Mayotte (2008) | South Africa (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territorial overseas collectivity of France) | 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Western Cape |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 45.8% (male 48,016/female 47,533)
15-64 years: 52.5% (male 59,111/female 50,437) 65 years and over: 1.8% (male 1,864/female 1,822) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.5% (male 6,337,468; female 6,254,925)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 13,898,269; female 14,017,559) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 886,801; female 1,323,508) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vanilla, ylang-ylang (perfume essence), coffee, copra | corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products |
Airports | 1 (2007) | 728 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 144
over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 51 914 to 1,523 m: 67 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 584
1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 300 under 914 m: 250 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 374 sq km
land: 374 sq km water: 0 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 more than twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | Mayotte was ceded to France along with the other islands of the Comoros group in 1843. It was the only island in the archipelago that voted in 1974 to retain its link with France and forego independence. | 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 | 40.35 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 18.38 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $420 million
expenditures: $394 million (2005) |
revenues: $37.48 billion
expenditures: $41.46 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (2003) |
Capital | name: Mamoudzou
geographic coordinates: 12 46 S, 45 13 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center |
Climate | tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November) | mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights |
Coastline | 185.2 km | 2,798 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 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: Territorial Collectivity of Mayotte
conventional short form: Mayotte |
conventional long form: Republic of South Africa
conventional short form: South Africa former: Union of South Africa abbreviation: RSA |
Currency | - | rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 7.53 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 20.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $25.9 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | departmental collectivity of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territorial overseas collectivity of France) | 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 | none (territorial overseas collectivity of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Joyce Mosima MASEKELA
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 | claimed by Comoros | managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River |
Economic aid - recipient | $201.3 million; note - extensive French financial assistance (2005) | $487.5 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is based primarily on the agricultural sector, including fishing and livestock raising. Mayotte is not self-sufficient and must import a large portion of its food requirements, mainly from France. The economy and future development of the island are heavily dependent on French financial assistance, an important supplement to GDP. Mayotte's remote location is an obstacle to the development of tourism. | 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 unemployment rate; and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. High crime and HIV/AIDS infection rates also deter investment. South African economic policy is fiscally conservative, but pragmatic, focusing on targeting inflation and liberalizing trade as means to increase job growth and household income. |
Electricity - consumption | 139.2 million kWh (2005) | 181.2 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 6.91 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 6.2 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 195.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Benara 660 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | NA | black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003) | rand per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007); represented by Prefect Jean-Paul KIHL (since 17 January 2005)
head of government: President of the General Council Said Omar OILI (since 8 April 2004) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; president of the General Council elected by the members of the General Council for a six-year term; next election to be held in 2010 |
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 to be held 24 April 2004) election results: Thabo MBEKI elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation) note: ANC-IFP is the governing coalition |
Exports | $6.5 million f.o.b. (2005) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | ylang-ylang (perfume essence), vanilla, copra, coconuts, coffee, cinnamon | gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment (1998 est.) |
Exports - partners | France 43%, Comoros 36%, Reunion 15% (2006) | UK 12.6%, US 12.4%, Japan 9.2%, Germany 8.1%, China 4.7%, Italy 4.4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | unofficial, local flag with the coat of arms of Mayotte centered on a white field, above which the name of the island appears in red capital letters; the main elements of the coat of arms, flanked on either side by a seahorse, appear above a scroll with the motto RA HACHIRI (We are Vigilant); the only official flag is the national flag of France | 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $456.7 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 31% services: 65.2% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $10,700 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 1.9% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 50 S, 45 10 E | 29 00 S, 24 00 E |
Geography - note | part of Comoro Archipelago; 18 islands | South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland |
Highways | - | total: 362,099 km
paved: 73,506 km (including 2,032 km of expressways) unpaved: 288,593 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 45.9% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment center for heroin, hashish, marijuana, and 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 | $341 million f.o.b.; note - excludes petroleum imports (2005) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, machinery and equipment, transportation equipment, metals, chemicals | machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs (2000 est.) |
