Part 766

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission : Ambassador James A. JOSEPH embassy: 877 Pretorius St., Arcadia 0083 mailing address: P.O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001 telephone: (12) 342-1048 FAX : (12) 342-2244 consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg

Flag description: two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side, embracing a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes note: prior to 26 April 1994, the flag was actually four flags in one - three miniature flags reproduced in the center of the white band of the former flag of the Netherlands, which has three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and blue; the miniature flags are a vertically hanging flag of the old Orange Free State with a horizontal flag of the UK adjoining on the hoist side and a horizontal flag of the old Transvaal Republic adjoining on the other side

Economy

Economy - overview: Despite the efforts of South Africa's first majority-run government, income inequality remains among the world's most extreme. Many of the white one-seventh of the South African population enjoy incomes, material comforts, and health and educational standards equal to those of Western Europe. In contrast, most of the remaining population suffers from the poverty patterns of the Third World, including unemployment, lack of job skills, and bleak living conditions. The main strength of the economy lies in its rich mineral resources, which provide two-thirds of exports. Economic developments for the remainder of the 1990s will be driven largely by the new government's attempts to improve black living standards, to set the country on a steady export-led growth path, and to cut back the enormous numbers of unemployed. The economy in recent years has absorbed less than 5% of the more than 300,000 workers entering the labor force annually. Local economists estimate that the economy must grow at least 5% in real terms annually to absorb all of the new entrants, much less reduce the accumulated total.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $227 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,400 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture : 5% industry: 37% services : 58% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 9% (1996 est.)

Labor force: total: 14.2 million economically active (1996) by occupation: services 35%, agriculture 30%, industry 20%, mining 9%, other 6%

Unemployment rate: 34% (1996 est.); note - an additional 11% of the workforce is underemployed

Budget: revenues : $30.5 billion expenditures: $38 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.6 billion (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemical, fertilizer, foodstuffs

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - capacity: 34.57 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 158.78 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 3,305 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products

Exports: total value: $29.2 billion (f.o.b., 1996) commodities: gold 27%, other minerals and metals 20%-25%, food 5%, chemicals 3% (1994) partners: Italy, Japan, US, Germany, UK, other EU countries, Hong Kong

Imports: total value : $26.9 billion (f.o.b., 1996) commodities: machinery 32%, transport equipment 15%, chemicals 11%, petroleum products, textiles, scientific instruments (1994) partners: Germany, US, Japan, UK, Italy

Debt - external: $30 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA note: current aid pledges include US $600 million over three years, 1994-96; UK $150 million over three years; Australia $21 million over three years; Japan $1.3 billion over two years ending in 1996; EU $833 million over five years

Currency: 1 rand (R) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: rand (R) per US$1 - 4.6410 (January 1997), 4.2706 (1996), 3.6266 (1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

@South Africa:Communications

Telephones: 5,206,235 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: the system is the best developed, most modern, and has the highest capacity in Africa domestic: consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, and radiotelephone communication stations; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria international : 1 submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean)