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Compare Yemen (2002) - South Africa (2008)

Compare Yemen (2002) z South Africa (2008)

 Yemen (2002)South Africa (2008)
 YemenSouth Africa
Administrative divisions 19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz


note: there may be one additional governorate of the capital city of Sanaa
9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North-West, Western Cape
Age structure 0-14 years: 47% (male 4,468,928; female 4,317,648)


15-64 years: 50.1% (male 4,783,769; female 4,587,309)


65 years and over: 2.9% (male 273,282; female 270,321) (2002 est.)
0-14 years: 29.1% (male 6,447,623/female 6,370,909)


15-64 years: 65.5% (male 14,040,210/female 14,761,179)


65 years and over: 5.4% (male 917,227/female 1,460,680) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products
Airports 49 (2001) 728 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 16


over 3,047 m: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 9


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2002)
total: 146


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: 13 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways 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: 11


under 914 m: 4 (2002)
total: 582


1,524 to 2,437 m: 34


914 to 1,523 m: 300


under 914 m: 248 (2007)
Area total: 527,970 sq km


land: 527,970 sq km


water: 0 sq km


note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)
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)
Area - comparative slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Background North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of modern day South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the East, founding the city of Cape Town. 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); however, the British and the Afrikaners, as the Boers became known, ruled together under the Union of South Africa. In 1948, the National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The first multi-racial elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid and ushered in black majority rule.
Birth rate 43.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 17.94 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $3 billion


expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
revenues: $68.2 billion


expenditures: $66.7 billion (2007 est.)
Capital Sanaa name: Pretoria (administrative capital)


geographic coordinates: 25 42 S, 28 13 E


time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


note: Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital)
Climate mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
Coastline 1,906 km 2,798 km
Constitution 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 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 4 February 1997; it is being implemented in phases
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Yemen


conventional short form: Yemen


local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah


local short form: Al Yaman
conventional long form: Republic of South Africa


conventional short form: South Africa


former: Union of South Africa


abbreviation: RSA
Currency Yemeni rial (YER) -
Death rate 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 22.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $4.7 billion (2001) $64.8 billion (30 September 2007)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Edmund J. HULL


embassy: Dhahar Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa


mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa


telephone: [967] (1) 303-161


FAX: [967] (1) 303-182
chief of mission: Ambassador Eric BOST


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
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI


chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037


telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760


FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017
chief of mission: Ambassador Welile Augustine NHLAPO


chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400


FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607


consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
Disputes - international demarcation of delimited boundary with Saudi Arabia involves nomadic tribal affiliations; Yemen has asserted traditional fishing rights to islands ceded to Eritrea in ICJ ruling South Africa has placed military along the border to apprehend the thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing economic dysfunction and political persecution; as of January 2007, South Africa also supports large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (33,000), Somalia (20,000), Burundi (6,500), and other states in Africa (26,000); managed dispute with Namibia over the location of the boundary in the Orange River; in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa
Economic aid - recipient $176.1 million (1995) (1995) $700 million (2005)
Economy - overview Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. Aided by higher oil prices in 1999-2000, Yemen worked to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. A high population growth rate and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. 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 is 17th largest in the world; and modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. Growth has been robust since 2004, as South Africa has reaped the benefits of macroeconomic stability and a global commodities boom. However, unemployment remains high and outdated infrastructure has constrained growth. At the end of 2007, South Africa began to experience an electricity crisis because state power supplier Eskom suffered supply problems with aged plants, necessitating "load-shedding" cuts to residents and businesses in the major cities. Daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era - especially poverty, lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups, and a shortage of public transportation. South African economic policy is fiscally conservative but pragmatic, focusing on controlling inflation, maintaining a budget surplus, and using state-owned enterprises to deliver basic services to low-income areas as a means to increase job growth and household income.
Electricity - consumption 2.976 billion kWh (2000) 241.4 billion kWh (2007)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000) 13.42 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000) 11.32 billion kWh (2007)
Electricity - production 3.2 billion kWh (2000) 264 billion kWh (2007)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m


highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m
Environment - current issues very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification 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
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban
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
Ethnic groups predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001 census)
Exchange rates Yemeni rials per US dollar - 171.860 (December 2001), 168.678 (2001), 161.718 (2000), 155.718 (1999), 135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997) rand per US dollar - 7.05 (2007), 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003)
Executive branch chief of state: President Field Marshall Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4 April 2001)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister


elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a seven-year term (recently extended from a five-year term by constitutional amendment); election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president


election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7%
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)


