountered were the San and the Khoikhoi. At first, company officials bartered with them for cattle and set up gardens to grow fresh produce. By 1657 it became evident that the company’s farming efforts were inadequate, so a small number of company employees were released from their contracts and given land to work as independent farmers supplying the company’s needs. Khoikhoi livestock also proved insufficient for the needs of ships that stopped at the Cape, so the independent farmers, called free burghers, began raising livestock as well.
As settlers moved across the country they encountered resistance from the Bantu-speaking people, and in particular from the well-armed Xhosa, who had been moving slowly south and southwest for hundreds of years and were also in search of land. The Afrikaners and the Xhosa clashed along the Great Fish River, and in 1781 the first of nine frontier wars took place. For nearly 100 years, the Xhosa fought the Cape Colony settlers, first the Afrikaners and later the British. The British also encroached on Xhosa lands, precipitating several of these bloody wars. In the Fourth Frontier War, which lasted from 1811 to 1812, the British forced the Xhosa back across the Great Fish River and set up forts along this boundary.
| South Africa | Culture | Back to Top |
The historical segregation of racial and ethnic groups in South Africa has resulted in distinct cultural developments. White South Africans, especially English speakers, have drawn much of their culture from Europe. For Afrikaners culture has a wider meaning that overlaps with the political concerns of Afrikaner nationalism and employment issues. Traditional Afrikaans culture is strongest in rural areas. Asians have distinct cultures derived mainly from the Indian subcontinent. In recent years a new sense of pride has developed in the Coloured community and found expression in writing, theater, and music. Urban black culture is multiethnic and draws on international influences, such as those of African Americans. In rural areas distinct cultural activities of various ethnic groups, including songs, poems, and oral history, remain important.
Eleven languages (Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, North Sotho, South Sotho, Swazi [Swati], Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu) hold official status under the 1993 constitution, and a further 11 (Arabic, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Portuguese, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu) are to be promoted and developed. All South African languages are spoken to varying degrees in different regions; there are some areas where most residents speak neither Afrikaans nor English, but those two languages allow communication in most parts of the country. Early school education is available in all the official languages. English appears to predominate to an increasing extent in official, educational, and formal business spheres.
The authors Adam Small and Alex La Guma have written vividly in Afrikaans and English, respectively, of the effects of racial discrimination and of the complex and frequently violent nature of life in South Africa. Many black and white writers addressing these and other themes have received international recognition. Newly recognized writers such as J.M. Coetzee, Sipho Sepamla, and Mongane Wally Serote have joined such established figures as Es'kia (Ezekiel) Mphahlele, Alan Paton, Brink, and Leroux in bringing South African literary life to the wider world. In 1991 Nadine Gordimer, a short-story writer and novelist, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. South African playwrights responded to the new cultural and political milieu with such innovations as multilingual plays. Support for the newer indigenous theatre came from independent and nonracial theatrical organizations, such as the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. Plays by Athol Fugard, Mbongeni Ngema, Fatima Dike, and Pieter-Dirk Uys have been performed worldwide.
| South Africa | Life | Back to Top |
The apartheid system left a profound imprint on South African society. Most whites enjoy a standard of living and way of life comparable to people in the world’s most developed countries. Distinctive features of this lifestyle include an emphasis on sports and open-air living, which reflect South Africa’s pleasant climate. Sports play a major role in schools. Rugby is particularly popular among Afrikaners, and South Africa hosted and won the rugby world championship in 1995. Cricket is popular among Afrikaners, English speakers, and increasingly among other groups as opportunities and facilities gradually improve. Swimming and water sports, tennis, and golf are all popular in the white community.
| South Africa | Land | Back to Top |
A plateau that covers the largest part of the country dominates the topography. It is separated from surrounding areas of generally lower elevation by the Great Escarpment. The plateau consists almost entirely of very old rock of the Karoo (Karroo) System, which formed from the Late Carboniferous Epoch (320 to 286 million years ago) to the Late Triassic Epoch (230 to 208 million years ago). The plateau is generally highest in the east, dropping from elevations of 8,000 feet (2,440 metres) in the basaltic Lesotho region to 2,000 feet in the sandy Kalahari in the west. The central part of the plateau comprises the Highveld, which is between 4,000 and 6,000 feet in elevation. South of the Orange River lies the Great Karoo region.
