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)
Religions
Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%
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
Greek 99% (official), other 1% (includes English and French)
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)
Exports
food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles
gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment
External Debt
$583,300,000,000 $
$46,070,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
rand (ZAR) per US dollar - 7.9576 (2008 est.), 7.05 (2007), 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.300%
1.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
4
1
Location
Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey
Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Area
131,957 km sq
1,219,090 km sq
Coastline
13,676 km
2,798 km
Climate
temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
