*South Africa, Government
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 - by October 1992 many
representatives had changed their allegiance causing the following changes
in seating: NP 44, LP 27, DP 6, Freedom Party 1, independents 6, vacant 1
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 October 1992
is as follows: Solidarity 25, NPP 7, Merit People's Party 2, other 8,
independents 3
note:
tentative agreement to hold national election open to all races for a
400-seat constitutient assembly on 27 April 1994
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 Willem DE KLERK (since 13 September 1989)
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 in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Harry SCHWARZ
chancery:
3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 232-4400
consulates general:
Beverly Hills (California), Chicago, Houston, and New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Princeton N. LYMAN
embassy:
Thibault House, 225 Pretorius Street, Pretoria
telephone:
[27] (12) 28-4266
FAX:
[27] (12) 21-9278
consulates general:
Cape Town, Durban, 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 and lack of
job skills. The main strength of the economy lies in its rich mineral
resources, which provide two-thirds of exports. Economic developments in the
1990s will be driven partly by the changing relations among the various
ethnic groups. The shrinking economy in recent years has absorbed less than
10% of the more than 300,000 workers entering the labor force annually.
Local economists estimate that the economy must grow between 5% and 6% in
real terms annually to absorb all of the new entrants.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $115 billion (1992)
National product real growth rate:
-2% (1992)
National product per capita:
$2,800 (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
13.9% (1992)
Unemployment rate:
45% (well over 50% in some homeland areas) (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues $28 billion; expenditures $36 billion, including capital
expenditures of $3 billion (FY93 est.)
Exports:
$23.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
gold 27%, other minerals and metals 20-25%, food 5%, chemicals 3%
partners:
Italy, Japan, US, Germany, UK, other EC countries, Hong Kong
Imports:
$18.2 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
machinery 32%, transport equipment 15%, chemicals 11%, oil, textiles,
scientific instruments
partners:
Germany, Japan, UK, US, Italy
External debt:
$18 billion (1992 est.)
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:
1 rand (R) = 100 cents
*South Africa, Economy
Exchange rates:
rand (R) per US$1 - 3.1576 (May 1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991), 2.5863
(1990), 2.6166 (1989), 2.2611 (1988)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March
*South Africa, Communications
Railroads:
20,638 km route distance total; 20,324 km of 1.067-meter gauge trackage
(counts double and multiple tracking as single track); 314 km of 610 mm
gauge; substantial electrification of 1.067 meter gauge
Highways:
188,309 km total; 54,013 km paved, 134,296 km crushed stone, gravel, or
improved earth
Pipelines:
crude oil 931 km, petroleum products 1,748 km, natural gas 322 km
Ports:
Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Richard's Bay, Saldanha, Mosselbaai,
Walvis Bay
Merchant marine:
5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 213,708 GRT/201,043 DWT; includes 4
container, 1 vehicle carrier
Airports:
total:
899
usable:
713
with permanent-surface runways:
136
with runways over 3,659 m:
5
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
10
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
221
Telecommunications: the system is the best developed, most modern, and has the highest capacity
in Africa; it consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables,
radio relay links, fiber optic cable, and radiocommunication stations; key
centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth,
and Pretoria; over 4,500,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 14 AM, 286 FM,
67 TV; 1 submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT
and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
*South Africa, Defense Forces
Branches:
South African Defense Force (SADF; including Army, Navy, Air Force, Medical
Services), South African Police (SAP)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 10,294,211; fit for military service 6,279,190; reach
military age (18) annually 425,477 (1993 est.); obligation for service in
Citizen Force or Commandos begins at 18; black and white volunteers for
service in permanent force must be 17; national service obligation for white
conscripts is one year; figures include the so-called homelands not
recognized by the US
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $2.9 billion, about 2.5% of GDP (FY93 budget)