301 lines
24 KiB
Plaintext
301 lines
24 KiB
Plaintext
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SOUTH AFRICA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 1,221,040 km2; land area: 1,221,040 km2; includes
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Walvis Bay, Marion Island, and Prince Edward Island
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Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
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Land boundaries: 4,973 km total; Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho
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909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 1,078 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe
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225 km
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Coastline: 2,881 km
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Maritime claims:
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Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
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Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Disputes: claim by Namibia to Walvis Bay exclave and 12 offshore
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islands administered by South Africa
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Climate: mostly semiarid; subtropical along coast; sunny days,
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cool nights
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Terrain: vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and
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narrow coastal plain
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Natural resources: gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore,
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manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum,
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copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
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Land use: arable land 10%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and
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pastures 65%; forest and woodland 3%; other 21%; includes irrigated 1%
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Environment: lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires
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extensive water conservation and control measures
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Note: Walvis Bay is an exclave of South Africa in Namibia;
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South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely
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surrounds Swaziland
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PEOPLE
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Population: 40,600,518 (July 1991), growth rate 2.7% (1991);
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includes the 10 so-called homelands, which are not recognized by the US;
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four independent homelands--Bophuthatswana 2,419,515, growth rate
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2.83%; Ciskei 1,056,552, growth rate 2.96%; Transkei 4,553,994, growth
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rate 4.16%; Venda 691,273, growth rate 3.83%;
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six other homelands--Gazankulu 772,532, growth rate 3.98%; Kangwane
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576,573, growth rate 3.62%; KwaNdebele 360,582, growth rate 3.38%;
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KwaZulu 5,546,082, growth rate 3.60%; Lebowa 2,812,630, growth rate
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3.91%; QwaQwa 277,957, growth rate 3.60%
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Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 51 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 61 years male, 67 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 4.4 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--South African(s); adjective--South African
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Ethnic divisions: black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%,
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Indian 2.6%
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Religion: most whites and Coloreds and about 60% of blacks are
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Christian; about 60% of Indians are Hindu; Muslim 20%
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Language: Afrikaans, English (both official); many vernacular
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languages, including Zulu, Xhosa, North and South Sotho, Tswana
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Literacy: 76% (male 78%, female 75%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1980)
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Labor force: 11,000,000 economically active (1989); services 34%,
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agriculture 30%, industry and commerce 29%, mining 7% (1985)
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Organized labor: about 17% of total labor force is unionized;
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African unions represent 15% of black labor force
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Republic of South Africa; abbreviated RSA
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Type: republic
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Capital: administrative, Pretoria; legislative, Cape Town;
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judicial, Bloemfontein
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Administrative divisions: 4 provinces; Cape, Natal, Orange Free
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State, Transvaal; there are 10 homelands not recognized by the US--4
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independent (Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, Venda) and 6 other
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(Gazankulu, Kangwane, KwaNdebele, KwaZulu, Lebowa, QwaQwa)
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Independence: 31 May 1910 (from UK)
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Constitution: 3 September 1984
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Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law;
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accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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National holiday: Republic Day, 31 May (1910)
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Executive branch: state president, Executive Council (cabinet),
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Ministers' Councils (from the three houses of Parliament)
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Legislative branch: tricameral Parliament (Parlement) consists of
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the House of Assembly (Volksraad; whites), House of Representatives
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(Raad van Verteenwoordigers; Coloreds), and House of Delegates
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(Raad van Afgevaardigdes; Indians)
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Judicial branch: Supreme Court
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Leaders:
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Chief of State and Head of Government--State President
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Frederik W. DE KLERK (since 13 September 1989)
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Political parties and leaders:
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white political parties and leaders--National Party (NP), Frederik
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W. DE KLERK (majority party);
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Conservative Party (CP), Dr. Andries P. TREURNICHT (official opposition
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party);
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Herstigte National Party (HNP), Jaap MARAIS;
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Democratic Party (DP), Zach DE BEER;
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Colored political parties and leaders--Labor Party (LP), Allan
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HENDRICKSE (majority party);
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Democratic Reform Party (DRP), Carter EBRAHIM;
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United Democratic Party (UDP), Jac RABIE;
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Freedom Party;
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Indian political parties and leaders--Solidarity, J. N. REDDY
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(majority party);
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National People's Party (NPP), Amichand RAJBANSI;
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Merit People's Party
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Suffrage: universal at age 18, but voting rights are racially based
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Elections:
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House of Assembly (whites)--last held 6 September 1989 (next to
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be held by March 1995);
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results--NP 58%, CP 23%, DP 19%;
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seats--(178 total, 166 elected) NP 103, CP 41, DP 34;
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House of Representatives (Coloreds)--last held 6 September 1989
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(next to be held by September 1994);
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results--percent of vote by party NA;
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seats--(85 total, 80 elected) LP 69, DRP 5, UDP 3, Freedom Party 1,
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independents 2;
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House of Delegates (Indians)--last held 6 September 1989
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(next to be held by September 1994);
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results--percent of vote by party NA;
