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South Africa gained independence from Britain in May 1910 and formed the Union of South Africa. It declared itself a republic in May 1961. Majority rule came to the country in April 1994. South Africa is Africa's superpower. It is the continent's biggest economy, and has strong financial and manufacturing sectors, with an abundant supply of natural resources, and well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors. The country's stock exchange ranks among the largest in the world. Despite economic strength, poverty and unemployment are widespread. The country has 11 official languages including English, Afrikaans, Sesotho, Setswana, Xhosa and Zulu.
Leader: President Jacob Zuma (since 2009) Capital city: Pretoria
Economic profile
Monetary unit: Rand GDP per capita: $3 723 (2007) (IMF) GDP composition by sector: Agriculture: 3,4% (2008) (World Bank) Industry: 31,3% (2008) (World Bank) Services: 5,3% (2008) (World Bank) GDP growth rate: 2,8% (2008) (IMF) Budget: Government revenue, excluding grants: 27,2% of GDP (2007) (IMF) Government expenditure: 26,3% of GDP (2007) (IMF) Consumer price inflation: 7,1% (2007) (IMF) Industries: Mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, and commercial ship repair Exports of goods and services: 31,6% of GDP (2007) (IMF) Imports of goods and services: 34,7% of GDP (2007) (IMF) Export commodities: Gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment Import commodities: Not stated Trade balance: -2,0% of GDP (2007) (IMF) Reserves: 3,7 months of imports (2007) (IMF) Total investment: 20,1% of GDP (2008) (IMF) Market capitalisation of listed companies: 280,4% of GDP (2006) (World Bank)
Social profile
Population: 49,05-million (2009) (World Bank) Population growth: 0,28% (2009) (World Bank) Life expectancy at birth: 49 years (2009) (CIA) Adult literacy: 8,4% (2003) (UNStats) School enrolment primary: 106,7% (2000) (World Bank) School enrolment secondary: 84,9% (2000) (World Bank) School enrolment tertiary: 15,3% (2005) (World Bank) Unemployment: 26,6% (2005) (UNStats) Number of people living with HIV/Aids: 5,7-million (2007) (UNAids estimate)
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