1993 Edition

Area

total area: 1,221,040 km2 land area: 1,221,040 km2 comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas note: includes Walvis Bay, Marion Island, and Prince Edward Island

Climate

mostly semiarid; subtropical along coast; sunny days, cool nights

Coastline

2,881 km

Environment

lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures

International disputes

claim by Namibia to Walvis Bay exclave and 12 offshore islands administered by South Africa; South Africa and Namibia have agreed to jointly administer the area for an interim period; the terms and dates to be covered by joint administration arrangements have not been established at this time; and Namibia will continue to maintain a claim to sovereignty over the entire area

Irrigated land

11,280 km2 (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 4,973 km, Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 1,078 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km

Land use

arable land: 10% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 65% forest and woodland: 3% other: 21%

Location

Southern Africa, at the extreme southern tip of the continent

Map references

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

continental shelf: 200 m depth or to depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

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

Note

Walvis Bay is an exclave of South Africa in Namibia; South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland

Terrain

vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain

Birth rate

33.77 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

7.65 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6%

Infant mortality rate

48.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force

13.4 million economically active (1990) by occupation: services 55%, agriculture 10%, industry 20%, mining 9%, other 6%

Languages

Afrikaans (official), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa, North Sotho, South Sotho, Tswana, and many other vernacular languages

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 64.81 years male: 62.07 years female: 67.63 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1980) total population: 76% male: 78% female: 75%

Nationality

noun: South African(s) adjective: South African

Net migration rate

0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

42,792,804 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

2.63% (1993 est.)

Religions

Christian (most whites and Coloreds and about 60% of blacks), Hindu (60% of Indians), Muslim 20%

Total fertility rate

4.4 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Abbreviation

RSA

Administrative divisions

4 provinces; Cape, Natal, Orange Free State, Transvaal; there are 10 homelands not recognized by the US - 4 independent (Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, Venda) and 6 other (Gazankulu, Kangwane, KwaNdebele, KwaZulu, Lebowa, QwaQwa)

Capital

Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judicial)

Chief of State and Head of Government

State President Frederik Willem DE KLERK (since 13 September 1989)

Colored political parties and leaders (see Note)

Labor Party (LP), Allan HENDRICKSE (majority party); National Party (NP); Democratic Party (DP); Freedom Party

Constitution

3 September 1984

Digraph

SF

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Harry SCHWARZ chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 232-4400 consulates general: Beverly Hills (California), Chicago, Houston, and New York

Executive branch

state president, Executive Council (cabinet), Ministers' Councils (from the three houses of Parliament)

FAX

[27] (12) 21-9278 consulates general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg

Flag

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

House of Assembly (whites)

last held 6 September 1989 (next to be held by NA March 1995); results - NP 58%, CP 23%, DP 19%; seats - (178 total, 166 elected) NP 103, CP 41, DP 34; note - by February 1992, because of byelections, splits, and defections,

DP 28, AVU 5, independent 7

changes in number of seats held by parties were as follows

NP 102, CP 36,

House of Delegates (Indians)

last held 6 September 1989 (next to be held no later than March 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (45 total, 40 elected) Solidarity 16, NPP 9, Merit People's Party 3, independents 6, other 6; note - due to delegates changing party affiliation, seating as of October 1992

independents 3 note: tentative agreement to hold national election open to all races for a 400-seat constitutient assembly on 27 April 1994

is as follows

Solidarity 25, NPP 7, Merit People's Party 2, other 8,

House of Representatives (Coloreds)

last held 6 September 1989 (next to be held no later than March 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (85 total, 80 elected) LP 69, DRP 5, UDP 3, Freedom Party 1, independents 2; note - by October 1992 many representatives had changed their allegiance causing the following changes

in seating

NP 44, LP 27, DP 6, Freedom Party 1, independents 6, vacant 1

Independence

31 May 1910 (from UK)

Indian political parties and leaders

Solidarity, J. N. REDDY (majority party); National People's Party (NPP), Amichand RAJBANSI; Merit People's Party note: the Democratic Reform Party (DRP) and the United Democratic Party (UDP) were disbanded in May 1991