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seats--(45 total, 40 elected) Solidarity 16, NPP 9, Merit People's
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Party 3, United Party 2, Democratic Party 2, People's Party 1,
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National Federal Party 1, independents 6
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Communists: small Communist party legalized in 1990 after
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30-year ban, Daniel TLOOME, chairman, and Joe SLOVO, general secretary
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Other political or pressure groups:
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African National Congress (ANC), Nelson MANDELA, president;
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Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), Clarence MAKWETU, president
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Member of: BIS, CCC, ECA, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFC,
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IMF, INTELSAT, ISO, ITU, LORCS, SACU, UN, UNCTAD, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
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WMO (suspended)
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Harry SCHWARZ;
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Chancery at 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
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telephone (202) 232-4400; there are South African Consulates General
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in Beverly Hills (California), Chicago, Houston, and New York;
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US--Ambassador William L. SWING; Embassy at Thibault House,
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225 Pretorius Street, Pretoria; telephone 27 (12) 28-4266; there are
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US Consulates General in Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg
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Flag: actually four flags in one--three miniature flags reproduced
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in the center of the white band of the former flag of the Netherlands
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which has three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and blue;
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the miniature flags are a vertically hanging flag of the old Orange Free
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State with a horizontal flag of the UK adjoining on the hoist side and a
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horizontal flag of the old Transvaal Republic adjoining on the other side
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Many of the white one-seventh of the South African
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population enjoy incomes, material comforts, and health and educational
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standards equal to those of Western Europe. In contrast, most of the
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remaining population suffers from the poverty patterns of the Third
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World, including unemployment, lack of job skills, and barriers to
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movement into higher-paying fields. Inputs and outputs thus do not move
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smoothly into the most productive employments, and the effectiveness
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of the market is further lowered by international constraints on
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dealings with South Africa. The main strength of the economy lies in
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its rich mineral resources, which provide two-thirds of exports.
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Average growth of less than 2% in output in recent years falls far short
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of the 5-6% level needed to cut into the high unemployment rate.
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GDP: $101.7 billion, per capita $2,600; real growth rate - 0.9%
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(1990)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.4% (1990)
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Unemployment rate: 22% (1989); blacks 25-30%, up to 50% in
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homelands (1988 est.)
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Budget: revenues $28.9 billion; expenditures $32.8 billion,
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including capital expenditures of $1.1 billion (FY92 est.)
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Exports: $23.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
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commodities--gold 39%, minerals and metals 33%, food 5%,
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chemicals 3%;
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partners--Italy, Japan, US, FRG, UK, other EC, Hong Kong
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Imports: $17 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
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commodities--machinery 32%, transport equipment 15%, chemicals 11%,
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oil, textiles, scientific instruments, base metals;
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partners--FRG, Japan, UK, US, Italy
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External debt: $19.5 billion (July 1990)
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Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for about
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45% of GDP
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Electricity: 34,941,000 kW capacity; 158,000 million kWh produced,
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4,100 kWh per capita (1989)
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Industries: mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold,
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chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron
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and steel, chemical, fertilizer, foodstuffs
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Agriculture: accounts for about 5% of GDP and 30% of labor force;
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diversified agriculture, with emphasis on livestock; products--cattle,
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poultry, sheep, wool, milk, beef, corn, wheat; sugarcane, fruits,
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vegetables; self-sufficient in food
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Economic aid: NA
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Currency: rand (plural--rand); 1 rand (R) = 100 cents
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Exchange rates: rand (R) per US$1--2.5625 (January 1991),
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2.5863 (1990), 2.6166 (1989), 2.2611 (1988), 2.0350 (1987), 2.2685
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(1986), 2.1911 (1985)
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Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 20,638 km route distance total; 35,079 km of 1.067-meter
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gauge trackage (counts double and multiple tracking as single track);
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314 km of 610 mm gauge
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Highways: 188,309 km total; 54,013 km paved, 134,296 km crushed
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stone, gravel, or improved earth
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Pipelines: 931 km crude oil; 1,748 km refined products; 322 km
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natural gas
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Ports: Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Richard's Bay, Saldanha,
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Mosselbaai, Walvis Bay
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Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 229,245
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GRT/218,929 DWT; includes 6 container, 1 vehicle carrier
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Civil air: 81 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 917 total, 765 usable; 130 with permanent-surface
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runways; 5 with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 224
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with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: the system is the best developed, most modern,
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and has the highest capacity in Africa; it consists of carrier-equipped
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open-wire lines, coaxial cables, radio relay links, fiber optic cable,
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and radiocommunication stations; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town,
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Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria; 4,500,000 telephones;
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stations--14 AM, 286 FM, 67 TV; 1 submarine cable; earth
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stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Medical Services
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 9,797,349; 5,980,786 fit for
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military service; 426,615 reach military age (18) annually; obligation
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for service in Citizen Force or Commandos begins at 18; volunteers for
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service in permanent force must be 17; national service obligation is
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one year; figures include the so-called homelands not recognized by
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the US
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Defense expenditures: $3.67 billion, 11% of GDP (FY92)
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