Currency: rand (ZAR)
Currency code: ZAR
Exchange rates: rand per US dollar - 7.60 (March 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
South Africa Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 5.075 million (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: over 2,000,000 (1999)
Telephone system: general assessment: 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 (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean)