Country South Africa

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Legend: Definition Field Listing Rank Order

Background:

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.

Location:	Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Geographic coordinates:	29 00 S, 24 00 E
Map references:	Africa
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)
Area - comparative:	slightly less than twice the size of Texas
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
Coastline:	2,798 km
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
Climate:	mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
Terrain:	vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
Elevation extremes:	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m
Natural resources:	gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
Land use:	arable land: 12.1% permanent crops: 0.79% other: 87.11% (2005)
Irrigated land:	14,980 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:	50 cu km (1990)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):	Total: 12.5 cu km/yr (31%/6%/63%) Per capita: 264 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:	prolonged droughts
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
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
Geography - note:	South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland

Population:	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.)
Age structure:	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.)
Median age:	total: 24.3 years male: 23.5 years female: 25.1 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:	-0.46% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:	17.94 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:	22.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:	-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.)
Sex ratio:	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.)
Infant mortality rate:	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.)
Life expectancy at birth:	total population: 42.45 years

Country Source Information : CIA World Factbook