| South Africa | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
South Africa has remarkably diverse plant life for a country of its size, comprising about 22,000 different species, many of them native. Grasslands cover most of the plateau areas, resembling a prairie on the nearly treeless High Veld. The Bush Veld is characterized by savanna vegetation, consisting of mixed grassland with trees and bushes such as the baobab tree in Northern Province and the mopani tree in the central Bush Veld. On the Great Karoo and Little Karoo, the grasslands are sparse. Vegetation consists of coarse desert grasses that grow in tufts and become green only after rain. The semidesert Northern Cape is transformed after spring rains with blooming wildflowers in the Namaqualand region.
| South Africa | Economy | Back to Top |
South Africa is changing economically from a producer of raw materials to an industrial nation that produces both raw materials and commercial products. The nation’s manufacturing, commerce, and services have been built extensively on the foundations of mining and farming. The economy remained primarily agricultural for much of the 19th century until the discovery of diamonds at Kimberley in 1867 and gold on the Witwatersrand in the 1880s. Mining quickly became dominant, but was overtaken by manufacturing during World War II. South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) was $131.1 billion in 1999. The GDP per capita in South Africa is $3,110 per year
In the years since World War II, South Africa has experienced highly variable growth rates, including some years when its growth rate was among the highest in the world. Its gross domestic product (GDP) is the largest in Africa. Foreign capital has been extensively invested in South Africa, but the level of foreign investment declined in the period of slower growth and antiapartheid activity in the late 1970s and '80s. South Africa's economy long was dependent on agriculture and mining and on the export of commodities and import of manufactured goods. Since World War II the country has built a well-developed manufacturing base, though it continues to import manufactured goods and remains dependent on the export of primary products. The high value of the precious metals that form the core of South Africa's mineral exports has enabled the country to maintain a high and stable positive balance of trade.
South Africa is a middle-income, developing country with an abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world, and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. However, growth has not been strong enough to cut into the 30% unemployment, and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially the problems of poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. Other problems are crime, corruption, and HIV/AIDS. At the start of 2000, President MBEKI vowed to promote economic growth and foreign investment, and to reduce poverty by relaxing restrictive labor laws, stepping up the pace of privatization, and cutting unneeded governmental spending.
| South Africa | Communications | Back to Top |
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
| South Africa | Languages | Back to Top |
Afrikaans and English were official languages, although they represent the home languages of only 15 percent and 9 percent of the total population, respectively. Afrikaans is spoken not only by Afrikaners but also by 83 percent of Coloured people. English is the primary language of many whites, but also is spoken by 95 percent of Asians. The 1994 constitution added nine African languages to the list of recognized, official languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho sa Leboa (Northern Sotho or Pedi), Tswana, Sesotho (Southern Sotho), Tsonga, Venda, Ndebele, and siSwati. Some of these African languages are mutually understood and many blacks can speak two or more of them, in addition to English and Afrikaans. Together these 11 languages are the primary languages of 98 percent of South Africans. Many Indians also speak Hindi, Tamil, Telegu, Gujarati, and Urdu.
| South Africa | Politics | Back to Top |
African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE, president]; African National Congress or ANC [Thabo MBEKI, president]; Democratic Alliance (formed from the merger of the Democratic Party or DP and the New National Party or NP) [Anthony LEON, leader]; Freedom Front or FF [Constand VILJOEN, president]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA]
| South Africa | Government | Back to Top |
The 20th century has produced several fundamental governmental changes in South Africa. In 1910 the Union of South Africa was formed as a largely autonomous dominion of Britain. Under the 1910 constitution, the British monarch was the nominal head of state, but authority over most matters was vested in a single-chamber parliament, headed by a prime minister. By the 1931 Statute of Westminster, South Africa and other dominions within the British Commonwealth were proclaimed fully autonomous, gaining equality status with Britain. In 1961 South Africa became a republic and left the Commonwealth. The 1961 constitution created the office of president as head of state. A new constitution in 1984 established a tricameral (three-house) parliament with white, Coloured, and Asian houses, but excluded the black majority altogether.