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president


elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 24 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2009)


election results: Thabo MBEKI elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation)
Exports $3.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) 217,700 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment
Exports - partners Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Singapore 9%, Japan 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999) Japan 12.1%, US 11.8%, UK 9%, Germany 7.6%, Netherlands 5.3%, China 4% (2006)
Fiscal year calendar year 1 April - 31 March
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band 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
GDP purchasing power parity - $14.8 billion (2001 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 17%


industry: 40%


services: 43% (1998)
agriculture: 2.2%


industry: 27%


services: 70.9% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2001 est.) 5% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates 15 00 N, 48 00 E 29 00 S, 24 00 E
Geography - note strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland
Heliports - 1 (2007)
Highways total: 69,263 km


paved: 9,963 km


unpaved: 59,300 km (1999)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 3%


highest 10%: 26% (1998) (1998)
lowest 10%: 1.4%


highest 10%: 44.7% (2000)
Illicit drugs - transshipment center for heroin, hashish, and cocaine, as well as a major cultivator of marijuana in its own right; cocaine and heroin consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries, but increasingly producing its own synthetic drugs for domestic consumption; attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region and the size of the South African economy
Imports $3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) 319,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities food and live animals, machinery and equipment machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs
Imports - partners Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, France 7%, US 7%, Italy 6% (1999) Germany 12.6%, China 10%, US 7.6%, Japan 6.6%, Saudi Arabia 5.3%, UK 5% (2006)
Independence 22 May 1990, Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]; previously North Yemen had become independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) 31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 31 May 1961 (republic declared) 27 April 1994 (majority rule)
Industrial production growth rate NA% 6.2% (2007 est.)
Industries crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair
Infant mortality rate 66.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) total: 59.44 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 62.95 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 55.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 10% (2001 est.) 6.5% (2007 est.)
International organization participation ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) ACP, AfDB, AU, BIS, C, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, NSG, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) -
Irrigated land 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) 14,980 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Court Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts
Labor force NA 20.49 million economically active (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force agriculture: 9%


industry: 26%


services: 65% (2007 est.)
Land boundaries total: 1,746 km


border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
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
Land use arable land: 2.75%


permanent crops: 0.21%


other: 97.04% (1998 est.)
arable land: 12.1%


permanent crops: 0.79%


other: 87.11% (2005)
Languages Arabic 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)
Legal system based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law
Legislative branch a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)


elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held 27 April 2003)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GPC 189, Islah 52, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1; seats by party as of January 2002: GPC 223, Islah 64, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, YSP 2, independents 7
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 4 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 on 14 April 2004 (next to be held in 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
Life expectancy at birth total population: 60.59 years


male: 58.81 years


female: 62.46 years (2002 est.)
total population: 42.45 years


male: 43.21 years


female: 41.66 years (2007 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 38%


male: 53%


female: 26% (1990 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 86.4%


male: 87%


female: 85.7% (2003 est.)
Location Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Map references Middle East Africa
Maritime claims contiguous zone: 24 NM


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


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,002 GRT/23,752 DWT


ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Hong Kong 2 (2002 est.)
total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 28,722 GRT/32,226 DWT


by type: container 1, petroleum tanker 1


foreign-owned: 1 (Denmark 1)


registered in other countries: 6 (Bahamas 1, Seychelles 1, UK 4, unknown 1) (2007)
Military - note establishement of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been delayed 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 Army (includes Special Forces, established in 1999), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard South African National Defense Force (SANDF): South African Army, South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), Joint Operations Command, Joint Support Command, Military Intelligence, Military Health Service (2007)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $482.5 million (FY01) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 5.2% (FY01) 1.7% (2006)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 4,272,156 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 2,397,914 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 14 years of age (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 238,690 (2002 est.) -
National holiday Unification Day, 22 May (1990) Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)
Nationality noun: Yemeni(s)


adjective: Yemeni
noun: South African(s)


adjective: South African
Natural hazards sandstorms and dust storms in summer prolonged droughts
Natural resources petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population


note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2007 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km condensate 100 km; gas 1,177 km; oil 992 km; refined products 1,379 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders there are over 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; National Arab Socialist Baath Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]


note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election, but announced that it would participate in Yemen's first local elections which were held in February 2001; these local elections aim to decentralize political power and are a key element of the government's political reform program
African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE]; African National Congress or ANC [Jacob ZUMA]; Democratic Alliance or DA [Helen ZILLE]; Freedom Front Plus or FF+ [Pieter MULDER]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI]; New National Party or NNP; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Motsoko PHEKO]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA 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
Population 18,701,257 (July 2002 est.) 43,997,828


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 NA 50% (2000 est.)
Population growth rate 3.4% (2002 est.) -0.46% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun -
Radio broadcast stations AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios 1.05 million (1997) -
Railways 0 km total: 20,872 km


narrow gauge: 20,436 km 1.065-m gauge (8,931 km electrified); 436 km 0.610-m gauge (2006)
Religions Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female


total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.012 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.628 male(s)/female


total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network


domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems


international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti
general assessment: the system is the best developed and most modern in Africa


domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 100 telephones per 100 persons; 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; the SAT-3/WASC and SAFE fiber optic cable systems connect in South Africa providing connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 291,359 (1999) 4.729 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 32,042 (2000) 39.66 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) 556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997)
Terrain narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
Total fertility rate 6.9 children born/woman (2002 est.) 2.16 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 30% (1995 est.) 24.2% (2007 est.)
Waterways none -
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