(AP)
Population: 49,109,107
country comparison to the world: 25
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2010 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28.6% (male 7,043,566/female 7,007,484)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 16,340,284/female 16,007,248)
65 years and over: 5.5% (male 1,100,202/female 1,610,323) (2010 est.)
Median age: total: 24.7 years
male: 24.4 years
female: 25 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.051% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 203
Birth rate: 19.61 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98
Death rate: 16.99 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
Net migration rate: -3.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population
country comparison to the world: 147
note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2010 est.)
Urbanization: urban population: 61% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 1.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 43.78 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 61
male: 47.88 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 39.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 49.2 years
country comparison to the world: 215
male: 50.08 years
female: 48.29 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.33 children born/woman (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 102
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 18.1% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 5.7 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 350,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2009)
Nationality: noun: South African(s)
adjective: South African
Ethnic groups: black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001 census)
Religions: Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census)
Languages: IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.4%
male: 87%
female: 85.7% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 13 years
male: 13 years
female: 13 years (2004)
Education expenditures: 5.4% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 52
(AP)
South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that is 18th largest in the world; and modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region.
At the end of 2007, South Africa began to experience an electricity crisis. State power supplier Eskom encountered problems with aged plants, necessitating "load-shedding" cuts to residents and businesses in the major cities. Growth was robust from 2004 to 2008 as South Africa reaped the benefits of macroeconomic stability and a global commodities boom, but began to slow in the second half of 2008 due to the global financial crisis' impact on commodity prices and demand. GDP fell nearly 2% in 2009.
Unemployment remains high and outdated infrastructure has constrained growth. Daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era - especially poverty, lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups, and a shortage of public transportation. South Africa's former economic policy was fiscally conservative, focusing on controlling inflation, and attaining a budget surplus.
The current government largely follows the same prudent policies, but must contend with the impact of the global crisis and is facing growing pressure from special interest groups to use state-owned enterprises to deliver basic services to low-income areas and to increase job growth. More than one-quarter of South Africa's population currently receives social grants.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $495.1 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
$504.2 billion (2008 est.)
$486.2 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate): $280.6 billion (2009 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -1.8% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141
3.7% (2008 est.)
5.5% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $10,100 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 107
$10,300 (2008 est.)
$10,100 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 32.1%
services: 64.4% (2009 est.)
Labor force: 17.32 million economically active (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 9%
industry: 26%
services: 65% (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate: 24% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 172
22.9% (2008 est.)
Population below poverty line: 50% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 44.7% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 65 (2005)
country comparison to the world: 2
59.3 (1994)
Investment (gross fixed): 20.6% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 82
Budget: revenues: $74.92 billion
expenditures: $86.26 billion (2009 est.)
Public debt: 35.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 72
31.6% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.2% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 166
11.3% (2008 est.)
Central bank discount rate: 11.5% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 32
11% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate: 15.13% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 63
13.17% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money: $44.66 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 24
$58.49 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money: $124.1 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 21
$141.9 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit: $214.8 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 31
$254.9 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares: $491.3 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 16
$833.5 billion (31 December 2007)
$715 billion (31 December 2006)
Agriculture - products: corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products
Industries: mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair
Industrial production growth rate: -7% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 122
Electricity - production: 240.3 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 16
Electricity - consumption: 215.1 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17
Electricity - exports: 14.16 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports: 10.57 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production: 195,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
Oil - consumption: 583,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
Oil - exports: 128,500 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 63
Oil - imports: 490,500 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
Oil - proved reserves: 15 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
Natural gas - production: 3.25 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 53
Natural gas - consumption: 6.45 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 121
Natural gas - imports: 3.2 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 40
Natural gas - proved reserves: 27.16 million cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 102
Current account balance: $-15.6 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 179
$-20.98 billion (2008 est.)
Exports: $67.93 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 38
$86.12 billion (2008 est.)
Exports - commodities: gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment
Exports - partners: Japan 11.1%, US 11.1%, Germany 8%, UK 6.8%, China 6%, Netherlands 5.2% (2008)
Imports: $70.24 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
$90.57 billion (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: Germany 11.2%, China 11%, US 7.8%, Saudi Arabia 6.2%, Japan 5.5% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $37.41 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 28
$34.07 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external: $73.84 billion (30 June 2009)
country comparison to the world: 39
$71.81 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: $125.7 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 28
$120 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: $65.07 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 28
$63.57 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Exchange rates: rand (ZAR) per US dollar - 8.54 (2009), 7.9576 (2008), 7.05 (2007), 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005)