Country Name: SOUTH AFRICA
Capital: Pretoria

US Contact:

Chancery:
3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20008

1.202.232.4400
1.202.265.1607

Related Link: http://www.southafrica.co.za/

Geography

Location: Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Area: total: 1,219,912 sq km
Land: 1,219,912 sq km
Water: 0 sq km
Geographic coordinates: 29 00 S, 24 00 E

Note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)
South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland

Population

43,586,097(July 2001 est.).

South Africa took a census October 1996 which showed a population of 40,583,611. Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS;

Growth rate: 0.26% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 21.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 16.77 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Climate

Mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights.

Natural Resources/Land Use

Gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas

Arable land: 10%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 67%
Forests and woodland: 7%
Other: 15% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 12,700 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural Hazards/Environmental Issues

Prolonged droughts.

Lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification.

Party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Economy

A middle-income, developing country with an abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world, and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. 30% unemployment, and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially the problems of poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. Other problems are crime, corruption, and HIV/AIDS.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $369 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,500 (2000 est.)

Information Source: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/