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| Official
name: |
Republic
of South Africa |
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| Head
of state: |
President
Thabo Mbeki |
|
| Geographical: |
Lying
between the latitudes of 22° and 35° South, South Africa
extends from the Limpopo River in the north 2000km (1200mi)
to the Cape Peninsula in the southwest and 1500km (930mi) from
the semi-desert of Namaqualand in the west to the subtropical
east coast of KwaZulu-Natal. To the north South Africa borders
Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe and to the northeast, Mozambique.
Completely surrounded by South Africa are the totally independent
kingdoms of Lesotho and Swaziland. |
|
| Area: |
1.22mill
sq. km or 471 442 sq miles (five times the size of Great Britain). |
| Regions: |
The
country is divided into nine provinces (see map) |
| Capitals: |
Cape
Town (legislative), Pretoria (administrative) and Bloemfontein
(judicial) |
| Population: |
47
million |
| Language: |
There
are 11 official languages: English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Sotho,
Xhosa, Venda, Tswana, Tsonga, Pedi, Shangaan and Ndebele |
| Religion: |
Predominantly Christian. Freedom of worship guaranteed by the
Constitution. There are churches, mosques, temples and synagogues
catering to all religions and denominations in most major cities. |
| Form
of state: |
Federal,
comprising a central government and nine provincial governments. |
| National
legislature: |
Bi-cameral
parliament, elected every five years, comprising a 400-seat
National Assembly and a 90-seat Council of Provinces. |
| Time
zone: |
South
Africa is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and seven
hours ahead of the U.S.A.’s Eastern Standard Time. |
| Climate: |
The
seasons are the exact opposite to those in the Northern Hemisphere.
South Africa is predominantly a sunny country with the main
summer months being December and January. Generally, summers
are warm to hot with the autumn months of May & June bringing
cooler nights. The climate is generally good all year round
in most parts of the country. Colder conditions occur in winter,
from July to the end of September, with the Cape Province often
experiencing more rainfall. KwaZulu-Natal is best visited at
this time, with the warm coastal temperatures being offset by
the occasional snowfalls and chilly temperatures in the Drakensberg
Mountains. |
| Total
GDP: |
R1,560bn |
| Major
exports: |
Gold,
minerals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foods, pulp and
paper |
| Imports: |
Machinery,
transport equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals, oil |
| Main
trading partners: |
Germany,
USA, UK, Japan |
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