Area: 1,221,037 sq km
Population: 43.1 million
Capitals: Pretoria (administrative); Bloemfontein (judicial) and 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
GDP: US$146 billion
GDP per capita: US$2,133
Annual Growth: 0.9%
Inflation: 7.8%
Major Industries: Mining, finance, insurance, food processing
Major Trading Partners: USA, UK, Germany, Japan, Italy