Imports - partners | France 49%, Seychelles 8.8%, China 4.1%, South Africa 2.8% (2006) | Germany 16.6%, UK 8.5%, US 8.2%, Japan 5.9%, China 5.9%, Saudi Arabia 5.2%, France 5% (2003) |
Independence | none (territorial overseas collectivity of France) | 31 May 1910 (from UK); note - South Africa became a republic in 1961 following an October 1960 referendum |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5% (2003 est.) |
Industries | newly created lobster and shrimp industry, construction | mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs |
Infant mortality rate | total: 59.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 65.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 53.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 62.18 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 65.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 58.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.7% (2005) | 5.9% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | InOC, UPU | ACP, AfDB, AU, BIS, C, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, NSG, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | NA | 13,500 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts |
Labor force | 44,560 (2002) | 16.35 million economically active (2003) |
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: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 12.08%
permanent crops: 0.79% other: 87.13% (2001) |
Languages | Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population | 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu |
Legal system | the laws of France, where applicable, apply | based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 21 and 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - MDM 23.3%, UMP 22.8%, PS 10.2%, MRC 8.9%, FRAP 6.5%, MPM 1.2%, other 27.1%; seats by party - MDM 6, UMP 9, MRC 2, MPM 1, diverse left 1 note: Mayotte elects one member of the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held in September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - UMP-RPR 55.1%, UDF 44.9%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1 |
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 14 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 69.7%, DA 12.4%, IFP 7%, UDM 2.3%, NNP 1.7%, ACDP 1.6%, other 5.3%; seats by party - ANC 279, DA 50, IFP 28, UDM 9, NNP 7, ACDP 6, other 21; National Council of Provinces - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 62.16 years
male: 59.94 years female: 64.45 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 44.19 years
male: 44.39 years female: 43.98 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.4% male: 87% female: 85.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 31,505 GRT/37,091 DWT
by type: container 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: Denmark 1, Netherlands 1 registered in other countries: 7 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France; a small contingent of French forces is stationed on the island | with the end of apartheid and the establishment of majority rule, former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces were integrated into the South African National Defense Force (SANDF); as of 2003 the integration process was considered complete |
Military branches | - | South African National Defense Force: Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $2,653.4 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.7% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 11,924,500 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 7,247,696 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 471,221 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Freedom Day, 27 April (1994) |
Nationality | noun: Mahorais (singular and plural)
adjective: Mahoran |
noun: South African(s)
adjective: South African |
Natural hazards | cyclones during rainy season | prolonged droughts |
Natural resources | NEGL | gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 3.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 100 km; gas 1,052 km; oil 847 km; refined products 1,354 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Front or FD [Youssouf MOUSSA]; Mahoran Popular Movement or MPM [Ahmed MADI]; Federation of Mahorans or UMP-RPR [Mansour KAMARDINE]; Force of the Rally and the Alliance for Democracy or FRAP; Movement for Department Status Mayotte or MDM [Mouhoutar SALIM]; Renewed Communist Party of Mayotte or MRC [Omar SIMBA]; Socialist Party or PS [Ibrahim ABUBACAR] (local branch of French Parti Socialiste); Union for French Democracy or UDF [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE] | African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE, president]; African National Congress or ANC [Thabo MBEKI, president]; Democratic Alliance or DA (formed from the merger of the Democratic Party or DP and the Freedom Alliance or FA) [Anthony LEON]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; New National Party or NNP [Marthinus VAN SCHALKWYK]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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 | 208,783 (July 2007 est.) | 42,718,530
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 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.617% (2007 est.) | -0.25% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 22,298 km
narrow gauge: 21,984 km 1.065-m gauge (10,436 km electrified); 314 km 0.610-m gauge note: includes a 2,228 km commuter rail system (2003) |
Religions | Muslim 97%, Christian (mostly Roman Catholic) 3% | 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: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.172 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.023 male(s)/female total population: 1.092 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: small system administered by French Department of Posts and Telecommunications
domestic: NA international: country code - 269; microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communications to Comoros |
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: country code - 27; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,000 (2002) | 4.844 million (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 48,100 (2005) | 16.86 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (2001) | 556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks | vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 5.69 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.18 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 25.4% (2005) | 31% (includes workers no longer looking for employment) (2003 est.) |