SOUTH AFRICA                                                                    
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 1,221,040 km2; land area: 1,221,040 km2; includes                   
Walvis Bay, Marion Island, and Prince Edward Island                             
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas                    
                                                                                
Land boundaries: 4,973 km total; 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                                                          
                                                                                
Disputes: claim by Namibia to Walvis Bay exclave and 12 offshore                
islands administered by South Africa                                            
                                                                                
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%; includes irrigated 1%          
                                                                                
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                                                             
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 40,600,518 (July 1991), growth rate 2.7% (1991);                    
includes the 10 so-called homelands, which are not recognized by the US;        
                                                                                
four independent homelands--Bophuthatswana 2,419,515, growth rate               
2.83%; Ciskei 1,056,552, growth rate 2.96%; Transkei 4,553,994, growth          
rate 4.16%; Venda 691,273, growth rate 3.83%;                                   
                                                                                
six other homelands--Gazankulu 772,532, growth rate 3.98%; Kangwane             
576,573, growth rate 3.62%; KwaNdebele 360,582, growth rate 3.38%;              
KwaZulu 5,546,082, growth rate 3.60%; Lebowa 2,812,630, growth rate             
3.91%; QwaQwa 277,957, growth rate 3.60%                                        
                                                                                
Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)                       
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 51 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 61 years male, 67 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 4.4 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--South African(s); adjective--South African                   
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%,                       
Indian 2.6%                                                                     
                                                                                
Religion: most whites and Coloreds and about 60% of blacks are                  
Christian; about 60% of Indians are Hindu; Muslim 20%                           
                                                                                
Language: Afrikaans, English (both official); many vernacular                   
languages, including Zulu, Xhosa, North and South Sotho, Tswana                 
                                                                                
Literacy: 76% (male 78%, female 75%) age 15 and over can                        
read and write (1980)                                                           
                                                                                
Labor force: 11,000,000 economically active (1989); services 34%,               
agriculture 30%, industry and commerce 29%, mining 7% (1985)                    
                                                                                
Organized labor: about 17% of total labor force is unionized;                   
African unions represent 15% of black labor force                               
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: Republic of South Africa; abbreviated RSA                       
                                                                                
Type: republic                                                                  
                                                                                
Capital: administrative, Pretoria; legislative, Cape Town;                      
judicial, Bloemfontein                                                          
                                                                                
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)                                   
                                                                                
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 W. DE KLERK (since 13 September 1989)                                  
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders:                                                  
white political parties and leaders--National Party (NP), Frederik              
W. DE KLERK (majority party);                                                   
Conservative Party (CP), Dr. Andries P. TREURNICHT (official opposition         
party);                                                                         
Herstigte National Party (HNP), Jaap MARAIS;                                    
Democratic Party (DP), Zach DE BEER;                                            
                                                                                
Colored political parties and leaders--Labor Party (LP), Allan                  
HENDRICKSE (majority party);                                                    
Democratic Reform Party (DRP), Carter EBRAHIM;                                  
United Democratic Party (UDP), Jac RABIE;                                       
Freedom Party;                                                                  
                                                                                
Indian political parties and leaders--Solidarity, J. N. REDDY                   
(majority party);                                                               
National People's Party (NPP), Amichand RAJBANSI;                               
Merit People's Party                                                            
                                                                                
Suffrage: universal at age 18, but voting rights are racially based             
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
House of Assembly (whites)--last held 6 September 1989 (next to                 
be held by March 1995);                                                         
results--NP 58%, CP 23%, DP 19%;                                                
seats--(178 total, 166 elected) NP 103, CP 41, DP 34;                           
                                                                                
House of Representatives (Coloreds)--last held 6 September 1989                 
(next to be held by September 1994);                                            
results--percent of vote by party NA;                                           
seats--(85 total, 80 elected) LP 69, DRP 5, UDP 3, Freedom Party 1,             
independents 2;                                                                 
                                                                                
House of Delegates (Indians)--last held 6 September 1989                        
(next to be held by September 1994);                                            
results--percent of vote by party NA;                                           
seats--(45 total, 40 elected) Solidarity 16, NPP 9, Merit People's              
Party 3, United Party 2, Democratic Party 2, People's Party 1,                  
National Federal Party 1, independents 6                                        
                                                                                
