Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / South Africa (2001) - Mexico (2003) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare South Africa (2001) - Mexico (2003)

Compare South Africa (2001) z Mexico (2003)

 South Africa (2001)Mexico (2003)
 South AfricaMexico
Administrative divisions 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Northern Province, Western Cape 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas
Age structure 0-14 years:
32.01% (male 7,023,639; female 6,928,559)

15-64 years:
63.11% (male 13,264,654; female 14,244,484)

65 years and over:
4.88% (male 798,914; female 1,325,847) (2001 est.)
0-14 years: 32.3% (male 17,298,964; female 16,617,728)


15-64 years: 63.1% (male 32,217,513; female 33,932,603)


65 years and over: 4.6% (male 2,145,252; female 2,695,931) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products
Airports 741 (2000 est.) 1,823 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total:
142

over 3,047 m:
9

2,438 to 3,047 m:
5

1,524 to 2,437 m:
47

914 to 1,523 m:
71

under 914 m:
10 (2000 est.)
total: 231


over 3,047 m: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 28


1,524 to 2,437 m: 83


914 to 1,523 m: 82


under 914 m: 27 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
599

1,524 to 2,437 m:
33

914 to 1,523 m:
304

under 914 m:
262 (2000 est.)
total: 1,592


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 69


914 to 1,523 m: 454


under 914 m: 1,067 (2002)
Area 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)
total: 1,972,550 sq km


land: 1,923,040 sq km


water: 49,510 sq km
Area - comparative slightly less than twice the size of Texas slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Background 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. The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections.
Birth rate 21.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 21.92 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues:
$31.1 billion

expenditures:
$34.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (FY01/02)
revenues: $136 billion


expenditures: $140 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center Mexico (Distrito Federal)
Climate mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights varies from tropical to desert
Coastline 2,798 km 9,330 km
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 5 February 1917
Country name conventional long form:
Republic of South Africa

conventional short form:
South Africa

former:
Union of South Africa

abbreviation:
RSA
conventional long form: United Mexican States


conventional short form: Mexico


local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos


local short form: Mexico
Currency rand (ZAR) Mexican peso (MXN)
Death rate 16.77 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 4.97 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $25.6 billion (2000 est.) $150 billion (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Delano E. LEWIS, Sr.

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
chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA


embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal


mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-0900


telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000


FAX: [52] (55) 5080-2005, 5080-2834


consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana


consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales
Diplomatic representation in the US 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
chief of mission: Ambassador Juan Jose BREMER Martino


chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006


telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600


FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698


consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico)


consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona)
Disputes - international Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom prolonged regional drought in the border region with the US has strained water-sharing arrangements
Economic aid - recipient $676.3 million $1.166 billion (1995)
Economy - overview 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 the 30% 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. Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports. Income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Following 6.9% growth in 2000, real GDP fell 0.3% in 2001, recovering to only a plus 1% in 2002, with the US slowdown the principal cause. Mexico implemented free trade agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and the European Free Trade Area in 2001, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. Foreign direct investment reached $25 billion in 2001, of which $12.5 billion came from the purchase of Mexico's second-largest bank, Banamex, by Citigroup.
Electricity - consumption 172.393 billion kWh (1999) 186.7 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 3.884 billion kWh (1999) 77 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 2.457 billion kWh (1999) 2.068 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 186.903 billion kWh (1999) 198.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
92.74%

hydro:
0.39%

nuclear:
6.87%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel: 78.7%


hydro: 14.2%


nuclear: 4.2%


other: 2.9% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Njesuthi 3,408 m
lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m


highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m
Environment - current issues lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion


note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues
Environment - international 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
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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 black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6% mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%
Exchange rates rand per US dollar - 7.60 (March 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996) Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.66 (2002), 9.34 (2001), 9.46 (2000), 9.56 (1999), 9.14 (1998)
Executive branch 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 governing coalition
chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate


elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006)


election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74%
Exports $30.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) 1.881 million bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities gold, diamonds, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton
Exports - partners UK, Italy, Japan, US, Germany US 82.7%, Canada 5.4%, Japan 1.1% (2002)
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March calendar year
Flag description 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
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band
GDP purchasing power parity - $369 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $924.4 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
5%

industry:
30%

services:
65% (1999 est.)
agriculture: 5%


industry: 26%


services: 69% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $8,500 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 3% (2000 est.) 0.7% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 00 S, 24 00 E 23 00 N, 102 00 W
Geography - note South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico
Heliports - 2 (2002)
Highways total:
358,596 km

paved:
59,753 km (including 1927 km of expressways)

