South African Statistics

Total: 43,930,631 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.62% (1994 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate: 0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 47.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 65.11 years male: 62.37 years female: 67.94 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.37 children born/woman (1994 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 72% (most whites and Coloreds and about 60% of blacks), Hindu 2% (60% of Indians), traditional religion 20%, secular 5%, Muslim 1%

Literacy rate: 50% Africans, 62% 'Coloureds', 69% Asians, 99% Whites (1990 WA), 43% (1977 C. M. Brann). Information mainly from Voegelin and Voegelin 1977; Ruhlen 1987. Data accuracy estimate: B

Blind population: 62,000 (1982 WCE)

Deaf population: 12,100 (1986 Gallaudet University), deaf institutions in country: 43

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Area of South-Africa

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)

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

Coastline: 2,798 km

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

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The Economy

Overview:

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.

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

National product real growth rate: 1.1% (1993 est.)

National product per capita: $4,000 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.7% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: 50% (1994 est.)

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

Exports: $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

Imports: $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

External debt: $17 billion (1993 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for about 40% of GDP

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

Illicit drugs: Transshipment center of heroin and cocaine; cocaine consumption on the rise

Economic aid: 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

Currency: 1 rand (R) = 100 cents

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

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

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The Infrastructure

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

Pipelines: Crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural gas 322 km

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

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

Airports: 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

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 (Two country wide cellular phone networks are also in operation now, plus many more satelite channels)

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The 9 Provinces of South Africa

Gauteng | Northen Province | Mpumalanga

North-west Province | Free State | KwaZulu/Natal

Eastern Cape | Northen Cape | Western Cape

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The Native Tongue

At the moment there are 11 (yes ELEVEN) official languages in use in SA. Each province can choose a few of those languages to cunduct its main provincial matters in. For instance Gauteng's official languages are English, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu.

The eleven oficial languages of the whole country are as follows:

• Xhosa
• Zulu
• Afrikaans
• English
• Sotho (Northen and Southern)
• Tswana
• Sipedi
• Venda
• Ndebele
• Swati
• Tsonga

Other unoficial languages and dialects often used in the South Africa:

• Birwa
• Chinese, Mandarin
• Fanagolo
• Fly Taal
• Gimsbok Nama
• Gujarati
• Hindi
• Korana
• Nama
• Ngamani
• Nghuki
• Oorlans
• Ronga
• Seroa
• South African Sign Language
• Swahili
• Swati
• Tamil
• Tswa
• Urdu
• Xam
• Xegwi
• Xiri

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