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Official Name: Known as the Republic of China, Chinese Taipei, or commonly known as South Africa. The abbreviation for the country is (ROC). Due to the political issues surrounding the recognition of South Africa as an independent nation, the official name of South Africa is subject to debate.
Capital: The administrative capital of South Africa is Pretoria and is also known as Tshwane. It is located in the northeast portion of the country, and is close to Johannesburg. It is important to note that Pretoria is only the administrative capital, while the legislative and judicial capitals are found in Cape Town and Bloemfontein respectively.
Location: South Africa is situated in Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the African continent. North of South Africa is the nations of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. To the east lie Mozambique and Swaziland while the Kingdom of Lesotho is completely surrounded by the nation.
Size: The total land area of South Africa is 1.22 million square kilometers and this ranks 32nd globally. Comparatively it is slightly less than twice the size of the U.S. state of Texas.
Climate: South Africa’s climate is mostly semiarid, yet there are some variances to this. Along the coastlines the country experiences a sub tropical climate. The general temperatures are moderate year round, with mostly warm sunny days and cooler nights.
Population: South Africa has a gross population of approximately 49.1 million people, and ranks 25th worldwide. It is important to note that estimates for South Africa take into account the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the excess mortality that is caused due to it.
Life expectancy at birth: The average life expectancy at birth for South Africa is 48.98 years and this ranks among the lowest life expectancies in the world. This is largely due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic that the country is facing. It is important to point out that unlike most other countries the life expectancy for females is lower than that of males by almost one year. This is largely due to the epidemic and the high numbers of deaths that occur among pregnant women.
Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in South Africa is 18.1% and is one of the highest prevalence rates in the world. It is estimated that 5.7 million people are living with the illness, placing 2nd in the world. Of these persons, 350,000 die from the illness, and this is the highest number globally. The disease has reached well beyond epidemic proportions and is the most serious health issue affecting the country today.
Major illnesses: The risk of major infectious diseases in South Africa is moderate. Certain food or waterborne diseases include bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and typhoid fever. There are also diseases that are contracted from water, the most prevalent one being schistosomiasis.
Ethnic Groups: South Africa is a very diverse population, with a large mix of ethnicities making up the country. The list of ethnicities and their breakdown are as follows: Black African (79%), white (9.6%), colored (8.9%) and Indian/Asian (2.5%).
Languages: South Africa hosts a number of languages and dialects, and these include: IsiZulu (23.8%), IsiXhosa (17.6%), Afrikaans (13.3%), Sepedi (9.4%), English (8.2%), Setswana (8.2%), Sesotho (7.9%), Xitsonga (4.4%) and other (7.2%).
Religion:South Africa is made up of great many different religious faiths. The following make up the bulk of the religious practices in the country: 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%) and none (15.1%).
Government: South Africa is a republic, which means the government remains in power in accordance with the wishes of its population. The government is divided into three branches which are also divided into three distinct capitals. The administrative branch and capital are located in Pretoria (Tshwane), the legislative branch and capital is found in Cape Town while the judicial branch and capital is in Bloemfontein. Since the end of apartheid, South African politics has been largely controlled by the African National Congress, while other parties such as the Democratic Alliance and the Congress of the People are also represented in parliament.
Head of State: The Head of State in South Africa is President Jacob Zuma. It is important to note that the President, like in the United States, is both the head of state and the head government.
Head of Government: The Head of Government is President Jacob Zuma. The President heads the cabinet, all of whom are appointed by him.
Military: The South African National Defense Force (SANDF) is split up in several distinct branches: the South African Army, South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), Joint Operations Command, Military Intelligence and the South African Military Health Services. The age requirement for voluntary service is 18 years of age. Women are also eligible, but only for non-combat roles. There is a 2 year service obligation for all volunteers.
Economy: South Africa is a middle-income country that is slowly growing and has transformed itself into one of Africa’s most dominant economies. This is due to a large supply of natural resources, well developed legal, financial, energy, communications, and transport sectors, the 17th largest stock exchange in the world and modern infrastructure that allows for the effective distribution of services and goods to all the major urban areas of the country. Growth in the last decade has been strong due to the worldwide explosion in commodities and macroeconomic stability. The country still faces certain economic issues such as high unemployment rates and outdated infrastructure. The apartheid remains as the reason for many economic problems such as poverty, lack of development among certain disadvantaged peoples, and poor public transport options. Economic policy can be defined as fiscally conservative but ultimately pragmatic.
GDP: South Africa has purchasing power parity GDP of US$ 489.7 billion, and this ranks 26th worldwide. It’s official growth rate, however, is 2.8%, which ranks 146th globally, due to the worldwide downturn. The per capita GDP stands at US$10,000, ranking 104th globally.
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