17 August 1945 (declared) note: recognized by the Netherlands on 27 December 1949; in August 2005, the Netherlands announced it recognized de facto Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945
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
Muslim 86.1%, Protestant 5.7%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 3.4% (2000 census)
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
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (the most widely spoken of which is Javanese)
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
oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber
gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment
External Debt
$187,100,000,000 $
$47,560,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Indonesian rupiah (IDR) per US dollar - 9,558.1 (2008 est.), 9,056 (2007 est.), 9,159.3 (2006), 9,704.7 (2005), 8,938.9 (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
0.900%
1.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
5
1
Location
Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Area
1,904,569 km sq
1,219,090 km sq
Coastline
54,716 km
2,798 km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