| South Africa | Legal | Back to Top |
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 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 elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 2 June 1999 (next scheduled for sometime between May and July 2004) election results: Thabo MBEKI elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation) note: ANC-IFP governing coalition Legislative branch: bicameral parliament consisting of the National Assembly (400 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) and 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); note - following the implementation of the new constitution on 3 February 1997 the former Senate was disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces with essentially no change in membership and party affiliations, although the new institution's responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution elections: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces - last held 2 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 66.4%, DP 9.6%, IFP 8.6%, NP 6.9%, UDM 3.4%, ACDP 1.4%, FF 0.8%, other 2.9%; seats by party - ANC 266, DP 38, IFP 34, NP 28, UDM 14, ACDP 6, FF 3, other 11; National Council of Provinces - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ANC 61, NP 17, FF 4, IFP 5, DP 3 Judicial branch: Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts
| South Africa | organization | Back to Top |
ACP, AfDB, BIS, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, NSG, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
| South Africa | Education | Back to Top |
Under apartheid the education system was racially structured with separate national departments for whites, Coloureds, Asians, and blacks outside of the bantustans. Ten separate education departments were established within the bantustans. Although government spending on black education increased greatly in the late 1980s, at the end of the apartheid era in 1994 per capita expenditures for white pupils were still four times higher than expenditures for blacks; spending on education for Asians and Coloured people was closer to spending for whites.
| South Africa | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: South African National Defense Force or SANDF (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services), South African Police Service or SAPS
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 11,469,812 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 6,977,328 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 466,399 (2001 est.)
| South Africa | International Disputes | Back to Top |
Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom
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| South Africa | Time | Back to Top |
| South Africa | Currency and General Information | Back to Top |
| Countries Currency Unit | ZAR/Unit | Units/ZAR | |
| DZD | Algeria Dinars | 0.146716 | 6.81587 |
| USD | United States Dollars | 11.3578 | 0.0880455 |
| ARS | Argentina Pesos | 3.85662 | 0.259294 |
| AUD | Australia Dollars | 6.05953 | 0.165029 |
| ATS | Austria Schillings ** | 0.718932 | 1.39095 |
| BSD | Bahamas Dollars | 11.3578 | 0.0880455 |
| BBD | Barbados Dollars | 5.70742 | 0.175211 |
| BEF | Belgium Francs ** | 0.245234 | 4.07774 |
| BMD | Bermuda Dollars | 11.3578 | 0.0880455 |
| BRL | Brazil Reals | 4.88506 | 0.204706 |
| GBP | United Kingdom Pounds | 16.1946 | 0.0617490 |
| BGL | Bulgaria Leva | 5.08024 | 0.196841 |
| CAD | Canada Dollars | 7.12012 | 0.140447 |
| CLP | Chile Pesos | 0.0173018 | 57.7975 |
| CNY | China Yuan Renminbi | 1.37214 | 0.728788 |
| CYP | Cyprus Pounds | 17.2873 | 0.0578459 |
| CZK | Czech Republic Koruny | 0.320398 | 3.12112 |
| DKK | Denmark Kroner | 1.33165 | 0.750946 |
| XCD | East Caribbean Dollars | 4.20658 | 0.237723 |
| EGP | Egypt Pounds | 2.45176 | 0.407871 |
| EUR | Euro | 9.89272 | 0.101084 |
| FJD | Fiji Dollars | 5.08177 | 0.196782 |
| FIM | Finland Markkaa ** | 1.66384 | 0.601021 |
| FRF | France Francs ** | 1.50814 | 0.663070 |
| DEM | Germany Deutsche Marks ** | 5.05807 | 0.197704 |
| XAU | Gold Ounces | 3,432.83 | 0.000291305 |
