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Country at a glance
- Did you know?
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In 2010 archaeologists discovered two partial skeletons in the cave deposits in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site near Johannesburg. The human fossils, close to 2 million years old, have been classified as a new species: Australopithecus sediba which appears to be a transitional form between early australopithecines and early members of the genus Homo.
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- Region
- Africa
- Population
- 49,109,107 (2010 estimate)
- Land
- Geography: High interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
- Climate: Temperate climate; subtropical along east coast
- People
- Religion: Christian, 80%; Muslim, 1.5%; other (including traditional beliefs), 2.3%; unspecified, 1.4%; none, 15.1%
- Language: 11 official languages including IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, English, Setswana, Sesotho and Xitsonga
- Economy
- GDP per person (PPP): US$10, 000 (2009 estimate)
GDP by sector: Agriculture: 3.5%, Industry: 32.1%, Services: 64.4%
- Government
- Republic
Land
Physical Geography
South Africa is located on the southern tip of the African continent. It covers 1,219,090 square kilometres (compared to Australia’s 7,692,030 square kilometres). It completely surrounds the small nation of Lesotho. South Africa has a vast and stunning natural landscape with a high interior plateau bordered by rugged hills and narrow coastal plains. The two major rivers are the Limpopo, part of which is shared with Zimbabwe, and the Orange. The highest point Mafadi Peak is 3,446 metres in the Drakensberg Mountains.
South Africa has three capital cities: Tshwane (Pretoria), the administrative capital, where all the government offices are located; Cape Town, the legislative capital, where the Houses of Parliament are; and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital, where the country’s law courts are.
Climate
South Africa has a temperate climate with a low rainfall. Conditions vary from Mediterranean in the southwest, subtropical in the northeast and the northwest region has a dry, desert climate. Temperatures in Pretoria average 18°C-29°C in summer and a low of 5°C-20°C in winter.
Environment
South Africa’s diverse environments of forests, desert, mountains, grasslands and savannah are home to a wide variety of plant and animal species. There are 700 public reserves, including 19 national parks and 200 private reserves which are home to lions, leopards, African elephants, Cape buffalo, hippopotamuses, cheetahs and giraffes. Also, there are 800 bird species, including the ostrich and endangered African penguin. Great white sharks swim in South African waters.
People
Two- thirds of the population live in urban areas as dry and arid conditions make much of South Africa uninhabitable for people and many people are moving to cities to seek work. The three largest cities Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban have populations over 3 million, followed by Soweto and Tshwane (Pretoria) with populations over 1 million.
People
Culture and Identity
Archbishop Desmond Tutu once described South Africa as a ‘rainbow nation’ because of the country’s broad cultural and ethnic diversity. The majority of South Africans (79%) are black African, which includes Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele, Tswana, Pedi, Sotho and Swazi peoples, as well as recent immigrants from other parts of Africa (particularly Zimbabwe and Nigeria). Only 9% of the population are white (English and Afrikaans speaking), 8.9% are of mixed race descent, and a small percentage are from India and other parts of Asia.
Health
Life expectancy in South Africa is 50 years for males and 48 years for females. Access to safe water is 91% and safe sanitation is 77%. South Africa has the fourth highest prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the world, with 18% of the adult population living with the disease. South Africa has the world’s largest antiretroviral program and programs preventing mother to child infection are in all hospitals and most health care facilities. Tuberculosis also presents a major problem, particularly in recent years with the prevalence rate doubling from 305 infections in 100,000 in 1997 to 740 per 100,000 in 2007.
Religion and belief
The major religions are Christian, Muslim and various indigenous beliefs. African Independent Churches are the major Christian churches and only Christian holidays (Christmas and Easter) are recognised nationally. Religious groups live relatively harmoniously together.
Food and Shelter
Over two thirds of the population live in cities, many in informal settlements - shanty towns or slums which are self-built communities on the edge of cities that are often without electricity, sanitation and other basic facilities.
