Oliver Tambo; Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), Zephania Mothopeng; internal antiapartheid groups—Pan-Africanist Movement (PAM), Clarence Makwetu; United Democratic Front (UDF), Albertina Sisulu and Archibald Gumede
Member of: CCC, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IHO, ILZSG, IMF, INTELSAT, ISO, ITU, IWC—International Whaling Commission, IWC—International Wheat Council, Southern African Customs Union, UN, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG (membership rights in IAEA, ICAO, ITU, WHO, WIPO, and WMO suspended or restricted)
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Piet G. J. KOORNHOF; Chancery at 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-4400; there are South African Consulates General in Beverly Hills (California), Chicago, Houston, and New York; US—Ambassador William L. SWING; Embassy at Thibault House, 225 Pretorius Street, Pretoria; telephone [27] (12) 28-4266; there are US Consulates General in Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg
Flag: actually four flags in one—three miniature flags reproduced in the center of the white band of the former flag of the Netherlands which has three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and blue; the miniature flags are a vertically hanging flag of the old Orange Free State with a horizontal flag of the UK adjoining on the hoist side and a horizontal flag of the old Transvaal Republic adjoining on the other side
Economy
Overview: Many of the white one-seventh
of the South African population enjoy
incomes, material comforts, and health and
educational standards equal to those of
Western Europe. In contrast, most of the
remaining population suffers from the
poverty patterns of the Third World, including
unemployment, lack of job skills, and
barriers to movement into higher-paying
fields. Inputs and outputs thus do not
move smoothly into the most productive
employments, and the effectiveness of the
market is further lowered by international
constraints on dealings with South Africa.
The main strength of the economy lies in
its rich mineral resources, which provide
two-thirds of exports. Average growth of
2% in output in recent years falls far short
of the level needed to cut into the high
unemployment level.
GDP: $83.5 billion, per capita $2,380; real growth rate 3.2% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.67% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 22% (1988); blacks 25-30%, up to 50% in homelands (1988 est.)
Budget: revenues $24.3 billion; expenditures $27.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (FY91)
Exports: $21.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities—gold 40%, minerals and metals 23%, food 6%, chemicals 3%; partners—FRG, Japan, UK, US, other EC, Hong Kong
Imports: $18.5 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities—machinery 27%, chemicals 11%, vehicles and aircraft 11%, textiles, scientific instruments, base metals; partners—US, FRG, Japan, UK, France, Italy, Switzerland
External debt: $21.2 billion (1988 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 5.6% (1988)
Electricity: 34,941,000 kW capacity; 158,000 million kWh produced, 4,100 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: mining (world's largest producer of diamonds, gold, chrome), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemical, fertilizer, foodstuffs
Agriculture: accounts for 6% of GDP and 30% of labor force; diversified agriculture, with emphasis on livestock; products—cattle, poultry, sheep, wool, milk, beef, corn, wheat; sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; self-sufficient in food
Aid: NA
Currency: rand (plural—rand); 1 rand (R) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: rand (R) per US$1—2.5555 (January 1990), 2.6166 (1989), 2.2611 (1988), 2.0350 (1987), 2.2685 (1986), 2.1911 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Railroads: 20,638 km route distance total;
35,079 km of 1.067-meter gauge trackage
(counts double and multiple tracking as
single track); 314 km of 610 mm gauge
Highways: 188,309 km total; 54,013 km paved, 134,296 km crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth
Pipelines: 931 km crude oil; 1,748 km refined products; 322 km natural gas
Ports: Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Richard's Bay, Saldanha, Mosselbaai, Walvis Bay
Merchant marine: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 275,684 GRT/273,973 DWT; includes 7 container, 1 vehicle carrier, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker
Civil air: 81 major transport aircraft
Airports: 931 total, 793 usable; 124 with permanent-surface runways; 4 with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 213 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: the system is the best developed, most modern, and has the highest capacity in Africa; it consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, radio relay links, fiber optic cable, and radiocommunication stations; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria; 4,500,000 telephones; stations—14 AM, 286 FM, 67 TV; 1 submarine cable; satellite earth stations—1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Medical Services
Military manpower: males 15-49, 9,544,357; 5,828,167 fit for military service; 419,815 reach military age (18) annually; obligation for service in Citizen Force or Commandos begins at 18; volunteers for service in permanent force must be 17; national service obligation is two years; figures include the so-called homelands not recognized by the US
Defense expenditures: 5% of GDP, or $4 billion (1989 est.)
