South Africa: Fact file
Updated November 2010
| Name | Republic of South Africa |
| Area | 1 219 090 sq km2 |
| Capitals | Tshwane (Pretoria, executive), Cape Town (legislative), Mangaung (Bloemfontein, judicial) |
| Major cities | Johannesburg, eThekwini (Durban), Ekurhuleni (East Rand), Nelson Mandela (Port Elizabeth), Buffalo City (East London), Pietermaritzburg, Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark |
| Boundaries | Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho (enclave) |
| Population | 50.492 million, 2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009a) |
| Natural pop growth | 0.98%, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009b) |
| Urbanisation | 60.2%, 2007 est (UN Statistics Division undated) |
| Life expectancy | Female 53.2 yrs, male 49.9 yrs; 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009c, 2009d) |
| Infant mortality | 49/1000, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009e) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 18.1%, 15-49 yr 2007 est (UN Statistics Division 2009f) |
| Adult literacy rate | 88%; 2003-2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010a) |
| Military expenditure | 1.5% of GDP; 2008 (UN Statistics Division 2010b) |
| Health expenditure | 8.0% of GDP; 2006 (UN Statistics Division 2008) |
| Legal system | Roman-Dutch law, English common law (Barratt & Snyman 2005) |
| Independence | 31 May 1910 from Great Britain |
| GDP | US$276.8 billion, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010c) |
| GDP per capita | US$5,566, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2009g) |
| GDP growth rate | 3.1%, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010d) |
| Main exports | Platinum, gold, diamonds, base metals, minerals, fruit, machinery (Frame 2008, 1100) |
| Currency | 1 Rand = 100 cents |
| Unemployment | Narrow 24.3%, broad 40%, 2009 (AFDB/OECD 2010) |
| Inflation rate | 10.8%, 2008 (UN Statistics Division 2010e) |
| External debt ratio | 1.8% of GDP, 2009 (IMF 2010, 95) |
| Roads | Total 202 263 km (35% poor), paved 74 567 km (20% poor), unpaved 127 697 km (44% poor); 2008 (World Bank 2009) |
| Rail | 30 400 km (SADC 2007, 221) |
| Airports | 10 major domestic, 3 international (Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban) (SADC 2007, 221). |
| Ethnic groups | African 79.3%, White 9.1%, Coloured 9.0% and Indian/Asian 2.6% (South African Government undated) |
| Languages | Official: isiZulu (23.8%), isiXhosa (17.6%), Afrikaans (13.3%), Sepedi (9.4%), Setswana (8.2%), English (8.2%), Sesotho (7.9%), Xitsonga (4.4%), siSwati (2.7%), Tshivenda (2.3%) and isiNdebele (1.6%). Other languages are spoken by 0.5% of the population (Statistics South Africa 2001) |
| Religion | Christian 79.8%, no religion 15.1%, Islam 1.5% and Hinduism 1.2% (South African Government undated) |
References
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BARRATT, A & SNYMAN, P 2005 "Researching South African Law" IN GlobaLex, [www] http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/South_Africa.htm [opens new window] (accessed 25 Nov 2010).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
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SADC 2007 "South Africa" IN Country Profiles, [www] http://www.sadcreview.com/pdfs07/southafrica2007_08.pdf (offline 25 Nov 2010).
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