CIA - The World Factbook

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 (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902); however, the British and the Afrikaners, as the Boers became known, 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 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 brought an end to apartheid and 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, which has grown in recent years, came to a head in September 2008 when President Thabo MBEKI resigned, and Kgalema MOTLANTHE, the party's General-Secretary, succeeded him as interim president. Jacob ZUMA became president after the ANC won general elections in April 2009.

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

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

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

vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain

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

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

South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland

19.61 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

16.99 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

-3.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population

2.33 children born/woman (2010 est.)

5.7 million (2007 est.)

black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001 census)

Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census)

IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census)

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

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)

10 December 1996; note - certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996; was signed by then President MANDELA on 10 December 1996; and entered into effect on 4 February 1997

based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Council of Provinces (90 seats; 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities) and the National Assembly (400 seats; members elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms)

Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts

African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE]; African National Congress or ANC [Jacob ZUMA]; Congress of the People or COPE [Mosiuoa LEKOTA]; Democratic Alliance or DA [Helen ZILLE]; Freedom Front Plus or FF+ [Pieter MULDER]; Independent Democrats or ID [Patricia DE LILLE]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Motsoko PHEKO]; United Christian Democratic Party or UCDP [Lucas MANGOPE]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA]

Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [Zwelinzima VAVI, general secretary]; South African Communist Party or SACP [Blade NZIMANDE, general secretary]; South African National Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi HLONGWANE, national president]

ACP, AfDB, AU, BIS, C, CD, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, NSG, OPCW, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

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

South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that is 18th largest in the world; and modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. At the end of 2007, South Africa began to experience an electricity crisis. State power supplier Eskom encountered problems with aged plants, necessitating "load-shedding" cuts to residents and businesses in the major cities. Growth was robust from 2004 to 2008 as South Africa reaped the benefits of macroeconomic stability and a global commodities boom, but began to slow in the second half of 2008 due to the global financial crisis' impact on commodity prices and demand. GDP fell nearly 2% in 2009. Unemployment remains high and outdated infrastructure has constrained growth. Daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era - especially poverty, lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups, and a shortage of public transportation. South Africa's former economic policy was fiscally conservative, focusing on controlling inflation, and attaining a budget surplus. The current government largely follows the same prudent policies, but must contend with the impact of the global crisis and is facing growing pressure from special interest groups to use state-owned enterprises to deliver basic services to low-income areas and to increase job growth. More than one-quarter of South Africa's population currently receives social grants.

$495.1 billion (2009 est.)

$504.2 billion (2008 est.)

$486.2 billion (2007 est.)

$280.6 billion (2009 est.)

17.32 million economically active (2009 est.)

20.6% of GDP (2009 est.)

35.7% of GDP (2009 est.)

31.6% of GDP (2008 est.)

11.5% (31 December 2008)

11% (31 December 2007)

15.13% (31 December 2008)

13.17% (31 December 2007)

$44.66 billion (31 December 2008)

$58.49 billion (31 December 2007)

$124.1 billion (31 December 2008)

$141.9 billion (31 December 2007)

$214.8 billion (31 December 2008)

$254.9 billion (31 December 2007)

$491.3 billion (31 December 2008)

$833.5 billion (31 December 2007)

$715 billion (31 December 2006)

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

240.3 billion kWh (2007 est.)

215.1 billion kWh (2007 est.)

14.16 billion kWh (2008 est.)

10.57 billion kWh (2008 est.)

195,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

583,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

128,500 bbl/day (2007 est.)

490,500 bbl/day (2007 est.)

15 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

3.25 billion cu m (2008 est.)

6.45 billion cu m (2008 est.)

3.2 billion cu m (2008 est.)

27.16 million cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

-$15.6 billion (2009 est.)

-$20.98 billion (2008 est.)

$67.93 billion (2009 est.)

$86.12 billion (2008 est.)

gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment

Japan 11.1%, US 11.1%, Germany 8%, UK 6.8%, China 6%, Netherlands 5.2% (2008)

$70.24 billion (2009 est.)

$90.57 billion (2008 est.)

machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs

Germany 11.2%, China 11%, US 7.8%, Saudi Arabia 6.2%, Japan 5.5% (2008)

$37.41 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$34.07 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$73.84 billion (30 June 2009)

$71.81 billion (31 December 2008)

$125.7 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$120 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$65.07 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$63.57 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

rand (ZAR) per US dollar - 8.54 (2009), 7.9576 (2008), 7.05 (2007), 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005)

4.425 million (2008)

AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998)

556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997)

4.187 million (2008)

condensate 11 km; gas 908 km; oil 980 km; refined products 1,379 km (2009)

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

South African National Defense Force (SANDF): South African Army, South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), Joint Operations Command, Military Intelligence, South African Military Health Services (2009)

18 years of age for voluntary military service; women are eligible to serve in noncombat roles; 2-year service obligation (2007)

with the end of apartheid and the establishment of majority rule, former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces were integrated into the South African National Defense Force (SANDF); as of 2003 the integration process was considered complete

South Africa has placed military along the border to apprehend the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing economic dysfunction and political persecution; as of January 2007, South Africa also supports large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (33,000), Somalia (20,000), Burundi (6,500), and other states in Africa (26,000); managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa

transshipment center for heroin, hashish, and cocaine, as well as a major cultivator of marijuana in its own right; cocaine and heroin consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries, but increasingly producing its own synthetic drugs for domestic consumption; attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region and the size of the South African economy