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Legal system

based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch

tricameral Parliament (Parlement) consists of the House of Assembly (Volksraad; whites), House of Representatives (Raad van Verteenwoordigers; Coloreds), and House of Delegates (Raad van Afgevaardigdes; Indians)

Member of

BIS, CCC, ECA, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO (suspended), ICC, IDA, IFC, IMF, INTELSAT, ISO, ITU (suspended), LORCS, SACU, UN, UNCTAD, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO (suspended)

Names

conventional long form: Republic of South Africa conventional short form: South Africa

National holiday

Republic Day, 31 May (1910)

Other political or pressure groups

African National Congress (ANC), Nelson MANDELA, president; Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president; Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), Clarence MAKWETU, president

Political parties and leaders

white political parties and leaders: National Party (NP), Frederik W. DE KLERK (majority party); Conservative Party (CP), leader NA (official opposition party); Democratic Party (DP), Zach DE BEER; Afrikaner Volksunie (AVU), Andries BEYERS

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal, but voting rights are racially based

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Princeton N. LYMAN embassy: Thibault House, 225 Pretorius Street, Pretoria telephone: [27] (12) 28-4266

Agriculture

accounts for about 5% of GDP and 30% of labor force; diversified agriculture, with emphasis on livestock; products - cattle, poultry, sheep, wool, milk, beef, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; self-sufficient in food

Budget

revenues $28 billion; expenditures $36 billion, including capital expenditures of $3 billion (FY93 est.)

Currency

1 rand (R) = 100 cents

Economic aid

NA

Electricity

46,000,000 kW capacity; 180,000 million kWh produced, 4,100 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

rand (R) per US$1 - 3.1576 (May 1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991), 2.5863 (1990), 2.6166 (1989), 2.2611 (1988)

Exports

$23.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: gold 27%, other minerals and metals 20-25%, food 5%, chemicals 3% partners: Italy, Japan, US, Germany, UK, other EC countries, Hong Kong

External debt

$18 billion (1992 est.)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Imports

$18.2 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: machinery 32%, transport equipment 15%, chemicals 11%, oil, textiles, scientific instruments partners: Germany, Japan, UK, US, Italy

Industrial production

growth rate NA%; accounts for about 40% of GDP

Industries

mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemical, fertilizer, foodstuffs

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

13.9% (1992)

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $115 billion (1992)

National product per capita

$2,800 (1992)

National product real growth rate

-2% (1992)

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 in the 1990s will be driven partly by the changing relations among the various ethnic groups. The shrinking economy in recent years has absorbed less than 10% 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.

Unemployment rate

45% (well over 50% in some homeland areas) (1992 est.)

Airports

total: 899 usable: 713 with permanent-surface runways: 136 with runways over 3,659 m: 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 10 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 221

Highways

188,309 km total; 54,013 km paved, 134,296 km crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth

Merchant marine

5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 213,708 GRT/201,043 DWT; includes 4 container, 1 vehicle carrier

Pipelines

crude oil 931 km, petroleum products 1,748 km, natural gas 322 km

Ports

Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Richard's Bay, Saldanha, Mosselbaai, Walvis Bay

Railroads

20,638 km route distance total; 20,324 km of 1.067-meter gauge trackage (counts double and multiple tracking as single track); 314 km of 610 mm gauge; substantial electrification of 1.067 meter gauge

Telecommunications

the system is the best developed, most modern, and has the highest capacity in Africa; it consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, radio relay links, fiber optic cable, and radiocommunication stations; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria; over 4,500,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 14 AM, 286 FM, 67 TV; 1 submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT

Branches

South African Defense Force (SADF; including Army, Navy, Air Force, Medical Services), South African Police (SAP)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $2.9 billion, about 2.5% of GDP (FY93 budget)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 10,294,211; fit for military service 6,279,190; reach military age (18) annually 425,477 (1993 est.); obligation for service in Citizen Force or Commandos begins at 18; black and white volunteers for service in permanent force must be 17; national service obligation for white conscripts is one year; figures include the so-called homelands not recognized by the US