| Official name | Republic of South Africa | | Location | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa | | Size | 1 219 090 km2 | | Key economic areas | Mining services and transport, energy, manufacturing, tourism, agriculture | | Population | 47,94 million (mid-2007) | | Official languages | English, isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele, Afrikaans, siSwati, Sesotho sa Leboa, Sesotho, Setswana, Tshivenda and Xitsonga | | Government | Constitutional multiparty, three-tier (local, provincial, national) democracy | | Major cities | Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, East London, Kimberley. There are nine provinces. | | Currency | 100 cents equals one rand | | Time | GMT +2 hours | | Distances | Cape Town to Johannesburg 1 400 km (880 miles) Johannesburg to Durban 600 km (380 miles) Port Elizabeth to Bloemfontein 700 km (440 miles) | | Transportation | Excellent roads, rail and air facilities (both domestic and international) | | Telecommunications | World-class infrastructure. Internet access is widely available. There are four mobile (cellular) networks | | Value-added tax | Levied at 14%. | | Health | Top quality care is available throughout the country, although basic in rural areas. Inoculations are only required for those travelling from yellow-fever areas. Malaria precautions are necessary in some areas | | Total GDP (2006) | US$255.3 billion* | | GDP per capita (2006) | US$5 321* | | Real GDP growth (2006) | 5.0% | | Inflation (CPIX) | 4,6% | | Inflation (2006) | 4.7% | | * Based on a mid-2006 exchange rate of R6,76.2 to the US$ |
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