South Africa is one of the most industrialized countries in Africa.
South Africa Land surface area: 1 220 813 km2
Key economic sectors
Mining services and transport, energy, manufacturing, tourism, and agriculture
Population
Mid-year Population Estimates, 2017
Total: 56,52 million
Male: 27,62 million (49%)
Female: 28,9 million (51%)
Official languages
English
isiZulu
isiXhosa
isiNdebele
Afrikaans
siSwati
Sepedi
Sesotho
Setswana
Tshivenda
Xitsonga
Currency
Rand (ZAR) – 100 cents equals one rand.
Time
GMT +2 hours
Government
Constitutional multiparty, three spheres – local, provincial and national government.
Capitals
Pretoria (administrative)
Cape Town (legislative)
Bloemfontein (judicial)
The Constitutional Court is located in Johannesburg.
Provinces
Eastern Cape
Free State
Gauteng
KwaZulu-Natal
Limpopo
Mpumalanga
Northern Cape
North West
Western Cape
Transportation
Excellent roads, rail and air facilities (both domestic and international).
Public transport in major cities include the Gautrain between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and the Bus Rapid Transport System in major cities.
Telecommunications
World-class infrastructure. Internet access is widely available. There are five mobile (cellular) networks.
Health
Top-quality public and private healthcare are available throughout the country. Malaria precautions are necessary in some areas.
Source: Statistics South Africa’s Mid-year Population Estimates, 2017
| Mid-year estimates by population group and sex, 2017 | ||||||
| Population group | Male | Female | Total | |||
| Number | % of total male population | Number | % of total female population | Number | % of total population | |
| Black African | 22 311 400 | 80,8 | 23 345 000 | 80,8 | 45 656 400 | 80,8 |
| Coloured | 2 403 400 | 8,7 | 2 559 500 | 8,9 | 4 962 900 | 8,8 |
| Indian/Asian | 719 300 | 2,6 | 689 800 | 2,4 | 1 409 100 | 2,5 |
| White | 2 186 500 | 7,9 | 2 307 100 | 8,0 | 4 493 500 | 8,0 |
| Total | 27 620 600 | 100,0 | 28 901 400 | 100,0 | 56 521 900 | 100,0 |