The food of South Africa reflects the broad cultural diversity and cuisines from all over the world can be found in the urban centres. Some typical South African foods include Potjiekos, a traditional Afrikaans stew made from meat and vegetables cooked in cast-iron pots; Melktert a very sweet milk tart; and amasi, fermented cows’ milk.
Economy
Wealth and poverty
South Africa has undergone significant economic improvements since the first democratic elections in 1994 and is today classed as a middle income country. However the country continues to face widespread poverty and unemployment, a situation exacerbated by the Global Financial Crisis of late 2008-09.
There are great imbalances in wealth, particularly between racial groups. The wealthiest 10% of the population holds almost 45% of income and the poorest 10% earn only 1.3%.
Education and work
Education is compulsory for all children aged 7-15 and education accounts for 17% of government expenditure. South Africa is expected to achieve the Millennium Development Goal for school enrolment with 98% of children enrolled in primary school and 85% in secondary school. However the legacy of apartheid is still evident, with only 14% of the black population obtaining a high school certificate or higher compared to 60% of white South Africans. The South African government is committed to reducing this imbalance and improving facilities and the quality of education for all. The literacy rate is 87% amongst males and 85.7% for females (2003).
South Africa has a high rate of unemployment (24% in 2009), particularly amongst the nation’s youth with almost half of 15-24 year olds unemployed. Over two thirds of the work force is employed in the services sector, industry accounts for 26% and agriculture employs 9% of the workforce.
Industries and products
South Africa is the world’s largest producer of platinum, gold and chromium. Other key industries include automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs and commercial ship repair. Tourism is one of the largest growing industries - its wildlife reserves being its biggest attraction. Improvements to transport and accommodation facilities ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup will boost visitor numbers to the country significantly.
Its main agricultural products include corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables, beef, poultry, mutton, wool and dairy products.
Trade
South Africa exports gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment to Japan (11.1%), US (11.1%), Germany (8%), UK (6.8%), China (6%) and Netherlands (5.2%). In 2009 these exports were worth US$67.93 billion (2009 estimate).
South Africa imports machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments and foodstuffs from Germany (11.2%), China (11%), US (7.8%), Saudi Arabia (6.2%) and Japan (5.5%).
Achievements and challenges
South Africa has struggled to address the huge inequalities created by the apartheid policy which favoured the white minority between 1948 and 1990. There have been four national elections since the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994 the country’s first democratically elected leader.
South Africa’s main long-term social and economic challenges are the high rate of unemployment (between 27% and 36% depending on definition), the HIV/AIDS pandemic and high levels of violent crime; including domestic violence against women and children.
Land redistribution is also an ongoing issue and the government plans to transfer 30% farmland to black South Africans from white ownership by 2014.
South Africa is the biggest economic power in the continent and plays a leading role in regional affairs. Its economy, however, went into recession in 2009 and the road to recovery will be a challenging one.
Links with Australia
Australia shares a friendly relationship with South Africa dating back to the early 1800s when food and livestock were supplied from the Cape of Good Hope to the British penal colony in Australia. Australia was a strong supporter of the anti-apartheid movement. The two countries also share strong sporting interests, particularly in cricket and rugby.
South Africa is Australia’s largest trading partner in Africa. In 2008-09 Australia exported coal, medicines, meat (excluding beef), specialised machinery and parts valuing over AU$2.5 billion. Australia’s imports from South Africa include motor vehicles, vehicle parts and accessories, pig iron and manganese ores and concentrates worth $AU1.25 billion.
Australia also has strong people-to-people ties with South Africa. During the 1960s, increasing tensions in South Africa prompted a number of English-speaking members of the white South African community to immigrate to Australia. In the 1970s, after the abandonment of the White
Australia Policy, non-European South Africans began migrating to Australia. In 2006 there were 104,130 South African-born people living in Australia: New South Wales (32,950), Queensland (22,710), Western Australia (22,050) and Victoria (19,350), 80% of whom have English as their first language.
Main Sources:
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
http://hdr.undp.org/
http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/index.html
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