"text":"Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of modern day South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the Far East, founding the city of Cape Town. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (Afrikaners, called \"Boers\" (farmers) by the British) trekked north to found their own republics in lands taken from the indigenous black inhabitants. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Afrikaners resisted British encroachments but were defeated in the Second South African War (1899-1902); however, the British and the Afrikaners, ruled together beginning in 1910 under the Union of South Africa, which became a republic in 1961 after a whites-only referendum. In 1948, the Afrikaner-dominated National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races - which favored the white minority at the expense of the black majority. The African National Congress (ANC) led the opposition to apartheid and many top ANC leaders, such as Nelson MANDELA, spent decades in South Africa's prisons. Internal protests and insurgency, as well as boycotts by some Western nations and institutions, led to the regime's eventual willingness to negotiate a peaceful transition to majority rule. The first multi-racial elections in 1994 following the end of apartheid ushered in majority rule under an ANC-led government. South Africa has since struggled to address apartheid-era imbalances in decent housing, education, and health care. ANC infighting came to a head in 2008 when President Thabo MBEKI was recalled by Parliament, and Deputy President Kgalema MOTLANTHE, succeeded him as interim president. Jacob ZUMA became president after the ANC won general elections in 2009; he was reelected in 2014."
"text":"the volcano forming Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands, which last erupted in 2004, is South Africa's only active volcano"
}
},
"Environment - current issues":{
"text":"lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland"
"text":"estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2016 est.)"
"text":"self-descriptive name from the country's location on the continent; \"Africa\" is derived from the Roman designation of the area corresponding to present-day Tunisia \"Africa terra,\" which meant \"Land of the Afri\" (the tribe resident in that area), but which eventually came to mean the entire continent"
"text":"Pretoria (administrative capital); Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital)"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"25 42 S, 28 13 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
}
},
"Administrative divisions":{
"text":"9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape"
},
"Independence":{
"text":"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)"
"text":"President Jacob ZUMA (since 9 May 2009); Deputy President Matamela Cyril RAMAPHOSA (since 26 May 2014) note - the president is both chief of state and head of government"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"President Jacob ZUMA (since 9 May 2009); Deputy President Matamela Cyril RAMAPHOSA (since 26 May 2014)"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Cabinet appointed by the president"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 21 May 2014 (next to be held in May 2019)"
"text":"bicameral Parliament consists of the National Council of Provinces (90 seats; 10-member delegations appointed by each of the 9 provincial legislatures to serve 5-year terms; note - this council has special powers to protect regional interests, including safeguarding cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities) and the National Assembly (400 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms)"
},
"elections":{
"text":"National Assembly and National Council of Provinces - last held on 7 May 2014 (next to be held in 2019)"
"text":"National Council of Provinces - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ANC 60, DA 20, EFF 7, IFP 1, NFP 1, UDM 1; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 62.2%, DA 22.2%, EFF 6.4%, IFP 2.4%, NFP 1.6%, UDM 1.0%, other 4.2%; seats by party - ANC 249, DA 89, EFF 25, IFP 10, NFP 6, UDM 4, other 17"
"text":"Supreme Court of Appeals (consists of the court president, deputy president, and 21 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of the chief and deputy chief justices and 9 judges)"
"text":"Supreme Court of Appeals president and vice-president appointed by the national president after consultation with the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), a 23-member body chaired by the chief justice and includes other judges and judicial executives, members of parliament, practicing lawyers and advocates, a teacher of law, and several members designated by the national president; other Supreme Court judges appointed by the national president on the advice of the JSC and hold office until discharged from active service by terms of an Act of Parliament; Constitutional Court chief and deputy chief justices appointed by the national president after consultation with the JSC and with heads of the National Assembly; other Constitutional Court judges appointed by the national president after consultation with the chief justice and leaders of the National Assembly; Constitutional Court judges appointed for 12-year non-renewable terms or until age 70"
"text":"African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE] ++ African Independent Congress or AIC [Mandla GALD] ++ African National Congress or ANC [Jacob ZUMA] ++ African People's Convention or APC [Themba GODI] ++ Agamg SA [Mike Tshishonga, acting] ++ Congress of the People or COPE [Mosiuoa LEKOTA] ++ Democratic Alliance or DA [Mmusi MAIMANE] ++ Economic Freedom Fighters or EFF [Julius MALEMA] ++ Freedom Front Plus or FF+ [Pieter MULDER] ++ Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI] ++ National Freedom Party or NFP [Zanele kaMAGWAZA-MSIBI] ++ Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania or PAC [Luthanado MBINDA] ++ United Christian Democratic Party or UCDP [Isaac Sipho MFUNDISI] ++ United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA]"
"text":"Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [Zwelinzima VAVI, general secretary] ++ South African Communist Party or SACP [Blade NZIMANDE, general secretary] ++ South African National Civic Organization or SANCO [Richard MDAKANE, national president]",
