South Africa (2005) | Equatorial Guinea (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Western Cape | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.3% (male 6,760,137/female 6,682,013)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 13,860,727/female 14,750,496) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 893,360/female 1,397,403) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.4% (male 106,061; female 105,071)
15-64 years: 53.8% (male 128,489; female 139,732) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,385; female 10,406) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 728 (2004 est.) | 3 (2001) |
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: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 1
under 914 m: 1 (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: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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. | Composed of a mainland portion and five inhabited islands, Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. The tiny country, one of the smallest on the African continent, has been ruled by President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO since he seized power in a coup in 1979. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being flawed. |
Birth rate | 18.48 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 37.33 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $47.43 billion
expenditures: $52.54 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center | Malabo |
Climate | mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 2,798 km | 296 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 | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 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: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 21.32 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 12.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $27.01 billion (2004 est.) | $225 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jendayi E. FRAZER
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 George McDade STAPLES; note - the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited to Equatorial Guinea; the US State Department is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo |
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 Pastor Micha ONDO BILE
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 528-5252 |
Disputes - international | South Africa has placed military along the border to stem the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing to find work and escape political persecution; managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River | tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Cameroon and Nigeria is currently before the ICJ; maritime boundary dispute with Gabon because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay |
Economic aid - recipient | $487.5 million (2000) | $33.8 million (1995) (1995) |
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. 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. | The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been unsuccessfully trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Boosts in production and higher world oil prices stimulated growth in 2002, with oil accounting for 90% of increased exports. |
Electricity - consumption | 189.4 billion kWh (2002) | 20.46 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 6.95 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 7.873 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 202.6 billion kWh (2002) | 22 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 91%
hydro: 9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 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 | tap water is not potable; deforestation |
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, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001 census) | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
Exchange rates | rand per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Phumzile MLAMBO-NGCUKA (since 23 June 2005); 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 Phumzile MLAMBO-NGCUKA (since 23 June 2005); 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 24 April 2004 (next to be held April 2009) 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 Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup)
head of government: Prime Minister Candido Muatetema RIVAS (since 26 February 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since NA January 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since NA January 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud |
Exports | NA | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment (1998 est.) | petroleum, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | US 10.2%, UK 9.2%, Japan 9%, Germany 7.1%, Netherlands 4% (2004) | China 24%, Japan 7%, US 7%, South Korea 5% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 January - 31 December |
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), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.04 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 31.2% services: 65.2% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,100 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2004 est.) | 6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 00 S, 24 00 E | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland | insular and continental regions rather widely separated |
Highways | total: 275,971 km
paved: 57,568 km (including 2,032 km of expressways) unpaved: 218,403 km (2002) |
total: 2,880 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 2,880 km (1996) |
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 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 | NA | $736 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs (2000 est.) | petroleum sector equipment, manufactured goods and equipment |
Imports - partners | Germany 14.2%, US 8.5%, China 7.5%, Japan 6.9%, UK 6.9%, France 6%, Saudi Arabia 5.6%, Iran 5% (2004) | US 60%, France 12%, Spain 8%, Italy 6% (1999) |
Independence | 31 May 1910 (from UK); note - South Africa became a republic in 1961 following an October 1960 referendum | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.5% (2004 est.) | 7.4% (1994 est.) |
Industries | mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | total: 61.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 65.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 57.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
90.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2004 est.) | 6% (2001 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 13,500 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 16.63 million economically active (2004 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 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: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.08%
permanent crops: 0.79% other: 87.13% (2001) |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census) | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
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 |
unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PDGE 80%, UP 6%, CPDS 5%; seats by party - PDGE 75, UP 4 and CPDS 1 note: opposition parties have refused to take up their seats in the House to protest widespread irregularities in the 1999 legislative elections |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 43.27 years
male: 43.47 years female: 43.06 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 54.35 years
male: 52.26 years female: 56.5 years (2002 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: 78.5% male: 89.6% female: 68.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
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 |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 31,505 GRT/37,091 DWT
by type: container 1, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Denmark 1) registered in other countries: 7 (2005) |
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,413 GRT/16,251 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
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 (SANDF): Army, Navy, Air Force, Joint Operations, Joint Support, Military Intelligence, Military Health Service (2004) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.172 billion (2004) | $27.5 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (2004) | 2.5% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 112,664 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 57,194 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Freedom Day, 27 April (1994) | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun: South African(s)
adjective: South African |
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | prolonged droughts | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium |
Net migration rate | -0.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA] | Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MIKO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP [Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic Alliance or ADP [Victorino Bolekia BONAY]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] |
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 | 44,344,136
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 2005 est.) |
498,144 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.31% (2005 est.) | 2.45% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cape Town, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) |
Radios | - | 180,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 20,872 km
narrow gauge: 20,436 km 1.065-m gauge (10,436 km electrified); 436 km 0.610-m gauge note: includes a 1,210 km commuter rail system (2004) |
total: 0 km |
Religions | Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, other Christian 36%, Islam 1.5%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census) | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
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: 0.64 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
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: poor system with adequate government services
domestic: NA international: international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4.844 million (2002) | 6,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 16.86 million (2003) | 300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 2.24 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.81 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 26.2% (2004 est.) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |