Head of state: Grand Duke Henri Prime minister: Jean-Claude Juncker
President: Jacob Zuma
Population
509,074
48,810,427
Life Expectancy
79.750 years
49.410 years
Capital City
Luxembourg
Pretoria (administrative capital)
Largest city
Luxembourg (population: 76,684)
Cape Town (population: 3,433,440)
Human Development Index
0.956
0.67
GDP per capita
$81,100 US
$11,100 US
Literacy Rate
100%
86.4%
Corruption Perception Index
8.3
4.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
23.3%
33.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Nicky Oppenheimer & family ($5.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
5.900%
24.900%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
constitutional monarchy
republic
Independence date
1839 (from the Netherlands)
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
Roman Catholic 87%, other (includes Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 13% (2000)
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
Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language)
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
machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass
gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment
External Debt
$2,146,000,000,000 $
$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
0.900%
1.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
1
Location
Western Europe, between France and Germany
Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Area
2,586 km sq
1,219,090 km sq
Coastline
0 km
2,798 km
Climate
modified continental with mild winters, cool summers
mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
