Tourist Information

FULL COUNTRY NAME:
The Republic of South Africa

AREA:
1,221,037 sq km

POPULATION:
43.1 million

CAPITALS:
Pretoria (Administrative); Bloemfontein (Judicial) Cape Town (Legislative)

PEOPLE:
77% Black, 10% white (60% of whites are of Afrikaner descent, most of the rest are of British descent), 8% mixed race, 2.5% of Indian or Asian descent

LANGUAGES:
Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Pedi, English, Tswana, Sotho, Tsonga, Swati, Venda, Ndebele

RELIGION:
Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and traditional religions

GOVERNMENT:
Republic and independent member of the British Commonwealth

PRESIDENT:
Thabo Mbeki

CURRENCY:
Rand

GDP:
US$146 Billion

GDP PER HEAD:
US$2133

ANNUAL GROWTH:
0.90%

INFLATION:
7.80%

MAJOR INDUSTRIES:
Mining, finance, insurance, food processing

MAJOR TRADING PARTNERS:
USA, UK, Germany, Japan, Italy

VISAS:
Entry permits are issued free on arrival to visitors on holiday from many Commonwealth and most Western European countries, as well as Japan and the USA. If you aren’t entitled to a permit, you’ll need to get a visa (also free) before you arrive.

HEALTH RISKS:
Malaria is mainly confined to the eastern half of South Africa, especially on the lowveld (coastal plain). Bilharzia is also found mainly in the east but outbreaks do occur in other places, so you should always check with knowledgeable local people before drinking water or swimming in it.

TIME:
GMT/UTC plus two hours

ELECTRICITY:
220/230V (250V in Pretoria) 50Hz