Madagascar (2005) | South Africa (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara | 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Western Cape |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.8% (male 4,051,832/female 4,038,837)
15-64 years: 52.1% (male 4,657,346/female 4,745,971) 65 years and over: 3% (male 247,146/female 299,209) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.6% (male 6,943,761; female 6,849,745)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 13,377,011; female 14,300,850) 65 years and over: 5% (male 816,222; female 1,360,069) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products | corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products |
Airports | 116 (2004 est.) | 740 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 29
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 143
over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 50 914 to 1,523 m: 67 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 87
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 42 under 914 m: 43 (2004 est.) |
total: 584
1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 298 under 914 m: 252 (2002) |
Area | total: 587,040 sq km
land: 581,540 sq km water: 5,500 sq km |
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) |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Arizona | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1896, but regained its independence in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held, ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and 1980s, was returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner. | 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). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule. |
Birth rate | 41.66 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 20.63 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $783.7 million
expenditures: $1.079 billion, including capital expenditures of $331 million (2004 est.) |
revenues: $22.6 billion
expenditures: $24.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (FY02/03 ) |
Capital | Antananarivo | Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center |
Climate | tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south | mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights |
Coastline | 4,828 km | 2,798 km |
Constitution | 19 August 1992 by national referendum | 10 December 1996; this new constitution was certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by then President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 3 February 1997; it is being implemented in phases |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Madagascar
conventional short form: Madagascar local long form: Republique de Madagascar local short form: Madagascar former: Malagasy Republic |
conventional long form: Republic of South Africa
conventional short form: South Africa former: Union of South Africa abbreviation: RSA |
Currency | - | rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 11.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 18.86 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.6 billion (2002) | $25.5 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Wanda L. NESBITT
embassy: 14-16 Rue Rainitovo, Antsahavola, Antananarivo 101 mailing address: B. P. 620, Antsahavola, Antananarivo telephone: [261] (20) 22-212-57, 22-212-73, 22-209-56 FAX: [261] (20) 22-345-39 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Cameron H. HUME
embassy: 877 Pretorius Street, Pretoria mailing address: P. O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001 telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048 FAX: [27] (12) 342-2244 consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Rajaonarivony NARISOA
chancery: 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-5525, 5526 FAX: [1] (202) 483-7603 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Makate Sheila SISULU
chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France) | Swaziland continues to press South Africa into ceding ethnic Swazi lands in Kangwane region of KwaZulu-Natal province, that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom |
Economic aid - recipient | $354 million (2001) | $539 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | Having discarded past socialist economic policies, Madagascar has since the mid 1990s followed a World Bank and IMF led policy of privatization and liberalization. This strategy has placed the country on a slow and steady growth path from an extremely low level. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the economy, accounting for more than one-fourth of GDP and employing 80% of the population. Exports of apparel have boomed in recent years primarily due to duty-free access to the United States. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel are serious concerns. President RAVALOMANANA has worked aggressively to revive the economy following the 2002 political crisis, which triggered a 12% drop in GDP that year. Poverty reduction and combating corruption will be the centerpieces of economic policy for the next few years. | South Africa is a middle-income, developing country with an abundant supply of 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 cut into high unemployment, and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially the problems of poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. Other problems are crime, corruption, and HIV/AIDS. At the start of 2000, President MBEKI vowed to promote economic growth and foreign investment, and to reduce poverty by relaxing restrictive labor laws, stepping up the pace of privatization, and cutting unneeded governmental spending. The economy slowed in 2001, largely the result of the slowing of the international economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 781.4 million kWh (2002) | 181.52 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 4.549 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 5.294 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 840.2 million kWh (2002) | 194.38 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 93%
hydro: 1% nuclear: 7% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; several species of flora and fauna unique to the island are endangered | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran | black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6% |
Exchange rates | Malagasy francs per US dollar - 1,868.9 (2004), 1,238.3 (2003), 1,366.4 (2002), 1,317.7 (2001), 1,353.5 (2000) | rand per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Marc RAVALOMANANA (since 6 May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Jacques SYLLA (27 May 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held November 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Didier RATSIRAKA (AREMA) 37.7%, Marc RAVALOMANANA (TIM) 50.5% |
chief of state: President Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Jacob ZUMA (since 17 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Jacob ZUMA (since 17 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 2 June 1999 (next scheduled for sometime between May and July 2004) election results: Thabo MBEKI elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation) note: ANC-IFP is the governing coalition |
Exports | NA | $32.3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar; cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products | gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment |
Exports - partners | US 35.8%, France 30.8%, Germany 7.7% (2004) | EU 33%, US 20%, Japan 6%, Mozambique 2.5% (2001 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side | two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes
note: prior to 26 April 1994, the flag was actually four flags in one - three miniature flags reproduced in the center of the white band of the former flag of the Netherlands, which had three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and blue; the miniature flags were 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $412 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 29.3%
industry: 16.7% services: 54% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 31% services: 66% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9,400 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2004 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 47 00 E | 29 00 S, 24 00 E |
Geography - note | world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel | South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland |
Highways | total: 49,827 km
paved: 5,780 km unpaved: 44,047 km (1999 est.) |
total: 358,596 km
paved: 59,753 km (including 1,927 km of expressways) unpaved: 298,843 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29% (1999) |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 46% (1994) (1994) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for heroin | transshipment center for heroin, hashish, marijuana, and possibly cocaine; cocaine consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries; illicit cultivation of marijuana; attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region |
