South Africa (2004) | Ethiopia (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Western Cape | 9 ethnically-based states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations* (astedaderoch, singular - astedader); Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa), Afar, Amara (Amhara), Binshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa*, Gambela Hizboch (Gambela Peoples), Hareri Hizb (Harari People), Oromiya (Oromia), Sumale (Somali), Tigray, Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples) |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 43.4% (male 16,657,155/female 16,553,812)
15-64 years: 53.8% (male 20,558,026/female 20,639,076) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 953,832/female 1,149,986) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products | cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, qat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish |
Airports | 728 (2003 est.) | 84 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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.) |
total: 15
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
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.) |
total: 69
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
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: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km water: 7,444 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly less than twice 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. | Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990's ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. Final demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia. |
Birth rate | 18.38 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 37.39 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $37.48 billion
expenditures: $41.46 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (2003) |
revenues: $2.614 billion
expenditures: $3.201 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center | name: Addis Ababa
geographic coordinates: 9 02 N, 38 42 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights | tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation |
Coastline | 2,798 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
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 | ratified 8 December 1994, effective 22 August 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of South Africa
conventional short form: South Africa former: Union of South Africa abbreviation: RSA |
conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
conventional short form: Ethiopia local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik local short form: Ityop'iya former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa abbreviation: FDRE |
Currency | rand (ZAR) | - |
Death rate | 20.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 14.67 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $25.9 billion (2003 est.) | $3.406 billion (2006 est.) |
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 Donald Y. YAMAMOTO
embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa telephone: [251] 11-517-40-00 FAX: [251] 11-517-40-01 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Samuel ASSEFA
chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200 FAX: [1] (202) 587-0195 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River | Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), which has monitored the 25-km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000, is extended for six months in 2007 despite Eritrean restrictions on its operations and reduced force of 17,000; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; civil unrest in eastern Sudan has hampered efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia |
Economic aid - recipient | $487.5 million (2000) | $1.6 billion (FY05/06) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, accounting for almost half of GDP, 60% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy with exports of some $350 million in 2006, but historically low prices have seen many farmers switching to qat to supplement income. The war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and recurrent drought have buffeted the economy, in particular coffee production. In November 2001, Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and in December 2005 the IMF voted to forgive Ethiopia's debt to the body. Under Ethiopia's land tenure system, the government owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; the system continues to hamper growth in the industrial sector as entrepreneurs are unable to use land as collateral for loans. Drought struck again late in 2002, leading to a 3.3% decline in GDP in 2003. Normal weather patterns helped agricultural and GDP growth recover in 2004-06. |
Electricity - consumption | 181.2 billion kWh (2001) | 2.577 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 6.91 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 6.2 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 195.6 billion kWh (2001) | 2.864 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m |
lowest point: Denakil Depression -125 m
highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 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 | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6% | Oromo 32.1%, Amara 30.1%, Tigraway 6.2%, Somalie 5.9%, Guragie 4.3%, Sidama 3.5%, Welaita 2.4%, other 15.4% (1994 census) |
Exchange rates | rand per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | birr per US dollar - 8.69 (2006), 8.68 (2005), 8.6356 (2004), 8.5997 (2003), 8.5678 (2002)
note: since 24 October 2001 exchange rates are determined on a daily basis via interbank transactions regulated by the Central Bank |
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 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 |
chief of state: President GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since August 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers as provided for in the December 1994 constitution; ministers are selected by the prime minister and approved by the House of People's Representatives elections: president elected by the House of People's Representatives for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 May 2005 (next to be held in October 2010); prime minister designated by the party in power following legislative elections election results: GIRMA Woldegiorgis elected president; percent of vote by the House of People's Representatives - 100% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment (1998 est.) | coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds |
Exports - partners | UK 12.6%, US 12.4%, Japan 9.2%, Germany 8.1%, China 4.7%, Italy 4.4% (2003) | China 11%, Germany 9.1%, Japan 7.8%, US 7.1%, Saudi Arabia 6.1%, Djibouti 6%, Italy 5.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 8 July - 7 July |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $456.7 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 31% services: 65.2% (2003) |
agriculture: 48.3%
industry: 13% services: 38.7% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,700 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.9% (2003 est.) | 10.6% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 00 S, 24 00 E | 8 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland | landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993; the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia; three major crops are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and castor bean |
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%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 45.9% (1994) |
lowest 10%: 3.9%
highest 10%: 25.5% (2000) |
