Country name

conventional long form: Republic of South Africa
conventional short form: South Africa
former: Union of South Africa
abbreviation: RSA

Government type

republic

Capital

Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center

Administrative divisions

9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Western Cape

National holiday

Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Location

Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

Geographic coordinates

29 00 S, 24 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 1,219,912 sq km
land: 1,219,912 sq km
note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries

total: 4,862 km
border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km

Coastline

2,798 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions)

territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

Climate

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

Terrain

vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m

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: 12.08%
permanent crops: 0.79%
other: 87.13% (2001)

GDP

purchasing power parity - $491.4 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

3.5% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $11,100 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 31.2%
services: 65.2% (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.)

Industries

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

Agriculture - products

corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products

Exports

$41.97 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:

gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment (1998 est.)

Exports - partners

US 10.2%, UK 9.2%, Japan 9%, Germany 7.1%, Netherlands 4% (2004)

Imports

$39.42 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs (2000 est.)

Imports - partners

Germany 14.2%, US 8.5%, China 7.5%, Japan 6.9%, UK 6.9%, France 6%, Saudi Arabia 5.6%, Iran 5% (2004)

Currency

rand (ZAR)

Currency code

ZAR

Exchange rates

rand per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March