:South Africa Geography
Total area:
1,221,040 km2
Land area:
1,221,040 km2; includes Walvis Bay, Marion Island, and Prince Edward Island
Comparative area:
slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
4,973 km total; Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km,
Namibia 1,078 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km
Coastline:
2,881 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf:
200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation
Exclusive fishing zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
claim by Namibia to Walvis Bay exclave and 12 offshore islands administered
by South Africa; South Africa and Namibia have agreed to jointly administer
the area for an interim period; the terms and dates to be covered by joint
administration arrangements have not been established at this time; and
Namibia will continue to maintain a claim to sovereignty over the entire
area
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
:South Africa People
Population:
41,688,360 (July 1992), growth rate 2.6% (1992); includes the 10 so-called
homelands, which are not recognized by the US
Population:
four independent homelands:
Bophuthatswana 2,489,347, growth rate 2.86%; Ciskei 1,088,476, growth rate
2.99%; Transkei 4,746,796, growth rate 4.13%; Venda 718,207, growth rate
3.81%
six other homelands:
Gazankulu 803,806, growth rate 3.96%; Kangwane 597,783, growth rate 3.60%;
KwaNdebele 373,012, growth rate 3.40%; KwaZulu 5,748,950, growth rate 3.58%;
Lebowa 2,924,584, growth rate 3.90%; QwaQwa 288,155, growth rate 3.60%
Birth rate:
34 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
8 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
50 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
62 years male, 67 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
4.4 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - South African(s); adjective - South African
Ethnic divisions:
black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6%
Religions:
most whites and Coloreds and about 60% of blacks are Christian; about 60% of
Indians are Hindu; Muslim 20%
Languages:
Afrikaans, English (both official); many vernacular languages, including
Zulu, Xhosa, North and South Sotho, Tswana
Literacy:
76% (male 78%, female 75%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
Labor force:
11,000,000 economically active (1989); services 34%, agriculture 30%,
industry and commerce 29%, mining 7% (1985)
Organized labor:
about 17% of total labor force belongs to a registered trade union (1989);
African unions represent 15% of black labor force
:South Africa Government
Long-form name:
Republic of South Africa; abbreviated RSA
Type:
republic
Capital:
Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judicial)
Administrative divisions:
4 provinces; Cape, Natal, Orange Free State, Transvaal; there are 10
homelands not recognized by the US - 4 independent (Bophuthatswana, Ciskei,
Transkei, Venda) and 6 other (Gazankulu, Kangwane, KwaNdebele, KwaZulu,
Lebowa, QwaQwa)
Independence:
31 May 1910 (from UK)
Constitution:
3 September 1984
Legal system:
based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday:
Republic Day, 31 May (1910)
Executive branch:
state president, Executive Council (cabinet), Ministers' Councils (from the
three houses of Parliament)
Legislative branch:
tricameral Parliament (Parlement) consists of the House of Assembly
(Volksraad; whites), House of Representatives (Raad van Verteenwoordigers;
Coloreds), and House of Delegates (Raad van Afgevaardigdes; Indians)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
State President Frederik W. DE KLERK (since 13 September 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
white political parties and leaders:
National Party (NP), Frederik W. DE KLERK (majority party); Conservative
Party (CP), Dr. Andries P. TREURNICHT (official opposition party);
Democratic Party (DP), Zach DE BEER
Colored political parties and leaders:
Labor Party (LP), Allan HENDRICKSE (majority party); Freedom Party; note -
the Democratic Reform Party (DRP) and the United Democratic Party (UDP) were
disbanded in May 1991
Indian political parties and leaders:
Solidarity, J. N. REDDY (majority party); National People's Party (NPP),
Amichand RAJBANSI; Merit People's Party
Suffrage:
universal at age 18, but voting rights are racially based
Elections:
House of Assembly (whites):
last held 6 September 1989 (next to be held by NA March 1995); results - NP
58%, CP 23%, DP 19%; seats - (178 total, 166 elected) NP 103, CP 41, DP 34;
note - by February 1992 because of byelections, changes in number of seats
held by parties were as follows: NP 102, CP 42, DP 33, vacant 1
House of Representatives (Coloreds):
last held 6 September 1989 (next to be held no later than March 1995);
results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (85 total, 80 elected) LP 69,
DRP 5, UDP 3, Freedom Party 1, independents 2; note - since the National
Party became multiracial, by February 1992 many representatives from other
parties have changed their allegiance causing the following changes in
seating: LP 39, NP 38, Freedom Party 1, independents 7
:South Africa Government
House of Delegates (Indians):
last held 6 September 1989 (next to be held no later than March 1995);
results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (45 total, 40 elected)
Solidarity 16, NPP 9, Merit People's Party 3, independents 6, other 6; note
- due to delegates changing party affiliation, seating as of February 1992
is as follows: Solidarity 25, NPP 7, Merit People's Party 2, other 5,
independents 5, vacancy 1
Communists:
South African Communist Party, Chris HANI, secretary general, and Joe SLOVO,
national chairman
Other political or pressure groups:
African National Congress (ANC), Nelson MANDELA, president; Inkatha Freedom
Party (IFP), Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president; Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC),
Clarence MAKWETU, president
Member of:
BIS, CCC, ECA, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO (suspended), ICC, IDA, IFC, IMF,
INTELSAT, ISO, ITU (suspended), LORCS, SACU, UN, UNCTAD, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO (suspended)
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Harry SCHWARZ; Chancery at 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-4400; there are South African
Consulates General in Beverly Hills (California), Chicago, Houston, and New
York
US:
Ambassador William L. SWING; Embassy at Thibault House, 225 Pretorius
Street, Pretoria; telephone [27] (12) 28-4266, FAX [27] (12) 21-92-78; there
are US Consulates General in Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg
Flag:
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 UK adjoining on the hoist side and a horizontal flag of the old
Transvaal Republic adjoining on the other side
:South Africa 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, lack of job
skills, and barriers to movement into higher-paying fields. Inputs and
outputs thus do not move smoothly into the most productive employments, and
the effectiveness of the market is further lowered by international
constraints on dealings with South Africa. The main strength of the economy
lies in its rich mineral resources, which provide two-thirds of exports.
Average growth of less than 2% in output in recent years falls far short of
the 5% to 6% level needed to absorb some 300,000 new entrants to the labor
force annually. Economic developments in the 1990s will be driven partly by
the changing relations among the various ethnic groups.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $104 billion, per capita $2,600; real growth rate
- 0.5% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
15.7% (March 1992)
Unemployment rate:
40% (1991); well over 50% in some homeland areas (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $29.4 billion; expenditures $35.0 billion, including capital
expenditures of $1.1 billion (FY93 est.)
Exports:
$24.0 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
gold 25-30%, minerals and metals 20-25%, food 5%, chemicals 3%
partners:
Italy, Japan, US, FRG, UK, other EC members, Hong Kong
Imports:
$18.8 billion (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities:
machinery 32%, transport equipment 15%, chemicals 11%, oil, textiles,
scientific instruments, base metals
partners:
FRG, Japan, UK, US, Italy
External debt:
$19.0 billion (December 1991)
Industrial production:
growth rate NA%; accounts for about 40% of GDP
Electricity:
46,000,000 kW capacity; 180,000 million kWh produced, 4,100 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile
assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemical,
fertilizer, foodstuffs
Agriculture:
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
Economic aid:
NA
Currency:
rand (plural - rand); 1 rand (R) = 100 cents