Imports | NA | $28.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food | machinery, foodstuffs and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments |
Imports - partners | France 17.2%, China 9.7%, Hong Kong 6.6%, Iran 6.4%, Mauritius 6.2%, South Africa 5.6% (2004) | EU 41%, US 11.4%, Saudi Arabia 7.3%, Japan 7% (2001 est.) |
Independence | 26 June 1960 (from France) | 31 May 1910 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 7% (2001 est.) |
Industries | meat processing, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism | mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs |
Infant mortality rate | total: 76.83 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 85.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 68.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
61.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.5% (2004 est.) | 5.8% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, BIS, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, NSG, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 150 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 10,900 sq km (2000 est.) | 13,500 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts |
Labor force | 7.3 million (2000) | 17 million economically active (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 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 |
Land use | arable land: 5.07%
permanent crops: 1.03% other: 93.91% (2001) |
arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 0.77% other: 87.1% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Malagasy (official) | 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral legislature consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (160 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and a Senate or Senat (100 seats; two-thirds of the seats filled by regional assemblies whose members will be elected by popular vote; the remaining one-third of the seats appointed by the president; all members will serve four-year terms)
elections: National Assembly - last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - TIM 103, FP 22, AREMA 3, LEADER/Fanilo 2, RPSD 5, others 3, independents 22 |
bicameral Parliament consisting of the National Assembly (400 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) and the National Council of Provinces (90 seats, 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities); note - following the implementation of the new constitution on 3 February 1997 the former Senate was disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces with essentially no change in membership and party affiliations, although the new institution's responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution
elections: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces - last held 2 June 1999 (next to be held by 2 August 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 66.4%, DP 9.6%, IFP 8.6%, NP 6.9%, UDM 3.4%, ACDP 1.4%, FF 0.8%, other 2.9%; seats by party - ANC 266, DP 38, IFP 34, NP 28, UDM 14, ACDP 6, FF 3, other 11; National Council of Provinces - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ANC 61, NP 17, FF 4, IFP 5, DP 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 56.95 years
male: 54.57 years female: 59.4 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 45.43 years
male: 45.19 years female: 45.68 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68.9% male: 75.5% female: 62.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85% male: 86% female: 85% (2000 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or 100 nm from the 2,500-m deep isobath |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 14,865 GRT/17,936 DWT
by type: cargo 5, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2 registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 271,650 GRT/268,604 DWT
ships by type: container 6, petroleum tanker 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 3, Netherlands 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | the National Defense Force continues to integrate former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces |
Military branches | People's Armed Forces: Intervention Force, Development Force, and Aeronaval (Navy and Air) Force; National Gendarmerie | South African National Defense Force (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services), South African Police Service |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $44.6 million (2004) | $1.79 billion (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (2004) | 1.6% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 11,557,242 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 7,031,337 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 466,399 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 26 June (1960) | Freedom Day, 27 April (1994) |
Nationality | noun: Malagasy (singular and plural)
adjective: Malagasy |
noun: South African(s)
adjective: South African |
Natural hazards | periodic cyclones, drought, and locust infestation | prolonged droughts |
Natural resources | graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower | gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -1.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural gas 322 km |
Political parties and leaders | Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar or AREMA [Pierrot RAJAONARIVO]; Economic Liberalism and Democratic Action for National Recovery or LEADER/Fanilo [Herizo RAZAFIMAHALEO]; Fihaonana Party or FP [Guy-Willy RAZANAMASY]; I Love Madagascar or TIM [Marc RAVALOMANANA]; Renewal of the Social Democratic Party or RPSD [Evariste MARSON] | African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE, president]; African National Congress or ANC [Thabo MBEKI, president]; Democratic Alliance (formed from the merger of the Democratic Party or DP and the New National Party or NP; note - NP split from DP in 2001) [Anthony LEON]; Freedom Front or FF [Dr. Pieter MULDER, president]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; New National Party or NP [Marthinus VAN SCHALKWYK]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Committee for the Defense of Truth and Justice or KMMR; Committee for National Reconciliation or CRN [Albert Zafy]; National Council of Christian Churches or FFKM | Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [Zwelinzima VAVI, general secretary]; South African Communist Party or SACP [Blade NZIMANDE, general secretary]; South African National Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi HLONGWANE, national president]; note - COSATU and SACP are in a formal alliance with the ANC |
Population | 18,040,341 (July 2005 est.) | 43,647,658
note: South Africa took a census October 1996 that showed a population of 40,583,611 (after an official adjustment for a 6.8% underenumeration based on a postenumeration survey); 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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2004 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.03% (2005 est.) | 0.02% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Antsiranana, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara | Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 17 million (2001) |
Railways | total: 732 km
narrow gauge: 732 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
total: 20,384 km
narrow gauge: 20,070 km 1.067-m gauge (9,090 km electrified); 314 km 0.610-m gauge note: in addition, South Africa has an electrified 1.065-m gauge commuter rail system, with a total length of 1,254 km, which serves Johannesburg-Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, East London, and Port Elizabeth (2001) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7% | 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% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: system is above average for the region
domestic: open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter links connect regions international: country code - 261; submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
general assessment: the system is the best developed and most modern in Africa
domestic: consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, radiotelephone communication stations, and wireless local loops; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria international: 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 59,600 (2003) | more than 5 million (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 279,500 (2003) | 7.06 million (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001) | 556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center | vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 5.66 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.38 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 37% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 600 km (2004) | NA |