South Africa

total: 886 usable: 718 with permanent-surface runways: 140 with runways over 3,659 m: 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 10 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 213

total: 188,309 km paved: 54,013 km unpaved: crushed stone, gravel, improved earth 134,296 km

5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 213,273 GRT/201,043 DWT, container 4, vehicle carrier 1

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

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

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

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

(dependent territory of the UK)

the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services of the former South Africa, the armed forces of the former homelands, and the ANC and PAC military components; the initial strength of the SANDF has been set at about 100,000 active duty members with plans to reduce it to about 40,000 by 1997; it is manned mostly by nonwhites, but the higher officer grades are held by whites; the South African Police (SAP) have incorporated the police forces of the former homelands since the elections of 1994; a National Peacekeeping Force (NPKF) to ensure peaceful proceedures during the 1994 elections was established briefly from the military components of the principal political factions, but was dissolved on 2 June 1994, following the elections.

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

males age 15-49 10,557,346; fit for military service 6,437,240; reach military age (18) annually 431,832 (1994 est.)

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

revenues: $26.3 billion expenditures: $34 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.5 billion (FY94 est.)

1 rand (R) = 100 cents

many aid packages for the new government are still being prepared; current aid pledges include US $600 million over 3 years; UK $150 million over 3 years; Australia $21 million over 3 years

capacity: 46,000,000 kW production: 180 billion kWh consumption per capita: 4,100 kWh (1991)

rand (R) per US$1 - 3.4551 (March 1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991), 2.5863 (1990), 2.6166 (1989)

$24.3 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: gold 27%, other minerals and metals 20-25%, food 5%, chemicals 3% partners: Italy, Japan, US, Germany, UK, other EC countries, Hong Kong

$17 billion (1993 est.)

1 April - 31 March

transshipment center of heroin and cocaine; cocaine consumption on the rise

$18.1 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: machinery 32%, transport equipment 15%, chemicals 11%, oil, textiles, scientific instruments partners: Germany, US, Japan, UK, Italy

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

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

9.7% (1993 est.)

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $171 billion (1993 est.)

$4,000 (1993 est.)

1.1% (1993 est.)

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 for the remainder of the 1990s will be driven largely by the new government's attempts to improve black living conditions and to set the country on an aggressive export-led growth path. The shrinking economy in recent years has absorbed less than 5% 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.

50% (1994 est.)

total area: 1,219,912 sq km land area: 1,219,912 sq km comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)

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

2,798 km

current issues: lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification natural hazards: subject to prolonged droughts international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

the dispute with Namibia over Walvis Bay and 12 offshore islands has been resolved and these territories were transferred to Namibian sovereignty on 1 March 1994; Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom

11,280 sq km (1989 est.)

total 4,750 km, Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 855 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km

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

Southern Africa, at the extreme southern tip of the continent

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

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

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

South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland

vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain

RSA

9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Eastern Transvaal, Kwa Zulu/Natal, Northern Cape, Northern Transvaal, Northwest, Orange Free State, Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging, Western Cape note: previously the administrative divisions consisted of 4 provinces; Cape, Natal, Orange Free State, Transvaal; there were 10 homelands not recognized by the US - 4 independent (Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, Venda) and 6 other (Gazankulu, Kangwane, KwaNdebele, KwaZulu, Lebowa, QwaQwa)

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

27 April 1994 (interim constitution, replacing the constitution of 3 September 1984)

SF

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

chief of state and head of government: Executive President Nelson MANDELA (since 10 May 1994); Deputy Executive President Frederik W. DE KLERK (since 10 May 1994); Deputy Executive President Thabo MBEKI (since 10 May 1994) note: any political party that wins 20% or more of the National Assembly votes in a general election is entitled to name a Deputy Executive President cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the Executive President

[27] (12) 342-2244 or 2299 consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg

two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horozontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side, embracing a black isoceles 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 note: prior to 26 April 1994 the flag was 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

31 May 1910 (from UK)

Supreme Court

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

bicameral

BIS, CCC, ECA, GATT, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO (suspended), ICC, IDA, IFC, IMF, INTELSAT, IOC, ISO, ITU (suspended), LORCS, OAU, SACU, UN, UNCTAD, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO (suspended), ZC

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

elections held 26-29 April 1994 (next to be held NA); results - ANC 62.6%, NP 20.4%, IFP 10.5%, FF 2.2%, DP 1.7%, PAC 1.2%, ACDP 0.5%, other 0.9%; seats - (400 total) ANC 252, NP 82, IFP 43, FF 9, DP 7, PAC 5, ACDP 2

Republic Day, 31 May (1910)

NA;;

African National Congress (ANC), Cyril RAMAPHOSA; National Party (NP), Frederik W. DE KLERK, president; Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president; Freedom Front (FF), Constand VILJOEN, president; Democratic Party (DP); Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Clarence MAKWETU, president; African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) note: in addition to these seven parties which won seats in the National Assembly, twelve other parties won votes in the national elections in April 1994

the Senate is composed of members who are nominated by the nine provincial parliaments (which are elected in parallel with the National Assembly) and has special powers to protect regional interests, including the right to limited self-determination for ethnic minorities; seats - (90 total) ANC 61, NP 17, FF 4, IFP 5, DP 3 note: when the National Assembly meets in joint session with the Senate to consider the provisions of the Constitution, the combined group is referred to as the Constitutional Assembly

18 years of age; universal

republic

chief of mission: Ambassador Princeton N. LYMAN embassy: 877 Pretorius St., Arcadia 0083 mailing address: P.O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001 telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048

33.58 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

7.53 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

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

47.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

13.4 million economically active (1990) by occupation: services 35%, agriculture 30%, industry 20%, mining 9%, other 6%

eleven official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu

total population: 65.11 years male: 62.37 years female: 67.94 years (1994 est.)

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

noun: South African(s) adjective: South African

0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

43,930,631 (July 1994 est.)

2.62% (1994 est.)

Christian (most whites and Coloreds and about 60% of blacks), Hindu (60% of Indians), Muslim 2%

4.37 children born/woman (1994 est.)