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
Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)
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
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8% note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population
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
textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish
gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment
External Debt
$22,810,000,000 $
$46,070,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Sri Lankan rupees (LKR) per US dollar - 108.33 (2008), 110.78 (2007), 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (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
2.600%
1.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
1
Location
Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Area
65,610 km sq
1,219,090 km sq
Coastline
1,340 km
2,798 km
Climate
tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
