South Africa (2001) | Virgin Islands (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Northern Province, Western Cape | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas |
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: 22.4% (male 12,261/female 12,056)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 34,174/female 37,949) 65 years and over: 11.2% (male 5,385/female 6,780) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products | fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle |
Airports | 741 (2000 est.) | 2 (2006) |
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: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
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.) |
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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: 1,910 sq km
land: 346 sq km water: 1,564 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | twice the size of Washington, DC |
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. | During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. |
Birth rate | 21.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.96 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$31.1 billion expenditures: $34.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (FY01/02) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
Capital | Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center | name: Charlotte Amalie
geographic coordinates: 18 21 N, 64 56 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights | subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season September to November |
Coastline | 2,798 km | 188 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 | Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954 |
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 States Virgin Islands
conventional short form: Virgin Islands former: Danish West Indies abbreviation: USVI |
Currency | rand (ZAR) | - |
Death rate | 16.77 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $25.6 billion (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
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 |
none (territory of the US) |
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 |
none (territory of the US) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $676.3 million | $NA |
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. | Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are small but growing components of the economy. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The islands are subject to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, to support construction projects in the private sector, to expand tourist facilities, to reduce crime, and to protect the environment. |
Electricity - consumption | 172.393 billion kWh (1999) | 967.3 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 3.884 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 2.457 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 186.903 billion kWh (1999) | 1.04 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
92.74% hydro: 0.39% nuclear: 6.87% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Crown Mountain 475 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 | lack of natural freshwater resources |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6% | black 76.2%, white 13.1%, Asian 1.1%, other 6.1%, mixed 3.5% (2000 census) |
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) | the US dollar is used |
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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (since 5 January 1999) cabinet: NA elections: under the US Consitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such as the Virgin Islands, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 7 and 21 November 2006 (next to be held November 2010) election results: John DeJONGH elected governor and takes office in January 2007; percent of vote - John DeJONGH 57.3%, Kenneth MAPP 42.7% |
Exports | $30.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | gold, diamonds, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment | refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | UK, Italy, Japan, US, Germany | US, Puerto Rico (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 October - 30 September |
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 |
white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $369 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5% industry: 30% services: 65% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 19% services: 80% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,500 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 00 S, 24 00 E | 18 20 N, 64 50 W |
Geography - note | South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland | important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean |
Highways | total:
358,596 km paved: 59,753 km (including 1927 km of expressways) unpaved: 298,843 km (1996) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.1% highest 10%: 45.9% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 | - |
Imports | $27.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery, foodstuffs and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments | crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials |
Imports - partners | Germany, US, UK, Japan | US, Puerto Rico (2004) |
Independence | 31 May 1910 (from UK) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs | tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics |
Infant mortality rate | 60.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.86 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.3% (2000 est.) | 2.2% (2003) |
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 | IOC, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 44 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 12,700 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts | US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Superior Court of the Virgin Islands (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms) |
Labor force | 17 million economically active (2000) | 43,980 (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.) | agriculture: 1%
industry: 19% services: 80% (2003 est.) |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 67% forests and woodland: 7% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 5.71%
permanent crops: 2.86% other: 91.43% (2005) |
Languages | 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu | English 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%, French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% (2000 census) |
Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on US laws |
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 |
unicameral Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 8, ICM 4, independent 3 note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008); results - Donna M. CHRISTENSEN (Democrat) reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
48.09 years male: 47.64 years female: 48.56 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 79.05 years
male: 75.24 years female: 83.09 years (2006 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: 90-95% est. male: NA% female: NA% (2005 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
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 |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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.) |
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Military - note | the National Defense Force continues to integrate former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | South African National Defense Force or SANDF (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services), South African Police Service or SAPS | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2 billion (FY00/01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY99/00) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
11,469,812 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
6,977,328 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
466,399 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Freedom Day, 27 April (1994) | Transfer Day (from Denmark to the US), 27 March (1917) |
Nationality | noun:
South African(s) adjective: South African |
noun: Virgin Islander(s) (US citizens)
adjective: Virgin Islander |
Natural hazards | prolonged droughts | several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes |
Natural resources | gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas | sun, sand, sea, surf |
Net migration rate | -1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -8.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural gas 322 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] | Democratic Party [Arturo WATLINGTON]; Independent Citizens' Movement or ICM [Usie RICHARDS]; Republican Party [Gary SPRAUVE] |
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 | NA |
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.) |
108,605 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.26% (2001 est.) | -0.12% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mosselbaai, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 6, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2006) |
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) |
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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% | Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7% |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
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: modern system with total digital switching, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay
domestic: full range of services available international: country code - 1-340; 2 submarine cable connections (Taino Carib, Americas-1); satellite earth stations - NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 5.075 million (1999) | 70,900 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | over 2,000,000 (1999) | 64,200 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997) | 5 (2006) |
Terrain | vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain | mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land |
Total fertility rate | 2.43 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.17 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2000 est.) | 6.2% (2004) |
Waterways | NA | - |