| GRD | Greece Drachmae ** | 0.0290322 | 34.4445 |
| HKD | Hong Kong Dollars | 1.45620 | 0.686720 |
| HUF | Hungary Forint | 0.0406832 | 24.5802 |
| ISK | Iceland Kronur | 0.113585 | 8.80400 |
| INR | India Rupees | 0.232722 | 4.29697 |
| IDR | Indonesia Rupiahs | 0.00115607 | 864.997 |
| IEP | Ireland Pounds ** | 12.5612 | 0.0796104 |
| ILS | Israel New Shekels | 2.39467 | 0.417595 |
| ITL | Italy Lire ** | 0.00510916 | 195.727 |
| JMD | Jamaica Dollars | 0.238558 | 4.19185 |
| JPY | Japan Yen | 0.0856220 | 11.6792 |
| JOD | Jordan Dinars | 16.0194 | 0.0624243 |
| LBP | Lebanon Pounds | 0.00750182 | 133.301 |
| LUF | Luxembourg Francs ** | 0.245234 | 4.07774 |
| MYR | Malaysia Ringgits | 2.98967 | 0.334485 |
| MXN | Mexico Pesos | 1.26053 | 0.793319 |
| NZD | New Zealand Dollars | 5.00290 | 0.199884 |
| NOK | Norway Kroner | 1.28283 | 0.779525 |
| NLG | Netherlands Guilders ** | 4.48912 | 0.222761 |
| PKR | Pakistan Rupees | 0.189138 | 5.28713 |
| PHP | Philippines Pesos | 0.222614 | 4.49208 |
| XPT | Platinum Ounces | 5,894.43 | 0.000169652 |
| PLN | Poland Zlotych | 2.76226 | 0.362022 |
| PTE | Portugal Escudos ** | 0.0493447 | 20.2656 |
| ROL | Romania Lei | 0.000344854 | 2,899.78 |
| RUR | Russia Rubles | 0.364967 | 2.73998 |
| SAR | Saudi Arabia Riyals | 3.02869 | 0.330176 |
| XAG | Silver Ounces | 52.5846 | 0.0190170 |
| SGD | Singapore Dollars | 6.16532 | 0.162198 |
| SKK | Slovakia Koruny | 0.236866 | 4.22179 |
| ZAR | South Africa Rand | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| KRW | South Korea Won | 0.00859912 | 116.291 |
| ESP | Spain Pesetas ** | 0.0594565 | 16.8190 |
| XDR | IMF Special Drawing Rights | 14.1610 | 0.0706163 |
| SDD | Sudan Dinars | 0.0436837 | 22.8918 |
| SEK | Sweden Kronor | 1.09621 | 0.912233 |
| CHF | Switzerland Francs | 6.75548 | 0.148028 |
| TWD | Taiwan New Dollars | 0.324972 | 3.07719 |
| THB | Thailand Baht | 0.260788 | 3.83454 |
| TTD | Trinidad and Tobago Dollars | 1.85584 | 0.538839 |
| TRL | Turkey Liras | 0.00000845010 | 118,341.79 |
| VEB | Venezuela Bolivares | 0.0123348 | 81.0714 |
| ZMK | Zambia Kwacha | 0.00254089 | 393.564 |
| South Africa : Geographic coordinates | 29 00 S, 24 00 E |
| South Africa : Population growth rate | 0.26% |
| South Africa : Birth rate | 21.12 births/1,000 population |
| South Africa : Death rate | 16.77 deaths/1,000 population |
| South Africa : People living with HIV/AIDS | 4.2 million |
| South Africa : Independence | 31 May 1910 |
| South Africa : National holiday | Freedom Day, 27 April |
| South Africa : Constitution | 10 December 1996 |
| South Africa : GDP | purchasing power parity - $369 billion |
| South Africa : GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,500 |
| South Africa : Electricity - consumption | 172.393 billion kWh |
| South Africa : Exports | $30.8 billion gold, diamonds, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment |
| South Africa : Imports | $27.6 billion machinery, foodstuffs and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments |
| South Africa : Telephones | 5.075 million |
| South Africa : Mobile cellular | 2,000,000 |
| South Africa : Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 347, shortwave 1 |
| South Africa : Radios | 13.75 million |
| South Africa : Television broadcast stations | 556 |
| South Africa : Televisions | 5.2 million |
| South Africa : Internet country code | .za |
| South Africa : Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 44 |
| South Africa : Internet users | 1.82 million |
| South Africa : Railways | 20,384 km |
| South Africa : Highways | 358,596 km |
| South Africa : Waterways | N/A |
| South Africa : Pipelines | crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural gas 322 km |
| South Africa : Ports and harbors | Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mosselbaai, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha |
| South Africa : Merchant marine | 8 ships |
| South Africa : Airports | 741 |
| South Africa : Heliports | N/A |
| South Africa : Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services |
| South Africa : Military expenditures | $2 billion |