South Africa

Country	Republic of South Africa
Capital	Pretoria (administrative capital)
Independence	31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 31 May 1961 (republic declared); 27 April 1994 (majority rule)
National holiday	Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)
Population	48,810,427 (July 2012 est.)
Sex ratio	1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Nationality	South African(s)
Religions	Protestant 36.6% (Zionist Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%), Catholic 7.1%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census)
Languages	IsiZulu (official) 23.82%, IsiXhosa (official) 17.64%, Afrikaans (official) 13.35%, Sepedi (offcial) 9.39%, English (official) 8.2%, Setswana (official) 8.2%, Sesotho (official) 7.93%, Xitsonga (official) 4.44%, siSwati (official) 2.66%, Tshivenda (official) 2.28%, isiNdebele (official) 1.59%, other 0.5% (2001 census)
Literacy: definition	Age 15 and over can read and write Total population: 86.4% Male: 87% Female: 85.7% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Geographic coordinates	29 00 S, 24 00 E
Map references	Africa
Area	Total: 1,219,090 sq km Land: 1,214,470 sq km Water: 4,620 sq km Note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)
Area - comparative	Slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries	Total: 4,862 km Border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km
Coastline	2,798 km
Maritime claims	Territorial sea: 12 nm Contiguous zone: 24 nm Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Climate	Mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
Terrain	Vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
Elevation extremes	Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m Highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m
Natural resources	Gold, Chromium, Antimony, Coal, Iron Ore, Manganese, Nickel, Phosphates, Tin, Rare Earth elements, Uranium, Gem diamonds, Platinum, Copper, Vanadium, Salt, Natural gas
Exports - commodities	Gold, Diamonds, Platinum, Other metals and Minerals, Machinery and Equipment
Imports - commodities	Machinery and equipment, Chemicals, Petroleum products, Sientific instruments, Foodstuffs
Land use	arable land: 12.1% permanent crops: 0.79% other: 87.11% (2005)
Irrigated land	14,980 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	50 cu km (1990)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 12.5 cu km/yr (31%/6%/63%) per capita: 264 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	prolonged droughts volcanism: the volcano forming Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands, which last erupted in 2004, is South Africa's only active volcano
Environment - current issues	lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreements	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland