South Africa, on the continent's southern tip, is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and by the Indian Ocean on the south and east. Its neighbors are Namibia in the northwest, Zimbabwe and Botswana in the north, and Mozambique and Swaziland in the northeast. The kingdom of Lesotho forms an enclave within the southeast part of South Africa, which occupies an area nearly three times that of California.
Population
44,187,637 (growth rate: –0.4%); birth rate: 18.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 60.7/1000; life expectancy: 42.7; density per sq mi: 94
Land Area
471,008 sq mi (1,219,912 sq km)
Monetary unit
Rand Language
IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001)
Ethnicity black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001)
Religion black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001)
Transportation Railways: total: 22,298 km (2002). Highways: total: 362,099 km; paved: 73,506 km (including 2,032 km of expressways); unpaved: 288,593 km (2000). Ports and harbors: Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha. Airports: 727 (2002).