unpaved:
298,843 km (1996)
total: 329,532 km


paved: 108,087 km (including 6,429 km of expressways)


unpaved: 221,445 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
1.1%

highest 10%:
45.9% (1994)
lowest 10%: 1.6%


highest 10%: 41.1% (2001)
Illicit drugs 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 illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2001 - 4,400 hectares; potential heroin production - 7 metric tons) and of cannabis (in 2001 - 4,100 hectares); government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; growing producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center
Imports $27.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) 374,700 bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities machinery, foodstuffs and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts
Imports - partners Germany, US, UK, Japan US 70.6%, Germany 3.5%, Japan 2.7% (2002)
Independence 31 May 1910 (from UK) 16 September 1810 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate 2.4% (2000 est.) 4.9% (2002 est.)
Industries mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
Infant mortality rate 60.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 23.68 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 26.78 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 20.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 5.3% (2000 est.) 6.4% (2002 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, BIS, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, 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 APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 44 (2000) 51 (2000)
Irrigated land 12,700 sq km (1993 est.) 65,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate)
Labor force 17 million economically active (2000) 39.8 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.) agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56% (1998)
Land boundaries total:
4,750 km

border countries:
Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 855 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km
total: 4,353 km


border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km
Land use arable land:
10%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
67%

forests and woodland:
7%

other:
15% (1993 est.)
arable land: 13.2%


permanent crops: 1.1%


other: 85.7% (1998 est.)
Languages 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages
Legal system based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch 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 NA 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
bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)


elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held NA 2006)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 15, PVEM 5, PT 1, CD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 224, PAN 153, PRD 95, other 28
Life expectancy at birth total population:
48.09 years

male:
47.64 years

female:
48.56 years (2001 est.)
total population: 72.3 years


male: 69.26 years


female: 75.49 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
81.8%

male:
81.9%

female:
81.7% (1995 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 92.2%


male: 94%


female: 90.5% (2003 est.)
Location Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US
Map references Africa North America
Maritime claims contiguous zone:
24 NM

continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM
contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine total:
8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 271,650 GRT/268,604 DWT

ships by type:
container 6, petroleum tanker 2 (2000 est.)
total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 636,271 GRT/933,686 DWT


ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 26, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 3


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Canada 2, Denmark 1 (2002 est.)
Military - note the National Defense Force continues to integrate former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces -
Military branches South African National Defense Force or SANDF (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services), South African Police Service or SAPS National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) (including Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (including Naval Air and Marines)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $2 billion (FY00/01) $4 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.5% (FY99/00) 1% (FY99)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
11,469,812 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 27,751,539 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
6,977,328 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 20,123,970 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age 18 years of age


note: starting in 2000, females were allowed to volunteer for military service (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
466,399 (2001 est.)
males: 1,093,752 (2003 est.)
National holiday Freedom Day, 27 April (1994) Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
Nationality noun:
South African(s)

adjective:
South African
noun: Mexican(s)


adjective: Mexican
Natural hazards prolonged droughts tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts
Natural resources gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
Net migration rate -1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural gas 322 km crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km
Political parties and leaders 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) [Anthony LEON, leader]; Freedom Front or FF [Constand VILJOEN, president]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA] Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Dulce Maria SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAS Santana]; Social Alliance Party or PAS [Guillermo CALDERON Dominguez]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]
Political pressure groups and leaders 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 Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church
Population 43,586,097

note:
South Africa took a census October 1996 which 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 2001 est.)
104,907,991 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 50% (2000 est.) 40% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate 0.26% (2001 est.) 1.43% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mosselbaai, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz
Radio broadcast stations AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) AM 851, FM 598, shortwave 16 (2000)
Radios 13.75 million (1997) -
Railways total:
21,431 km

narrow gauge:
20,995 km 1.067-m gauge (9,087 km electrified); 436 km 0.610-m gauge (1995)
total: 19,510 km


standard gauge: 19,510 km 1.435-m gauge (2002)
Religions 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% nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5%
Sex ratio at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.6 male(s)/female

total population:
0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female


total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)
Telephone system 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)
general assessment: low telephone density with about 12 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development


domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, and mobile cellular service


international: satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997)
Telephones - main lines in use 5.075 million (1999) 12.332 million (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular over 2,000,000 (1999) 2.02 million (1998)
Television broadcast stations 556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997) 236 (plus repeaters) (1997)
Terrain vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert
Total fertility rate 2.43 children born/woman (2001 est.) 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate 30% (2000 est.) urban - 3% plus considerable underemployment (2002)
Waterways NA 2,900 km


note: navigable rivers and coastal canals
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.