Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: African National Congress (ANC), Nelson MANDELA, president; National Party (NP), Frederik W. DE KLERK, president; Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president; Freedom Front (FF), Constand VILJOEN, president; Democratic Party (DP); Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Clarence MAKWETU, president; African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), leader NA note: in addition to these seven parties which received seats in the National Assembly, twelve other parties won votes in the national elections in April 1994
Other political or pressure groups: NA;;
Member of: BIS, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM,
IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO,
ITU, NAM, OAU, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Franklin SONN chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400 consulate(s) general: Beverly Hills (California), Chicago, and New York
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Princeton N. LYMAN embassy: 877 Pretorius St., Arcadia 0083 mailing address: P.O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001 telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048 FAX: [27] (12) 342-2244 consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg
Flag: two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated
by a central green band which splits into a horozontal Y, the arms of
which end at the corners of the hoist side, embracing a black isoceles
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
note: prior to 26 April 1994, the flag was 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 for the remainder of the 1990s will be driven largely by the new government's attempts to improve black living conditions, to set the country on an aggressive export-led growth path, and to cut back the enormous numbers of unemployed. The economy in recent years has absorbed less than 5% 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, much less reduce the accumulated total.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $194.3 billion (1994 est.)