South Africa

	Pretoria
	54 001 953 (2014)
	1 219 090 km² 470 693 mi²
	3 408 m 11 181 ft Njesuthi

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 Far East, founding the city of Cape Town. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (Afrikaners, called "Boers" (farmers) by the British) trekked north to found their own republics in lands taken from the indigenous black inhabitants. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Afrikaners resisted British encroachments but were defeated in the Second South African War (1899-1902); however, the British and the Afrikaners, ruled together beginning in 1910 under the Union of South Africa, which became a republic in 1961 after a whites-only referendum. In 1948, the Afrikaner-dominated National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races - which favored the white minority at the expense of the black majority. The African National Congress (ANC) led the opposition to apartheid and many top ANC leaders, such as Nelson MANDELA, spent decades in South Africa's prisons. Internal protests and insurgency, as well as boycotts by some Western nations and institutions, led to the regime's eventual willingness to negotiate a peaceful transition to majority rule. The first multi-racial elections in 1994 following the end of apartheid ushered in majority rule under an ANC-led government. South Africa since then has struggled to address apartheid-era imbalances in decent housing, education, and health care. ANC infighting came to a head in 2008 when President Thabo MBEKI was recalled by Parliament, and Deputy President Kgalema MOTLANTHE, succeeded him as interim president. Jacob ZUMA became president after the ANC won general elections in 2009; he was reelected in 2014.

mostly semiarid
subtropical along east coast
sunny days, cool nights

Africa
Southern Africa

Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland

vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain

Njesuthi
3 408 m
11 181 ft

Atlantic Ocean
0 m
0 ft

Njesuthi	Mount Everest

gold
chromium
antimony
coal
iron ore
manganese
nickel
phosphates
tin
rare earth elements
uranium
gem diamonds
platinum
copper
vanadium
salt
natural gas

Prolonged droughts

The volcano forming Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands, which last erupted in 2004, is South Africa's only active volcano

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

1 219 090 km²
470 693 mi²


1 214 470 km² 468 909 mi²	4 620 km² 1 784 mi²


4.03 %	2.73 %	11.98 %	4.93 %	6.83 %	15.85 %	8.71 %	0.24 %

5244 km
3258 mi

Botswana 1969 km/1223 mi
Lesotho 1106 km/687 mi
Mozambique 496 km/308 mi
Namibia 1005 km/624 mi
Swaziland 438 km/272 mi
Zimbabwe 230 km/143 mi

2 798 km/1 739 mi

7.62 %

10.30 %

79.80 %

corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables
beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products

mining (world's largest producer of platinum
gold
chromium)
automobile assembly
metalworking
machinery
textiles
iron and steel
chemicals
fertilizer
foodstuffs
commercial ship repair

54 001 953	+1,58%	50,9 %	49,1 %
	0-14 29,5 %	15-64 65,4 %	65+ 5 %
	44,30 / km² 114,73 / mi²	64,30% 34 722 176	36% 19 279 777
	54,74 yrs	58,83 Years	56,82 Years


4.86 %	1.22 %	7.27 %	10.21 %	13.94 %	143.19 %		0.73 %

IsiZulu (official) 22.7%
IsiXhosa (official) 16%
Afrikaans (official) 13.5%
English (official) 9.6%
Sepedi (official) 9.1%
Setswana (official) 8%
Sesotho (official) 7.6%
Xitsonga (official) 4.5%
SiSwati (official) 2.5%
Tshivenda (official) 2.4%
IsiNdebele (official) 2.1%
Sign language 0.5%
Other 1.6%

Protestant 36.6% (Zionist Christian 11.1%
Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%; Methodist 6.8%
Dutch Reformed 6.7%; Anglican 3.8%)
Catholic 7.1%
Muslim 1.5%
Other Christian 36%
Other 2.3%
Unspecified 1.4%
None 15.1% (2001 census)

