South Africa
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Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of modern day South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the East, founding the city of Cape Town. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902); however, the British and the Afrikaners, as the Boers became known, ruled together under the Union of South Africa. In 1948, the National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The first multi-racial elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid and ushered in black majority rule. |
Geography
| Location: | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa |
| Geographic coordinates: | 29 00 S, 24 00 E |
| Map references: | Africa |
| Area: | total: 1,219,912 sq km |
| land: 1,219,912 sq km | |
| note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island) | |
| Area - comparative: | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
| Land boundaries: | total: 4,862 km |
| Border countries: | Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km |
| Coastline: | 2,798 km |
| Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm |
| Climate: | mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights |
| Terrain: | vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain |
| Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m |
| highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m | |
| 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: 12.1% |
| permanent crops: 0.79% | |
| other: 87.11% | |
| Irrigated land: | 14,980 sq km |
| Total renewable water resources: | 50 cu km |
| Natural hazards: | prolonged droughts |
| Environment - current issues: | lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification |
| Geography - note: | South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland |
People
| Population: | 48,782,756 |
| Nationality: | South African(s) |
| Ethnic groups: | black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% |
| Religions: | Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% |
| Languages: | IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% |
| Literacy: | total population: 86.4% |
Government
| Country name: |
long form: Republic of South Africa |
| Government type: |
republic |
| Capital: |
Pretoria (administrative capital) Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital) |
| Independence: |
31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 31 May 1961 (republic declared) 27 April 1994 (majority rule) |
| National holiday: |
Freedom Day, 27 April (1994) |
| Constitution: | 10 December 1996; this new constitution entered into effect on 4 February 1997 |
| Legal system: |
based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal |
| Flag description: | two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band that splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles 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 |
Economy
| Economy - overview: | South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; and modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. Growth has been robust since 2004, as South Africa has reaped the benefits of macro-economic stability and a global commodities boom. Unemployment remains high and outdated infrastructure has constrained growth. |
| Agriculture - products: |
corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products |
| Industries: | mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair |
| Currency (code): | Rand (ZAR) |
Communications
| Telephone system: | general assessment: the system is the best developed and most modern in Africa domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is nearly 110 telephones per 100 persons; international: country code - 27 |
| Internet country code: | .za |
Transportation
| Airports: | 728 |
| Railways: | 20, 872km |
| Roadways: | 362,099 km |
| paved: 73,506 km (includes 239 km of expressways) | |
| unpaved: 288,593 km | |
| Merchant marine: | 3 |
| Ports and terminals: | Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay |
Military
| Military branches: |
South African National Defense Force (SANDF): South African Army, South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), Joint Operations Command, Military Intelligence, Military Health Services (2008) |
Transnational Issues
| Disputes - international: | South Africa has placed military along the border to apprehend the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing economic dysfunction and political persecution; as of January 2007, South Africa also supports large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers; managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa |
