_#_Disputes: claim by Namibia to Walvis Bay exclave and 12 offshore islands administered by South Africa
_#_Climate: mostly semiarid; subtropical along coast; sunny days, cool nights
_#_Terrain: vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
_#_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 10%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 65%; forest and woodland 3%; other 21%; includes irrigated 1%
_#_Environment: lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures
_#_Note: Walvis Bay is an exclave of South Africa in Namibia; South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland
_*People #_Population: 40,600,518 (July 1991), growth rate 2.7% (1991); includes the 10 so-called homelands, which are not recognized by the US;
four independent homelands—Bophuthatswana 2,419,515, growth rate 2.83%; Ciskei 1,056,552, growth rate 2.96%; Transkei 4,553,994, growth rate 4.16%; Venda 691,273, growth rate 3.83%;
six other homelands—Gazankulu 772,532, growth rate 3.98%; Kangwane 576,573, growth rate 3.62%; KwaNdebele 360,582, growth rate 3.38%; KwaZulu 5,546,082, growth rate 3.60%; Lebowa 2,812,630, growth rate 3.91%; QwaQwa 277,957, growth rate 3.60%