1988 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1988 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Climate
mostly dry desert, subtropical along coast; sunny days, cool nights
Environment
lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures
Ethnic divisions
69.9% black, 17.8% white, 9.4% colored, 2.9% Indian
Infant mortality rate
whites 14.9/1,000 (1982), coloreds 80.6/1,000 (1982), blacks 80.6/1,000 (1982), Asians 25.3/1,000 (1982)
Labor force
11 million economically active (1985); 34% services, 30% agriculture, 29% industry and commerce, 7% mining
Land use
10% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 65% meadows and pastures; 3% forest and woodland; 21% other; includes 1% irrigated
Language
Afrikaans, English (official); many vernacular languages, including Zulu, Xhosa, North and South Sotho, Tswana
Life expectancy
whites 70 years, Asians 66 years, coloreds 59 years, blacks 55 years
Literacy
almost all white population literate; government estimates 50% of blacks literate
Nationality
noun — South African(s); adjective — South African
Organized labor
about 17% of total labor force is unionized (mostly white workers); African unions represent less than 15% of black labor force
Population
34,313,356 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.27%, includes the four nominally independent homelands that are not recognized by the US (Bophuthatswana 1,750,165, average annual growth rate 3.85%; Ciskei 982,982, average annual growth rate 2.62%; Transkei 2,832,345, average annual growth rate 2.70%; Venda 434,395, average annual growth rate 2.72%)
Religion
most whites and coloreds and roughly 60% of blacks are Christian; roughly 60% of Indians are Hindu, 20% Muslim
Special notes
Walvis Bay is almost an enclave of Namibia; Lesotho is an enclave
Terrain
vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
Government
Administrative divisions
4 provinces; 10 homelands (4 independent, 6 dependent) administered in areas set aside for blacks
Branches
state president is chief of state, head of government, and chairman of cabinet; tricameral legislature — House of Assembly (whites), House of Representatives (coloreds), and House of Delegates (Indians) elected directly by respective racial electorates; judiciary maintains substantial independence of government influence
Capital
administrative, Pretoria; legislative, Cape Town; judicial, Bloemfontein
Communists
small Communist Party illegal since 1950; party in exile maintains headquarters in London, Daniel Tloome, (Chairman) and Joe Slovo, (General Secretary)
Elections
must be held at least every five years; last white elections April 1981; last colored and Indian elections August 1984; the next white elections will be held in first half of 1987 Political parties and leaders: White political parties and leaders — National Party, P. W. Botha; Progressive Federal Party, Colin Eglin; New Republic Party, Bill Sutton; Conservative Party, Dr. Andries P. Treurnicht; Herstigte National Party, Jaap Marais; Colored political parties and leaders — Labor Party, Allan Hendrickse (majority party); People's Congress Party, Peter Marais; Indian political parties and leaders — National People's Party, Amichand Rajbansi (majority party); Solidarity, J. N. Reddy
Government leader
Pieter Willem BOTHA, State President (since September 1984)
Legal system
based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Member of
GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IHO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMF, INTELSAT, ISO, ITU, IWC— International Whaling Commission, IWC — International Wheat Council, Southern African Customs Union, UN, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG
National holiday
Republic Day, 31 May
Official name
Republic of South Africa
Other political groups
(insurgent groups in exile) African National Congress (ANC), Oliver Tambo; Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), Zephania Mothopeng
Suffrage
general suffrage limited to whites over 18 (17 in Natal Province) and to coloreds and Indians over 18
Type
republic
Voting strength
white parliamentary seats — National Party, 127; Progressive Federal Party, 27; Conservative Party, 18; New Republic, 5; Herstigte National Party, 1