South Africa (2002) | Denmark (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Western Cape | metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 boroughs* (amtskommuner, singular - amtskomunes); Arhus, Bornholm, Fredericksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavns*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark and are self-governing overseas administrative divisions |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 18.7% (male 514,589; female 488,121)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 1,806,722; female 1,760,149) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 334,599; female 464,674) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products | barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 740 (2001) | 116 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 584
1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 298 under 914 m: 252 (2002) |
total: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 71 (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: 43,094 sq km
land: 42,394 sq km water: 700 sq km note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts |
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. | Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the general political and economic integration of Europe. However, the country has opted out of European Union's Maastricht Treaty, the European monetary system (EMU), and issues concerning certain internal affairs. |
Birth rate | 20.63 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 11.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $22.6 billion
expenditures: $24.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (FY02/03 ) |
revenues: $52.9 billion
expenditures: $51.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2001 est.) |
Capital | Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center | Copenhagen |
Climate | mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers |
Coastline | 2,798 km | 7,314 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 | 1849 was the original constitution; there was a major overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of South Africa
conventional short form: South Africa former: Union of South Africa abbreviation: RSA |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark |
Currency | rand (ZAR) | Danish krone (DKK) |
Death rate | 18.86 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $25.5 billion (2001 est.) | $21.7 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Stuart BERNSTEIN
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] 35 55 31 44 FAX: [45] 35 43 02 23 |
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 Ulrik Andreas FEDERSPIEL
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | 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 | Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Iceland over the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Iceland, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM; Faroese are considering proposals for full independence |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.63 billion (1999) |
Economic aid - recipient | $539 million (1999) | - |
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 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. | This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and has a comfortable balance of payments surplus. Government objectives include streamlining the bureaucracy and further privatization of state assets. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join the 12 other EU members in the euro; even so, the Danish Krone remains pegged to the euro. Given the sluggish state of the world economy, growth in 2003 likely will be only moderately higher than in 2002. |
Electricity - consumption | 181.52 billion kWh (2000) | 33.925 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 4.549 billion kWh (2000) | 7.679 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 5.294 billion kWh (2000) | 8.318 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 194.38 billion kWh (2000) | 35.792 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 93%
hydro: 1% nuclear: 7% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 84%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 16% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m |
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6% | Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali |
Exchange rates | rand per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997) | Danish kroner per US dollar - 8.418 (January 2002), 8.323 (2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997); note - the Danes rejected the euro in a 28 September 2000 referendum |
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 is the governing coalition |
chief of state: Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968)
head of government: Prime Minister Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN (since 27 November 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch |
Exports | $32.3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $56.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills |
Exports - partners | EU 33%, US 20%, Japan 6%, Mozambique 2.5% (2001 est.) | EU 64.7% (Germany 19.6%, Sweden 11.8%, UK 9.5%, France 5.1%, Netherlands 4.5%), US 6.9%, Norway 5.5% (2001) |
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 |
red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $412 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $155.5 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 31% services: 66% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 26% services: 71% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,400 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 1.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 00 S, 24 00 E | 56 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland | controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen |
Highways | total: 358,596 km
paved: 59,753 km (including 1,927 km of expressways) unpaved: 298,843 km (1996) |
total: 71,474 km
paved: 71,474 km (including 880 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 46% (1994) (1994) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
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; attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region | - |
Imports | $28.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $47.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, foodstuffs and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | EU 41%, US 11.4%, Saudi Arabia 7.3%, Japan 7% (2001 est.) | EU 69.9% (Germany 21.9%, Sweden 12.1%, UK 7.5%, Netherlands 7.1%, France 5.7%, Italy 4.5%), US 4.2% (2001) |
Independence | 31 May 1910 (from UK) | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2001 est.) | 1.4% (2002 est.) |
Industries | mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs | food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other wood products, shipbuilding, windmills |
Infant mortality rate | 61.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 4.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.8% (2001 est.) | 2.3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 150 (2001) | 13 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 13,500 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,760 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) |
Labor force | 17 million economically active (2000) | 2.856 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.) | services 79%, industry 17%, agriculture 4% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | 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 |
total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.13%
permanent crops: 0.77% other: 87.1% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 55.74%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 44.07% (1998 est.) |
Languages | 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | 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 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 |
unicameral Parliament or Folketing (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party 56, Social Democrats 52, Danish People's Party 22, Conservative Party 16, Socialist People's Party 12, Social Liberal Party 9, Christian People's Party 4, Unity List 4; note - does not include the 2 seats from Greenland and the 2 seats from the Faroe Islands |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 45.43 years
male: 45.19 years female: 45.68 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 76.91 years
male: 74.3 years female: 79.67 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85% male: 86% female: 85% (2000 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaelland and Fyn) |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 3, Netherlands 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 301 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,258,959 GRT/8,143,520 DWT
ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 105, chemical tanker 26, container 72, liquefied gas 20, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 25, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 16, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Greenland 1, Indonesia 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 9, United Kingdom 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 (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services), South African Police Service | Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.79 billion (FY01) | $2.47 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY01) | 1.4% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 11,557,242 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,287,168 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 7,031,337 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,099,900 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 466,399 (2002 est.) | males: 29,212 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Freedom Day, 27 April (1994) | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June is generally viewed as the National Day |
Nationality | noun: South African(s)
adjective: South African |
noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish |
Natural hazards | prolonged droughts | flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes |
Natural resources | gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas | petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, stone, gravel and sand |
Net migration rate | -1.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural gas 322 km | crude oil 110 km; petroleum products 578 km; natural gas 700 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; 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] | Center Democratic Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian People's Party [Jann SJURSEN]; Conservative Party (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN]; Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Social Democratic Party [Mogens LYKKETOFT]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Johannes LEBECH, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Holger K. NIELSEN]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership] |
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 | 43,647,658
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.) |
5,368,854 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.02% (2002 est.) | 0.29% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha | Abenra, Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Frederikshavn, Hirtshals, Kolding, Odense, Roenne (Bornholm), Vejle |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 17 million (2001) | 6.02 million (1997) |
Railways | 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) |
total: 2,859 km (508 km privately owned and operated)
standard gauge: 2,859 km 1.435-m gauge (600 km electrified; 760 km double-track) (1998 est.) |
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% | Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2% |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: excellent telephone and telegraph services
domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems international: 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Norway, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Canada; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat (Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | more than 5 million (2001) | 4.785 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7.06 million (2001) | 1,444,016 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997) | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain | low and flat to gently rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.38 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.73 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 37% (2001 est.) | 5.1% (2002) |
Waterways | NA | 417 km |