President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
Population
48,810,427
65,630,692
Life Expectancy
49.410 years
81.460 years
Capital City
Pretoria (administrative capital)
Paris
Largest city
Cape Town (population: 3,433,440)
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Human Development Index
0.67
0.955
GDP per capita
$11,100 US
$35,600 US
Literacy Rate
86.4%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
4.9
6.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
33.9%
19.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
Nicky Oppenheimer & family ($5.0bn US)
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
24.900%
9.300%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
republic
republic
Independence date
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)
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
Religions
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)
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Languages
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)
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Exports
gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
External Debt
$46,070,000,000 $
$5,633,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
rand (ZAR) per US dollar - 7.9576 (2008 est.), 7.05 (2007), 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.700%
2.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
40
Location
Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Area
1,219,090 km sq
643,801 km sq
Coastline
2,798 km
0 km
Climate
mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
