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Background:
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Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of modern day South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the East, founding the city of Cape Town. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902); however, the British and the Afrikaners, as the Boers became known, ruled together under the Union of South Africa. In 1948, the National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The first multi-racial elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid and ushered in black majority rule.
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Location:
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Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
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Geographic coordinates:
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29 00 S, 24 00 E
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Map references:
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Area:
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total: 1,219,912 sq km
land: 1,219,912 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)
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Area - comparative:
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slightly less than twice the size of Texas
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Land boundaries:
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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
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Coastline:
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2,798 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
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Climate:
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mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
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Terrain:
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vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m
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Natural resources:
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gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
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Land use:
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arable land: 12.1%
permanent crops: 0.79%
other: 87.11% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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14,980 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources:
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50 cu km (1990)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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Total: 12.5 cu km/yr (31%/6%/63%)
Per capita: 264 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards:
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prolonged droughts
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Environment - current issues:
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lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland
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Population:
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43,997,828
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 29.1% (male 6,447,623/female 6,370,909)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 14,040,210/female 14,761,179)
65 years and over: 5.4% (male 917,227/female 1,460,680) (2007 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 24.3 years
male: 23.5 years
female: 25.1 years (2007 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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-0.46% (2007 est.)
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Birth rate:
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17.94 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Death rate:
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22.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Net migration rate:
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-0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2007 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.012 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.628 male(s)/female
total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 59.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 62.95 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 55.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 42.45 years
male: 43.21 years
female: 41.66 years (2007 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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2.16 children born/woman (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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21.5% (2003 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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5.3 million (2003 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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370,000 (2003 est.)
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Nationality:
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noun: South African(s)
adjective: South African
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Ethnic groups:
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black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001 census)
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Religions:
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Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census)
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Languages:
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IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census)
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.4%
male: 87%
female: 85.7% (2003 est.)
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This page was last updated on 24 January, 2008
- The Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook - |
