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Background Note: South Africa

PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of South
Africa
Geography
Area: 1.2 million sq. km. (470,462 sq. mi.).
Cities: Capitals--Administrative, Pretoria;
Legislative, Cape Town; Judicial, Bloemfontein. Other cities--Johannesburg,
Durban, Port Elizabeth.
Terrain: Plateau, savanna, desert, mountains, coastal plains.
Climate: moderate; similar to southern California.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--South African(s).
Annual growth rate (2004 World Bank Group): 0.8%.
Population (2004, 46.6 million): Composition--black
79%; white 9.6%; colored 8.9%; Asian (Indian) 2.5%. Official
figures from 2000 South African Census at
http://www.statssa.gov.za/.
Languages: Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu,
Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga (all
official languages).
Religions: Predominantly Christian; traditional African, Hindu,
Muslim, Jewish.
Education: Years compulsory--7-15 years of age for all
children. The South African Schools Act, Act 84 of 1996, passed
by Parliament in 1996, aims to achieve greater educational
opportunities for black children, mandating a single syllabus
and more equitable funding for schools.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2000)--59 per live
births. Life expectancy--52 yrs. women; 50 yrs. men.
Health data from 2000 U.S. Census Report: HIV/AIDS Country
Profiles at
http://www.census.gov/ipc/hiv/safrica.pdf.
Government
Type: Parliamentary democracy.
Independence: The Union of South Africa was created on May 31,
1910; became sovereign state within British Empire in 1934;
became a republic on May 31, 1961; left the Commonwealth in
October 1968; rejoined the Commonwealth in June 1994.
Constitution: Entered into force February 3, 1997.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state) elected
to a 5-year term by the National Assembly. Legislative--bicameral
Parliament consisting of 490 members in two chambers. National
Assembly (400 members) elected by a system of proportional
representation. National Council of Provinces consisting of 90
delegates (10 from each province) and 10 nonvoting delegates
representing local government. Judicial--Constitutional
Court interprets and decides constitutional issues; Supreme
Court of Appeal is the highest court for interpreting and
deciding nonconstitutional matters.
Administrative subdivisions: Nine provinces: Eastern Cape, Free
State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern
Cape, Limpopo, Western Cape.
Political parties: African National Congress (ANC), Democratic
Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Vryheidsfront
Plus/Freedom Front Plus (FF+), Pan-African Congress (PAC),
African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), United Democratic
Movement (UDM), and Azanian Peoples Organization (Azapo).
Suffrage: Citizens and permanent residents 18 and older.
Economy
GDP (2004): $213 billion. 2004 GDP at market prices (baseline
year 2000)--1.374 billion rand (R).
Real GDP growth rate (2004): 3.7%.
GDP per capita (2004): $3,480.
Unemployment (September 2004): 27.8%.
Natural resources: Almost all essential commodities, except
petroleum products and bauxite. Only country in the world that
manufactures fuel from coal.
Industry: Types--minerals, mining, motor vehicles and
parts, machinery, textiles, chemicals, fertilizer, information
technology, electronics, other manufacturing, and agroprocessing.
Trade (2004): Exports--$36.3 billion (2003 merchandise
exports R256 billion; 2003 gold exports R35 billion): gold,
other minerals and metals, agricultural products, motor vehicles
and parts. Major markets--U.K., U.S., Germany, Italy,
Japan, East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa. Imports--$34
billion (2003 merchandise imports R263 billion): machinery,
transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, textiles,
and scientific instruments. Major suppliers--Germany,
U.S., Japan, U.K., Italy.
GDP composition (2003): Agriculture and mining (primary
sector)--11%; industry (secondary sector)--24%;
services (tertiary sector)--65%. World's largest producer
of platinum, gold, and chromium; also significant coal
production.
PEOPLE
Until 1991, South African law divided the population into four
major racial categories: Africans (black), whites, coloreds, and
Asians. Although this law has been abolished, many South
Africans still view themselves and each other according to these
categories. Black Africans comprise about 79% of the population
and are divided into a number of different ethnic groups. Whites
comprise about 10% of the population. They are primarily
descendants of Dutch, French, English, and German settlers who
began arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the late 17th
century. Coloreds are mixed-race people primarily descending
from the earliest settlers and the indigenous peoples. They
comprise about 9% of the total population. Asians descend from
Indian workers brought to South Africa in the mid-19th century
to work on the sugar estates in Natal. They constitute about
2.5% of the population and are concentrated in the KwaZulu-Natal
Province. |