South Africa: Fact file
Updated February 2013
| Name | Republic of South Africa |
| Area | 1 219 090 sq km (Frame 2011, 1130) |
| Major cities | Tshwane (administrative capital), Cape Town (legislative capital), Bloemfontein (judicial capital), Johannesburg, eThekwini (Durban), Ekurhuleni (East Rand), Nelson Mandela (Port Elizabeth), Buffalo City (East London), Pietermaritzburg, Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark (Frame 2011,1148) |
| Boundaries | Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho (enclave) |
| Population | 51.770 million, 2011 est ( Statistics South Africa 2011, 1) |
| Pop growth | 0.51%, 2010-2015 est (UN Statistics Division 2011a) |
| Urbanisation | 61.7%, 2010 est (UN Statistics Division undated) |
| Life expectancy | Female 54.1 yrs, male 53.1 yrs; 2010-2015 est (UN Statistics Division 2011b, 2011c) |
| Infant mortality | 46/1000, 2010-2015 est (UN Statistics Division 2011d) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 17.8%, 15-49 yr 2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2012a) |
| Adult literacy rate | 89%; 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2012c) |
| Military expenditure | 1.4% of GDP; 2006 (UN Statistics Division 2012d) |
| Health expenditure | 8.0% of GDP; 2006 (UN Statistics Division 2010) |
| Legal system | Roman-Dutch law, English common law (Barratt & Snyman 2005) |
| Independence | 31 May 1910 from Great Britain |
| GDP | US$363.91 billion, 2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2012e) |
| GDP per capita | US$7,255, 2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2012b) |
| GDP growth rate | 2.8%, 2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2012f) |
| Main exports | Platinum, gold, diamonds, base metals, minerals, fruit, machinery (Frame 2011, 1152) |
| Currency | 1 Rand = 100 cents (Frame 2011, 1150) |
| Unemployment | Official 24.9%, 2012 (South Africa reserve bank, 14) |
| Inflation rate | 8.1%, 2010 (UN Statistics Division 2012g) |
| External debt ratio | 2.0% of GDP, 2010 (IMF 2011, 92) |
| Infrastructure | Railway 31 400 km; road 364 131 km including 239 km motorways; 7 international airpots and three other major domestic ones(Frame 2011, 1172; Airports Company South Africa undated) |
| Ethnic groups | African 79.6%, White 8.9%, Coloured 9.0% and Indian/Asian 2.5% (Statistics South Africa 2011, 1) |
| Languages | Official Languages: IsiZulu, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, English, isiNdebele, Sesotho sa Leboa, Sesotho, siSwati, Xitsonga, Setswana and Tshivenda (Frame 2011, 1131) |
| Religion | Christian 80%, rest Islam, African tradition, Judaism, Hinduism (Frame 2011, 1161) |
References
AIRPORTS COMPANY SOUTH AFRICA UNDATED "Airports", [www] http://www.acsa.co.za/home.asp?pid=66 [opens new window] (accessed 18 February 2013).
BARRATT, A & SNYMAN, P 2005 "Researching South African Law" IN GlobaLex, [www] http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/South_Africa.htm [opens new window] (accessed 29 Oct 2012).
FRAME, I 2011 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2011, Routledge.
IMF 2011 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, October, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2011/afr/eng/sreo1011.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 29 Oct 2012).
STATISTICS SOUTH AFRICA CENSUS 2011 "Fact Sheet", [www] http://www.statssa.gov.za/Census2011/Products/Census_2011_Fact_sheet.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] 2011.
SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE BANK 2012 QUARTERLY BULLETIN, June, [www] http://www.resbank.co.za/Lists/News%20and%20Publications/Attachments/5133/01Full%20Quarterly%20Bulletin.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window], June 2012.
SA FLIGHT UNDATED "South African Airport", [www] http://www.saflights.co.za/south-african-airports.html [opens new window](accessed 29 Oct 2012).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010 "Total expenditure on health as percentage of gross domestic product" IN UNdata, 19 Nov, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=health+expenditure&d=WHO&f=MEASURE_CODE%3aWHS7_143 [opens new window] (accessed 29 Oct 2012).
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UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2011d "Infant mortality rate" IN UNdata, 25 Aug, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=MExico&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3A77%3BcrID%3A484 [opens new window] (accessed 29 Oct 2012).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2012a "Adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rate" IN UNdata, 9 April, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=HIV%2fAIDS+prevalence&d=SOWC&f=inID%3a73 [opens new window] (accessed 29 Oct 2012).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2012b "Per capita GDP at current prices" IN UNdata, 16 Jan, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=SNAAMA&f=grID%3a101%3bcurrID%3aUSD%3bpcFlag%3a1 [opens new window] (accessed 29 Oct 2012).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2012c "Adult literacy rate" IN UNdata, 9 April, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Adult+literacy&d=SOWC&f=inID%3a74 [opens new window] (accessed 29 Oct 2012).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2012d "Military expenditure" IN UNdata, 9 May, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3AMS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS [opens new window] (accessed 29 Oct 2012).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2012e "GDP" IN UNdata, 9 May, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3aNY.GDP.MKTP.CD [opens new window] (accessed 29 Oct 2012).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2012f "GDP growth" IN UNdata, 9 May, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3aNY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG [opens new window] (accessed 29 Oct 2012).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2012g "Inflation, GDP deflator" IN UNdata, 9 May, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Inflation&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3aNY.GDP.DEFL.KD.ZG [opens new window] (accessed 29 Oct 2012).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION UNDATED "South Africa", [www] http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=South%20Africa [opens new window] (accessed 29 Oct 2012).
