*South Africa, Geography

Location:
  Southern Africa, at the extreme southern tip of the continent
Map references:   Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
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
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
Coastline:
  2,881 km
Maritime claims:
 continental shelf:
  200 m depth or to depth of exploitation
 exclusive fishing zone:
  200 nm
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
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
Climate:
  mostly semiarid; subtropical along coast; sunny days, cool nights
Terrain:
  vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
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:
  10%
 permanent crops:
  1%
 meadows and pastures:
  65%
 forest and woodland:
  3%
 other:
  21%
Irrigated land:
  11,280 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
  lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water
  conservation and control measures
Note:
  Walvis Bay is an exclave of South Africa in Namibia; South Africa completely
  surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland

*South Africa, People

Population:
  42,792,804 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  2.63% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  33.77 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  7.65 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  48.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  64.81 years
 male:
  62.07 years
 female:
  67.63 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  4.4 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  South African(s)
 adjective:
  South African
Ethnic divisions:
  black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6%
Religions:
  Christian (most whites and Coloreds and about 60% of blacks), Hindu (60% of
  Indians), Muslim 20%
Languages:
  Afrikaans (official), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa, North Sotho, South
  Sotho, Tswana, and many other vernacular languages
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
 total population:
  76%
 male:
  78%
 female:
  75%
Labor force:
  13.4 million economically active (1990)
 by occupation:
  services 55%, agriculture 10%, industry 20%, mining 9%, other 6%

*South Africa, Government

Names:  conventional long form:
  Republic of South Africa
 conventional short form:
  South Africa
Abbreviation:
  RSA
Digraph:
  SF
Type:
  republic
Capital:
  Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judicial)
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)
Independence:
  31 May 1910 (from UK)
Constitution:
  3 September 1984
Legal system:
  based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ
  jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday:
  Republic Day, 31 May (1910)
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
 Colored political parties and leaders (see Note):
  Labor Party (LP), Allan HENDRICKSE (majority party); National Party (NP);
  Democratic Party (DP); Freedom Party
 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
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
Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal, but voting rights are racially based
Elections:
 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,
  changes in number of seats held by parties were as follows: NP 102, CP 36,
  DP 28, AVU 5, independent 7

*South Africa, Government

 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
 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
  is as follows: Solidarity 25, NPP 7, Merit People's Party 2, other 8,
  independents 3
 note:
  tentative agreement to hold national election open to all races for a
  400-seat constitutient assembly on 27 April 1994
Executive branch:
  state president, Executive Council (cabinet), Ministers' Councils (from the
  three houses of Parliament)
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)
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court
Leaders:
 Chief of State and Head of Government:
  State President Frederik Willem DE KLERK (since 13 September 1989)
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)
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
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Princeton N. LYMAN
 embassy:
  Thibault House, 225 Pretorius Street, Pretoria
 telephone:
  [27] (12) 28-4266
 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

*South Africa, Economy

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.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $115 billion (1992)
National product real growth rate:
  -2% (1992)
National product per capita:
  $2,800 (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  13.9% (1992)
Unemployment rate:
  45% (well over 50% in some homeland areas) (1992 est.)
Budget:
  revenues $28 billion; expenditures $36 billion, including capital
  expenditures of $3 billion (FY93 est.)
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
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
External debt:
  $18 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate NA%; accounts for about 40% of GDP
Electricity:
  46,000,000 kW capacity; 180,000 million kWh produced, 4,100 kWh per capita
  (1991)
Industries:   mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile
  assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemical,
  fertilizer, foodstuffs
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
Economic aid:
  NA
Currency:
  1 rand (R) = 100 cents

*South Africa, Economy

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)
Fiscal year:
  1 April - 31 March

*South Africa, Communications

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
Highways:
  188,309 km total; 54,013 km paved, 134,296 km crushed stone, gravel, or
  improved earth
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
Merchant marine:
  5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 213,708 GRT/201,043 DWT; includes 4
  container, 1 vehicle carrier
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
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

*South Africa, Defense Forces

Branches:
  South African Defense Force (SADF; including Army, Navy, Air Force, Medical
  Services), South African Police (SAP)
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
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $2.9 billion, about 2.5% of GDP (FY93 budget)