Black African 80.2%
White 8.4%
Colored 8.8%
Indian/Asian 2.5%

South Africa

South Africa

Afrique du Sud

República de Sudáfrica

Sud Africa

南アフリカ

Republic

Bicameral Parliament consists of the National Council of Provinces (90 seats; 10-member delegations appointed by each of the 9 provincial legislatures to serve 5-year terms; note - this council has special powers to protect regional interests, including safeguarding cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities) and the National Assembly (400 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms)

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; the flag colors do not have any official symbolism, but the Y stands for the "convergence of diverse elements within South African society, taking the road ahead in unity"; black, yellow, and green are found on the flag of the African National Congress, while red, white, and blue are the colors in the flags of the Netherlands and the UK, whose settlers ruled South Africa during the colonial era	"National Anthem of South Africa"	Springbok (antelope), king protea flower National colors: red, green, blue, yellow, black, white
President Jacob ZUMA (since 9 May 2009) Deputy President Matamela Cyril RAMAPHOSA (since 26 May 2014) note - the president is both chief of state and head of government	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) Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)	ACP, AfDB, AU, BIS, BRICS, C, CD, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-24, G-5, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, NSG, OECD (Enhanced Engagement, OPCW, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Pretoria 25 42 S, 28 13 E UTC+2 Johannesburg 9.399 million Cape Town 3.66 million Durban 2.901 million PRETORIA 2.059 million Port Elizabeth 1.179 million Vereeniging 1.155 million

9 provinces
Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape

566 (2013)

Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay

2.8
beds/1,000 population (2005)

0.78
physicians/1,000 population (2013)

Supreme Court of Appeals (consists of the court president, deputy president, and 21 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of the chief and deputy chief justices and 9 judges)

18 years of age
universal

South African National Defense Force (SANDF)
South African Army, South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), South African Military Health Services (2013)

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 a stock exchange that is AfricaÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s largest and among the top 20 in the world. ++ Even though the country's modern infrastructure supports a relatively efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region, unstable electricity supplies retard growth. Economic growth has decelerated in recent years, slowing to just 1.5% in 2014. Unemployment, poverty, and inequality - among the highest in the world - remain a challenge. Official unemployment is roughly 25% of the work force, and runs significantly higher among black youth. Eskom, the state-run power company, is building three new power stations and is installing new power demand management programs to improve power grid reliability. Load shedding and resulting rolling blackouts gripped many parts of South Africa in late 2014 and early 2015 because of electricity supply constraints that resulted from technical problems at some generation units, unavoidable planned maintenance, and an accident at a power station in Mpumalanga province. The rolling black outs were the worst the country faced since 2008. Construction delays at two additional plants, however, mean South Africa will continue to operate on a razor thin margin; economists judge that growth cannot exceed 3% until electrical supply problems are resolved. ++ South Africa's economic policy has focused on controlling inflation; however, the country faces structural constraints that also limit economic growth, such as skills shortages, declining global competitiveness and frequent work stoppages due to strike action. The current government faces growing pressure from urban constituencies to improve the delivery of basic services to low-income areas and to increase job growth.

704 520 889 157,6
$USD

13 046,2
$USD

+1,52
%


machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs	China 15.5% Germany 10.1% Saudi Arabia 7.2% US 6.7% Nigeria 5.2% India 4.6%	gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment	China 9.5% US 7.1% Japan 5.3% Botswana 5.3% Germany 5% Namibia 5% India 4.1%

rand (ZAR) per US dollar 10.8469 (2014 est.)		6.1% (2014 est.)

747 014 km 464 173 mi	20 986 km 13 040 mi
8 per 100 people country code - 27 the SAT-3/WASC and SAFE fiber-optic submarine cable systems connect South Africa to Europe and Asia	149,68 / 100	49,00 / 100 .za

the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) operates 4 TV stations, 3 are free-to-air and 1 is pay TV
e.tv, a private station, is accessible to more than half the population
multiple subscription TV services provide a mix of local and international channels
well-developed mix of public and private radio stations at the national, regional, and local levels
the SABC radio network, state-owned and controlled but nominally independent, operates 18 stations, one for each of the 11 official languages, 4 community stations, and 3 commercial stations
more than 100 community-based stations extend coverage to rural areas (2007)