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 | transit hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe, as well as cocaine destined for markets in southern Africa; cultivates qat (khat) for local use and regional export, principally to Djibouti and Somalia (legal in all three countries); the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money laundering center |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs (2000 est.) | food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles |
Imports - partners | Germany 16.6%, UK 8.5%, US 8.2%, Japan 5.9%, China 5.9%, Saudi Arabia 5.2%, France 5% (2003) | Saudi Arabia 18.1%, China 11.4%, India 8.1%, Italy 5.1% (2006) |
Independence | 31 May 1910 (from UK); note - South Africa became a republic in 1961 following an October 1960 referendum | oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2003 est.) | 7.4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs | food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 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.) |
total: 91.92 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 101.57 deaths/1,000 live births female: 81.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.9% (2003 est.) | 13.5% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 13,500 sq km (1998 est.) | 2,900 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts | Federal Supreme Court (the president and vice president of the Federal Supreme Court are recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; for other federal judges, the prime minister submits to the House of People's Representatives for appointment candidates selected by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council) |
Labor force | 16.35 million economically active (2003) | 27.27 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.) | agriculture: 80%
industry: 8% services: 12% (1985) |
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: 5,328 km
border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.08%
permanent crops: 0.79% other: 87.13% (2001) |
arable land: 10.01%
permanent crops: 0.65% other: 89.34% (2005) |
Languages | 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu | Amarigna 32.7%, Oromigna 31.6%, Tigrigna 6.1%, Somaligna 6%, Guaragigna 3.5%, Sidamigna 3.5%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, other 14.8%, English (major foreign language taught in schools) (1994 census) |
Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law; currently transitional mix of national and regional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation (or upper chamber) (108 seats; members are chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives (or lower chamber) (547 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - EPRDF 327, CUD 109, UEDF 52, SPDP 23, OFDM 11, BGPDUF 8, ANDP 8, independent 1, others 6, undeclared 2 note: irregularities at some polling stations necessitated the rescheduling of voting in certain constituencies |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 44.19 years
male: 44.39 years female: 43.98 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 49.23 years
male: 48.06 years female: 50.44 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.4% male: 87% female: 85.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.7% male: 50.3% female: 35.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa | Eastern Africa, west of Somalia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
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.) |
total: 10 ships (1000 GRT or over) 120,383 GRT/152,418 DWT
by type: cargo 8, roll on/roll off 2 (2007) |
Military - note | 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 | Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF): Ground Forces, Ethiopian Air Force
note: Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following the secession of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities remained in Eritrean possession |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2,653.4 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (2003) | 3% (2006) |
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 | Freedom Day, 27 April (1994) | National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991) |
Nationality | noun: South African(s)
adjective: South African |
noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian |
Natural hazards | prolonged droughts | geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts |
Natural resources | gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas | small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: repatriation of Ethiopian refugees residing in Sudan is expected to continue for several years; some Sudanese, Somali, and Eritrean refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting or famine in their own countries, continue to return to their homes (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 100 km; gas 1,052 km; oil 847 km; refined products 1,354 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF [Mulualem BESSE]; Coalition for Unity and Democratic Party or CUDP [TEMESGEN Zewdie] (contains elements of the former CUD); Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [MELES Zenawi] (an alliance of Amhara National Democratic Movement or ANDM, Oromo People's Democratic Organization or OPDO, the South Ethiopian People's Democratic Front or SEPDF, and Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front or TPLF); Gurage Nationalities' Democratic Movement or GNDM; Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement or OFDM [BULCHA Demeksa]; Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP; United Ethiopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [BEYENE Petros]; dozens of small parties |
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 | Ethiopian People's Patriotic Front or EPPF; Ogaden National Liberation Front or ONLF; Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa] |
Population | 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.) |
76,511,887
note: 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 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | 38.7% (FY05/06 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.25% (2004 est.) | 2.272% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 1 (2001) |
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) |
total: 699 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge: 699 km 1.000-m gauge note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia (2006) |
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% | Christian 60.8% (Orthodox 50.6%, Protestant 10.2%), Muslim 32.8%, traditional 4.6%, other 1.8% (1994 census) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.006 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.996 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.829 male(s)/female total population: 0.995 male(s)/female (2007 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: country code - 27; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: inadequate telephone system; the number of fixed lines and mobile telephones is increasing from a very small base; combined fixed and mobile-cellular teledensity is only about 2 per 100 persons
domestic: open-wire; microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service international: country code - 251; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; microwave radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4.844 million (2002) | 725,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 16.86 million (2003) | 866,700 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997) | 1 (plus 24 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain | high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley |
Total fertility rate | 2.18 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 5.1 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 31% (includes workers no longer looking for employment) (2003 est.) | NA% |