South Africa

Formal Name:

Republic of South Africa

Location and Area:

 Southern Africa, at the Southern tip of the continent of Africa.
Total land area is 1,219.912 sq km, which includes Marion Island and Prince Edward Island.

Climate:

Mostly semiarid; subtropical along the east coast; sunny days and cool nights. Summer;- October - February, Autum;- March, Winter;- April - August, Spring;- September.

Independence Day:

 27 April

Popular & Religion:
Population - 44,344,136 people. Population growth - 0.31%. Ethnic groups - Black 75.2%, White 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6%.
Religion - Christian 68% (includes most whites and coloreds, about 60% of blacks and about 40% of Indians), Muslim 2%, Hindu 1.5% (60% of Indians), indigenous beliefs and animist 28.5%.
 

Language:
11 Official languages  -  Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Phedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Twana, Venda, Xhoza and Zulu.

Administrative Divisions:
9 Provinces; - Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo Province, Mapumalanga, North West, Northern Cape and Western Cape.
Capital of South Africa - Pretoria;  Note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center.

Brief History:

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 subjudigation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the seperate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule.
Industries: Minning (World's largest producer of platinum, gold and chromium). Automobile assembly, Metalworking, Machinery, Textile, Iron & steel, Chemicals., Fertilizer, Foodstuffs, Commercial ship repair.

Economy Overviews:

South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural 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. However, growth has not been strong enough to lower South Africa's high employment rate. South African economic policy is fisically conservative, but pragmatic, focusing on targeting inflation and liberalizing trade as means to increase job growth and household income.