Communists: small Communist party legalized in 1990 after                       
30-year ban, Daniel TLOOME, chairman, and Joe SLOVO, general secretary          
                                                                                
Other political or pressure groups:                                             
African National Congress (ANC), Nelson MANDELA, president;                     
Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), Clarence MAKWETU, president                      
                                                                                
Member of: BIS, CCC, ECA, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFC,                
IMF, INTELSAT, ISO, ITU, LORCS, SACU, UN, UNCTAD, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,              
WMO (suspended)                                                                 
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Harry SCHWARZ;                            
Chancery at 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;                  
telephone (202) 232-4400; there are South African Consulates General            
in Beverly Hills (California), Chicago, Houston, and New York;                  
                                                                                
US--Ambassador William L. SWING; Embassy at Thibault House,                     
225 Pretorius Street, Pretoria; telephone  27  (12) 28-4266; there are          
US Consulates General in Cape Town, Durban, and 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       
                                                                                
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, lack of job skills, and barriers to              
movement into higher-paying fields. Inputs and outputs thus do not move         
smoothly into the most productive employments, and the effectiveness            
of the market is further lowered by international constraints on                
dealings with South Africa. The main strength of the economy lies in            
its rich mineral resources, which provide two-thirds of exports.                
Average growth of less than 2% in output in recent years falls far short        
of the 5-6% level needed to cut into the high unemployment rate.                
                                                                                
GDP: $101.7 billion, per capita $2,600; real growth rate - 0.9%                 
(1990)                                                                          
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.4% (1990)                                  
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 22% (1989); blacks 25-30%, up to 50% in                      
homelands (1988 est.)                                                           
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $28.9 billion; expenditures $32.8 billion,                     
including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (FY92 est.)                      
                                                                                
Exports: $23.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990);                                          
                                                                                
commodities--gold 39%, minerals and metals 33%, food 5%,                        
chemicals 3%;                                                                   
partners--Italy, Japan, US, FRG, UK, other EC, Hong Kong                        
                                                                                
Imports: $17 billion (c.i.f., 1990);                                            
                                                                                
commodities--machinery 32%, transport equipment 15%, chemicals 11%,             
oil, textiles, scientific instruments, base metals;                             
                                                                                
partners--FRG, Japan, UK, US, Italy                                             
                                                                                
External debt: $19.5 billion (July 1990)                                        
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for about                      
45% of GDP                                                                      
                                                                                
Electricity: 34,941,000 kW capacity; 158,000 million kWh produced,              
4,100 kWh per capita (1989)                                                     
                                                                                
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: rand (plural--rand); 1 rand (R) = 100 cents                           
                                                                                
Exchange rates: rand (R) per US$1--2.5625 (January 1991),                       
2.5863 (1990), 2.6166 (1989), 2.2611 (1988), 2.0350 (1987), 2.2685              
(1986), 2.1911 (1985)                                                           
                                                                                
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March                                                   
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Railroads: 20,638 km route distance total; 35,079 km of 1.067-meter             
gauge trackage (counts double and multiple tracking as single track);           
314 km of 610 mm gauge                                                          
                                                                                
Highways: 188,309 km total; 54,013 km paved, 134,296 km crushed                 
stone, gravel, or improved earth                                                
                                                                                
Pipelines: 931 km crude oil; 1,748 km refined products; 322 km                  
natural gas                                                                     
                                                                                
Ports: Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Richard's Bay, Saldanha,              
Mosselbaai, Walvis Bay                                                          
                                                                                
Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 229,245                   
GRT/218,929 DWT; includes 6 container, 1 vehicle carrier                        
                                                                                
Civil air: 81 major transport aircraft                                          
                                                                                
Airports: 917 total, 765 usable; 130 with permanent-surface                     
runways; 5 with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 224        
with runways 1,220-2,439 m                                                      
                                                                                
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; 4,500,000 telephones;       
stations--14 AM, 286 FM, 67 TV; 1 submarine cable; earth                        
stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT                 
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Medical Services                               
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 9,797,349; 5,980,786 fit for                
military service; 426,615 reach military age (18) annually; obligation          
for service in Citizen Force or Commandos begins at 18; volunteers for          
service in permanent force must be 17; national service obligation is           
one year; figures include the so-called homelands not recognized by             
the US                                                                          
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $3.67 billion, 11% of GDP (FY92)                          
                                                                                
