Land use: arable land 10%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and
pastures 65%; forest and woodland 3%; other 21%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment: lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires
extensive water conservation and control measures
Note: Walvis Bay is an exclave of South Africa in Namibia;
South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely
surrounds Swaziland
PEOPLE
Population: 40,600,518 (July 1991), growth rate 2.7% (1991);
includes the 10 so-called homelands, which are not recognized by the US;
Administrative divisions: 4 provinces; Cape, Natal, Orange Free
State, Transvaal; there are 10 homelands not recognized by the US--4
independent (Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, Venda) and 6 other
(Gazankulu, Kangwane, KwaNdebele, KwaZulu, Lebowa, QwaQwa)
Independence: 31 May 1910 (from UK)
Constitution: 3 September 1984
Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Republic Day, 31 May (1910)
Executive branch: state president, Executive Council (cabinet),
Ministers' Councils (from the three houses of Parliament)
Legislative branch: tricameral Parliament (Parlement) consists of
the House of Assembly (Volksraad; whites), House of Representatives
(Raad van Verteenwoordigers; Coloreds), and House of Delegates
(Raad van Afgevaardigdes; Indians)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--State President
Frederik W. DE KLERK (since 13 September 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
white political parties and leaders--National Party (NP), Frederik
W. DE KLERK (majority party);
Conservative Party (CP), Dr. Andries P. TREURNICHT (official opposition
party);
Herstigte National Party (HNP), Jaap MARAIS;
Democratic Party (DP), Zach DE BEER;
Colored political parties and leaders--Labor Party (LP), Allan
HENDRICKSE (majority party);
Democratic Reform Party (DRP), Carter EBRAHIM;
United Democratic Party (UDP), Jac RABIE;
Freedom Party;
Indian political parties and leaders--Solidarity, J. N. REDDY
(majority party);
National People's Party (NPP), Amichand RAJBANSI;
Merit People's Party
Suffrage: universal at age 18, but voting rights are racially based
Elections:
House of Assembly (whites)--last held 6 September 1989 (next to
be held by March 1995);
results--NP 58%, CP 23%, DP 19%;
seats--(178 total, 166 elected) NP 103, CP 41, DP 34;
House of Representatives (Coloreds)--last held 6 September 1989
(next to be held by September 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(85 total, 80 elected) LP 69, DRP 5, UDP 3, Freedom Party 1,
independents 2;
House of Delegates (Indians)--last held 6 September 1989
(next to be held by September 1994);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(45 total, 40 elected) Solidarity 16, NPP 9, Merit People's
Party 3, United Party 2, Democratic Party 2, People's Party 1,
National Federal Party 1, independents 6
Communists: small Communist party legalized in 1990 after
30-year ban, Daniel TLOOME, chairman, and Joe SLOVO, general secretary
Other political or pressure groups:
African National Congress (ANC), Nelson MANDELA, president;
Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), Clarence MAKWETU, president
Member of: BIS, CCC, ECA, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFC,
IMF, INTELSAT, ISO, ITU, LORCS, SACU, UN, UNCTAD, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO (suspended)
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Harry SCHWARZ;
Chancery at 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 232-4400; there are South African Consulates General
in Beverly Hills (California), Chicago, Houston, and New York;
US--Ambassador William L. SWING; Embassy at Thibault House,
225 Pretorius Street, Pretoria; telephone 27 (12) 28-4266; there are
US Consulates General in Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg
Flag: actually four flags in one--three miniature flags reproduced
in the center of the white band of the former flag of the Netherlands
which has three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and blue;
the miniature flags are a vertically hanging flag of the old Orange Free
State with a horizontal flag of the UK adjoining on the hoist side and a
horizontal flag of the old Transvaal Republic adjoining on the other side
ECONOMY
Overview: Many of the white one-seventh of the South African
population enjoy incomes, material comforts, and health and educational
standards equal to those of Western Europe. In contrast, most of the
remaining population suffers from the poverty patterns of the Third
World, including unemployment, lack of job skills, and barriers to
movement into higher-paying fields. Inputs and outputs thus do not move
smoothly into the most productive employments, and the effectiveness
of the market is further lowered by international constraints on
dealings with South Africa. The main strength of the economy lies in
its rich mineral resources, which provide two-thirds of exports.
Average growth of less than 2% in output in recent years falls far short
of the 5-6% level needed to cut into the high unemployment rate.
GDP: $101.7 billion, per capita $2,600; real growth rate - 0.9%
(1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.4% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 22% (1989); blacks 25-30%, up to 50% in
homelands (1988 est.)
Budget: revenues $28.9 billion; expenditures $32.8 billion,
including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (FY92 est.)
Exports: $23.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--gold 39%, minerals and metals 33%, food 5%,
chemicals 3%;
partners--Italy, Japan, US, FRG, UK, other EC, Hong Kong
Imports: $17 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--machinery 32%, transport equipment 15%, chemicals 11%,
oil, textiles, scientific instruments, base metals;
partners--FRG, Japan, UK, US, Italy
External debt: $19.5 billion (July 1990)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for about
45% of GDP
Electricity: 34,941,000 kW capacity; 158,000 million kWh produced,
4,100 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold,
chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron
and steel, chemical, fertilizer, foodstuffs
Agriculture: accounts for about 5% of GDP and 30% of labor force;
diversified agriculture, with emphasis on livestock; products--cattle,
poultry, sheep, wool, milk, beef, corn, wheat; sugarcane, fruits,
vegetables; self-sufficient in food
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 20,638 km route distance total; 35,079 km of 1.067-meter
gauge trackage (counts double and multiple tracking as single track);
314 km of 610 mm gauge
Highways: 188,309 km total; 54,013 km paved, 134,296 km crushed
stone, gravel, or improved earth
Pipelines: 931 km crude oil; 1,748 km refined products; 322 km
natural gas
Ports: Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Richard's Bay, Saldanha,
Mosselbaai, Walvis Bay
Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 229,245
GRT/218,929 DWT; includes 6 container, 1 vehicle carrier
Civil air: 81 major transport aircraft
Airports: 917 total, 765 usable; 130 with permanent-surface
runways; 5 with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 224
with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: the system is the best developed, most modern,
and has the highest capacity in Africa; it consists of carrier-equipped
open-wire lines, coaxial cables, radio relay links, fiber optic cable,
and radiocommunication stations; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town,
Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria; 4,500,000 telephones;
stations--14 AM, 286 FM, 67 TV; 1 submarine cable; earth
stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Medical Services
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 9,797,349; 5,980,786 fit for
military service; 426,615 reach military age (18) annually; obligation
for service in Citizen Force or Commandos begins at 18; volunteers for
service in permanent force must be 17; national service obligation is
one year; figures include the so-called homelands not recognized by
the US
Defense expenditures: $3.67 billion, 11% of GDP (FY92)
