South Africa

Introduction

Background

Visit the Definitions and Notes page to view a description of each topic.

Definitions and Notes

Geography

Location

Geographic coordinates

Map references

Area

comparison ranking: total 26

Area - comparative

Area comparison map:

<p>slightly less than twice the size of Texas</p>

Land boundaries

Coastline

Maritime claims

Climate

Terrain

Elevation

Natural resources

Land use

Irrigated land

Major rivers (by length in km)

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Major aquifers

Population distribution

Natural hazards

Geography - note

People and Society

Population

comparison rankings: total 25; male 24; female 25

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages

Religions

Age structure

2024 population pyramid:

This is the population pyramid for South Africa. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends. <br/><br/>For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page.

Dependency ratios

Median age

comparison ranking: total 136

Population growth rate

comparison ranking: 90

Birth rate

comparison ranking: 82

Death rate

comparison ranking: 124

Net migration rate

comparison ranking: 104

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas - population

Sex ratio

Maternal mortality ratio

comparison ranking: 60

Infant mortality rate

comparison ranking: total 71

Life expectancy at birth

comparison ranking: total population 166

Total fertility rate

comparison ranking: 78

Gross reproduction rate

Drinking water source

Health expenditure

Physician density

Sanitation facility access

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

comparison ranking: 30

Alcohol consumption per capita

comparison ranking: total 58

Tobacco use

comparison ranking: total 69

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

comparison ranking: 66

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

Child marriage

Education expenditure

comparison ranking: Education expenditure (% GDP) 18

Literacy

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

Environment

Environmental issues

International environmental agreements

Climate

Land use

Urbanization

Carbon dioxide emissions

comparison ranking: total emissions 12

Particulate matter emissions

Methane emissions

Waste and recycling

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Government

Country name

Government type

Capital

Administrative divisions

Legal system

Constitution

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Legislative branch - lower chamber

Legislative branch - upper chamber

Judicial branch

Political parties

Diplomatic representation in the US

Diplomatic representation from the US

International organization participation

Independence

National holiday

Flag

National symbol(s)

National color(s)

National anthem(s)

National heritage

Economy

Economic overview

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

comparison ranking: 33

Real GDP growth rate

comparison ranking: 187

Real GDP per capita

comparison ranking: 131

GDP (official exchange rate)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

comparison ranking: 134

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

comparison rankings: agriculture 133; industry 95; services 70

GDP - composition, by end use

Agricultural products

Industries

Industrial production growth rate

comparison ranking: 141

Labor force

comparison ranking: 25

Unemployment rate

comparison ranking: 189

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

comparison ranking: total 2

Average household expenditures

Remittances

Budget

Public debt

comparison ranking: 44

Taxes and other revenues

comparison ranking: 13

Current account balance

comparison ranking: 153

Exports

comparison ranking: 41

Exports - partners

Exports - commodities

Imports

comparison ranking: 45

Imports - partners

Imports - commodities

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

comparison ranking: 37

Debt - external

comparison ranking: 10

Exchange rates

Energy

Electricity access

Electricity

comparison rankings: installed generating capacity 21; consumption 23; exports 20; imports 23; transmission/distribution losses 190

Electricity generation sources

Nuclear energy

Coal

Petroleum

Natural gas

Energy consumption per capita

comparison ranking: 61

Communications

Telephones - fixed lines

comparison ranking: total subscriptions 60

Telephones - mobile cellular

comparison ranking: total subscriptions 16

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

comparison ranking: total 58

Transportation

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports

comparison ranking: 13

Heliports

comparison ranking: 40

Railways

Merchant marine

comparison ranking: total 86

Photos of South Africa