"note":{
"text":"COSATU and SACP are in a formal alliance with the African National Congress"
"text":"two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band that splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes; the flag colors do not have any official symbolism, but the Y stands for the \"convergence of diverse elements within South African society, taking the road ahead in unity\"; black, yellow, and green are found on the flag of the African National Congress, while red, white, and blue are the colors in the flags of the Netherlands and the UK, whose settlers ruled South Africa during the colonial era",
"note":{
"text":"the South African flag is one of only two national flags to display six colors as part of its primary design, the other is South Sudan's"
}
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"springbok (antelope), king protea flower; national colors: red, green, blue, yellow, black, white"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"National Anthem of South Africa\""
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"Enoch SONTONGA and Cornelius Jacob LANGENHOVEN/Enoch SONTONGA and Marthinus LOURENS de Villiers"
},
"note":{
"text":"adopted 1994; a combination of \"N'kosi Sikelel' iAfrica\" (God Bless Africa) and \"Die Stem van Suid Afrika\" (The Call of South Africa), which were respectively the anthems of the non-white and white communities under apartheid; official lyrics contain a mixture of Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English (i.e., the five most widely spoken of South Africa's 11 official languages); music incorporates the melody used in the Tanzanian and Zambian anthems"
"text":"South Africa is a middle-income emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; and a stock exchange that is Africa’s largest and among the top 20 in the world. ++ ++ Economic growth has decelerated in recent years, slowing to just 1.5% in 2014. Unemployment, poverty, and inequality - among the highest in the world - remain a challenge. Official unemployment is roughly 25% of the workforce, and runs significantly higher among black youth. Even though the country's modern infrastructure supports a relatively efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region, unstable electricity supplies retard growth. Eskom, the state-run power company, is building three new power stations and is installing new power demand management programs to improve power grid reliability. Load shedding and resulting rolling blackouts gripped many parts of South Africa in late 2014 and early 2015 because of electricity supply constraints due to technical problems at some generation units, unavoidable planned maintenance, and an accident at a power station in Mpumalanga province. The rolling blackouts were the worst the country faced since 2008. Construction delays at two additional plants, however, mean South Africa will continue to operate on a razor thin margin; economists judge that growth cannot exceed 3% until electrical supply problems are resolved. ++ ++ South Africa's economic policy has focused on controlling inflation; however, the country faces structural constraints that also limit economic growth, such as skills shortages, declining global competitiveness, and frequent work stoppages due to strike action. The current government faces growing pressure from urban constituencies to improve the delivery of basic services to low-income areas and to increase job growth."
"text":"combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 165 telephones per 100 persons; consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, radiotelephone communication stations, and wireless local loops; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria"
"text":"country code - 27; the SAT-3/WASC and SAFE fiber-optic submarine cable systems connect South Africa to Europe and Asia; the EASSy fiber-optic cable system connects with Europe and North America; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) (2015)"
"text":"the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) operates 4 TV stations, 3 are free-to-air and 1 is pay TV; e.tv, a private station, is accessible to more than half the population; multiple subscription TV services provide a mix of local and international channels; well-developed mix of public and private radio stations at the national, regional, and local levels; the SABC radio network, state-owned and controlled but nominally independent, operates 18 stations, one for each of the 11 official languages, 4 community stations, and 3 commercial stations; more than 100 community-based stations extend coverage to rural areas (2007)"
"text":"South African National Defense Force (SANDF): South African Army, South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), South African Military Health Services (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation":{
"text":"18 years of age for voluntary military service; women are eligible to serve in noncombat roles; 2-year service obligation (2012)"
},
"Military expenditures":{
"text":"1.2% of GDP (2014) ++ 1% of GDP (2013) ++ 1.16% of GDP (2012) ++ 1.14% of GDP (2011) ++ 1.16% of GDP (2010)"
},
"Military - note":{
"text":"with the end of apartheid and the establishment of majority rule, former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces were integrated into the South African National Defense Force (SANDF)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues":{
"Disputes - international":{
"text":"South Africa has placed military units to assist police operations along the border of Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to control smuggling, poaching, and illegal migration; the governments of South Africa and Namibia have not signed or ratified the text of the 1994 Surveyor's General agreement placing the boundary in the middle of the Orange River"
"text":"transshipment center for heroin, hashish, and cocaine, as well as a major cultivator of marijuana in its own right; cocaine and heroin consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries, but increasingly producing its own synthetic drugs for domestic consumption; attractive venue for money launderers given the increasing level of organized criminal and narcotics activity in the region and the size of the South African economy"
