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
Lutheran 19.6%, Orthodox 15.3%, other Christian 1%, other 0.4%, unspecified 63.7% (2006)
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
Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census)
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
wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment
External Debt
$38,370,000,000 $
$46,070,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
lati (LVL) per US dollar - 0.4701 (2008 est.), 0.5162 (2007), 0.5597 (2006), 0.5647 (2005), 0.5402 (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
1.100%
1.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
3
1
Location
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania
Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Area
64,589 km sq
1,219,090 km sq
Coastline
498 km
2,798 km
Climate
maritime; wet, moderate winters
mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
