South Africa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Republic of South Africa 10 other official names:  Republiek van Suid-Afrika  (Afrikaans) iRiphabliki yeSewula Afrika  (Southern Ndebele) iRiphabliki yomZantsi Afrika  (Xhosa) iRiphabhuliki yaseNingizimu Afrika  (Zulu) iRiphabhulikhi yeNingizimu Afrika  (Swati) Repabliki ya Afrika-Borwa  (Northern Sotho) Rephaboliki ya Afrika Borwa  (Sotho) Rephaboliki ya Aforika Borwa  (Tswana) Riphabliki ra Afrika Dzonga  (Tsonga) Riphabuḽiki ya Afurika Tshipembe  (Venda) Flag Coat of arms Motto: "!ke e: ǀxarra ǁke" (ǀXam) "Unity In Diversity" Anthem: National anthem of South Africa Location of  South Africa  (dark blue)

– in Africa  (light blue & dark grey) – in the African Union  (light blue)

Capital Pretoria (executive) Bloemfontein (judicial) Cape Town (legislative) Largest city Johannesburg (2006) Official languages 11 languages Afrikaans English Southern Ndebele Northern Sotho Southern Sotho Swazi Tsonga Tswana Venda Xhosa Zulu Ethnic groups () 79.2% Black African 8.9% Coloured 8.9% White 2.5% Indian or Asian 0.5% other Demonym South African Government Constitutional parliamentary republic  -  President Jacob Zuma  -  Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe  -  NCOP Chairman M. J. Mahlangu  -  Speaker of the National Assembly Max Sisulu  -  Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng Legislature Parliament  -  Upper house National Council of Provinces  -  Lower house National Assembly Independence from the United Kingdom  -  Union 31 May 1910   -  Statute of Westminster 11 December 1931   -  Republic 31 May 1961  Area  -  Total 1,221,037 km2 (25th) 471,443 sq mi   -  Water (%) negligible Population  -  2013 estimate 52,981,991 (25th)  -  2011 census 51,770,560  -  Density 42.4/km2 (169th) 109.8/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2013 estimate  -  Total $608.804 billion  -  Per capita $11,750 GDP (nominal) 2013 estimate  -  Total $375.944 billion  -  Per capita $7,257 Gini (2009) 63.1 very high · 2nd HDI (2013)  0.629 medium · 121st Currency South African rand (ZAR) Time zone SAST (UTC+2) Drives on the left Calling code +27 ISO 3166 code ZA Internet TLD .za

Coordinates: 30°S 25°E / 30°S 25°E / -30; 25

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is divided into nine provinces and has 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline. To the north lie the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory. South Africa is the 25th largest country in the world by area and the 24th most populous country with over 51 million people.

South Africa is a multiethnic society and has diverse cultures and languages. Eleven official languages are recognised in the constitution. Two of these languages are of European origin: English and Afrikaans, a language which originated mainly from Dutch that is spoken by the majority of white and Coloured South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it is only the fifth most-spoken home language. All ethnic and language groups have political representation in the country's constitutional democracy comprising a parliamentary republic; unlike most parliamentary republics, the positions of head of state and head of government are merged in a parliament-dependent President.

About 80% of the South African population is of black African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, nine of which have official status. South Africa also contains the largest communities of European, Asian, and racially mixed ancestry in Africa.

South Africa is ranked as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank. It has the largest economy in Africa, and the 28th-largest in the world. By purchasing power parity, South Africa has the 5th highest per capita income in Africa. It is considered a newly industrialised country. However, about a quarter of the population is unemployed and live on less than US $1.25 a day.