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POPULATION STATISTICS: historical demography of all countries, their divisions and towns

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map of South Africa; source WRSOUTH AFRICA

[Suid-Afrika] : general data of the country


 
General useful information
 
Note: some data are of constant value, while other are due to changes, fluctuations etc.
 
Nation and population
official name (short form): South Africa ; Suid-Afrika
country code ISO: ZA //; - FIPS: SF
location: Southern Africa
time zone: +2 UT
surface (land) area: 1219090 sq.km = 470693 sq.mi //; - area incl. inland waters: sq.km = sq.mi
geographical position in extreme co-ordinates: North: 22° S / South: 35° S / East: 33° E / West: 16° E
borders (land): Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho
borders (coastline): Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean
climate: warm temperate
Government
independent since: 1910-05-31 ; 1934 ; 1961-05-31
type of government: republic
capital: Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial), Cape Town [Kaapstad] (legislative)
administrative division: province (9)
Population
population according to the last two censuses (1991): 30986,922; (1996): 40583,573
total population according to the estimate of midyear 2000: 43421,021; or: 42801,000 /-; 2001: 43681,000
population density: 36 per sq.km = 93 per sq.mi
population growth: 3% //; - doubling time: years
birth rate: 21 - 28 per 1000
death rate: 10 - 17 per 1000
fertility rate: 3,5 children per female
maternal mortality: 83 per 100,000 (figures for urban areas only)
infant mortality (1-4 years): 49 per 1000
life expectancy: 48 years (male: 48; female: 49)
age breakdown: 0-14 years: 37% //; - 15-59 years: 57% //; - 60+ years: 6%
urbanisation: 48 - 60% //; - urbanisation growth: 3%
percentage of urban population in the greatest city: 13%
Ethnic composition, language, religion
ethnic groups: black 77,6% (Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Sotho, Tswana); white 10,4%; coloured 8,7%; Asian 2,5%
languages: English, Afrikaans, SiNdebele, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, SePedi, SeSotho, SeTswana, SiSwati, TshiVenda, XiTsonga
religious affiliation: Black Christian churches 31%; Dutch Reformed 23%; Roman Catholic 15%; Hindi 1%; Muslim 1%
Health
daily food intake: 2909 calories per capita
population with access to safe water: 70 - 86%
people per physician: 1742
people per hospital bed: 306
Education, literacy
school enrolment: primary education 6-11 years: 89%
school enrolment: secondary education: 15%
school enrolment: tertiary education 20-24 years: 3%
adult literacy: 85% (male: %; female: %)
 
Economy and infrastructure
 
Economy and trade
currency: Rand = 100 cents
annual inflation rate: 10%
population below poverty line: 19%
Gross Domestic Product: USD 2900 per capita
GNI USD 3020 per capita //; - [ppp: 9160]
GDP growth: 0%
income: USD 2600 per capita
import: USD 27737 per capita //; - export: USD 27339 per capita
trade: USD 964 per capita //; - or 47% of GDP
trade partners: DE GB US JP CH NL
human development index: 0,702 //; - position of the country in the world no.: 94
female labour force: 44%
unemployment: 23%
tourism: 6 million
Economic activities in agriculture, fisheries, industry, mining, services, energy
land use: arable land: 11% //; - grass land: 67% //; - wooded area: 4% //; - arid land and desert: 8%
agriculture: labour force: 14% //; - part of agriculture in GDP: 5%
agricultural products: maize, meat, fruits, surgarcane, wheat, milk, potatoes, grapes, wool, vegetables
livestock (million): cattle: 13,5 / goats: 6,7 / horses: 0,25 / pigs: 1,5 / poultry: 119,7 / sheep: 28,6
fish catch: 513586 - 588000 metric tonnes
industry: labour force: 24% //; - part of industry in GDP: 44%
industrial products: food processing, (petro)chemicals, iron & steel, transport equipment, machinery, textiles
mining products: gold, coal, vanadium, vermiciline, diamonds, chromium, manganese, iron, copper, platinum, antimony, >
CO2 emission per capita: 8,3 // > some more mining products: nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium
services: labour force: 62% //; - part of services in GDP: 51%
energy use (kg per capita): 2597
electricity use (per capita): 3776
annual water use (per capita): 359
Traffic, communication
road network: 181341, or 331265 km //; - of which paved: 33% //; - of which are motorways: 2040 km
vehicles: 95 per 1000
railways: 20319, or 21244 km //; - railways passenger/km: 895
navigable inland waterways: 0 km
ownership telephone: 95 - 125 per 1000
ownership radio receivers: 273 - 355 per 1000
ownership tv-sets: 101 - 134 per 1000
newspaper circulation: 33 per 1000
persons per post office:
personal computers: 62 per 1000
 
Some physical landmarks
 
mountains: Giants Castle 3312 m, Witteberg 2771, Bendearg 2770, Kopshorn 2676
lowest point: sea level
lakes (natural): none, or unknown
lakes (artificial reservoirs): Gariep Dam, Vaal Dam, Grootdraaidam, Heyshope Dam, Bloemhof Dam and others
lakes (deepest): unknown
rivers: Orange, Vaal
canals: none, or unknown
waterfalls: Augrabies 146 m; Tugela (in more than one leap) 614 m
caves: longest system: none, or unknown / deepest:
islands: none, or unknown
deserts: Kalahari
other natural features:
 
Additional remarks, especially on the statistical information
 
other important features:
apart from physical landmarks most of the above figures are changeable, in most cases they date from the 1990's
in some sources the figures are specified in ethnic groups, in these tables only totals are given
primary sources used for the general information:
BB CA EV PW WA WB WR, and some national statistical yearbooks
particulars concerning population data:
 

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Latest modification of this page on 2004-03-04 by Jan Lahmeyer
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