South Africa: Introduction

Capital: Pretoria

Population

Total Population: 59,893,885

Natural Increase: 0.8%

Density: 49 Inhabitants/km²

Urban Population: 68.3%

Population of main urban zones: Johannesburg (7,860,800); Cape Town (3,431,000); Durban (2,786,100); Pretoria (1,763,400); Port Elizabeth (876,500); Soshanguve (728,100); Evaton (605,500); Pietermaritzburg (475,300); Bloemfontein (464,600); Vereeniging (378,000)

Ethnic Origins: About 80% of African origin; under 10% of European origin; under 10% of mixed African, Asian and/or European origin; and about 2.5% of Asian, primarily Indian, origin. (Statistics South Africa)

Official Language: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu.

Other Languages Spoken: Fanagalo, Hindi, Sotho, Tsotsitaal, Venda.

Business Language(s): English and Afrikaans.

Religion: Almost 80% of the population is Christian. There are also Hindu, Muslim and Jewish minorities, as well as groups who follow traditional African beliefs.

Local Time:

It is %T:%M %A In Pretoria

Exchange Rate on :

National Currency: South African Rand (ZAR)

Country Overview

Area: 1,219,090 km²

Type of State: South Africa is a federal parliamentary republic.

Type of Economy: Upper-middle-income economy, emerging financial market.
The second wealthiest country in Africa (GDP)

HDI*: 0.666/1

HDI (World Rank): 116/188

Note: (*) The HDI, Human Development Index, is an Indicator Which Synthesizes Several Data Such as Life Expectancy, Level of Education, Professional Careers, Access to Culture etc.

Telecommunication

Telephone Code:
To call from South Africa, dial 00
To call South Africa, dial +27

Internet Suffix: .za

Computers: 8.4 per 100 Inhabitants

Telephone Lines: 7.9 per 100 Inhabitants

Internet Users: 41.0 per 100 Inhabitants

Access to Electricity: 85.4% of the Population

See the latest updates in the Country Profile for South Africa.

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