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Geography, demographics, economy, history, and government
- Capital city: Pretoria (Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center)
- Form of government: Democratic republic; President, Bicameral Legislature (National Assembly and National Council of
Provinces), elected for five years
- Population: 42,768,678 (2003 est.) (50% urban)
- Total area: 1,219,912 sq. km
- Languages: Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, seSiswati, Tchivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu
- Religions: Christianity (68%), Islam (2%), Hinduism
- Per capita GDP: $10,000 p.a. (2002 est.)
- Exports: $31.8 billion (2002 est.); gold, metals, diamonds, food, tobacco
- Literacy: 86.4% (1995)
- Life expectancy: 46.5 years (46.5f, 46.5m)
- AIDS/HIV Prevalence: 20.1% (2003 est.)
Sources
- Statistics South Africa
- statistics on economic, labour, utilities, tourism and transport,
as well as census data
- CIA World Factbook | country data - South Africa
- U.S. State Department | Bureau of African Affairs | country profile - South Africa
- U.S. Library of Congress | country study - South Africa
- allAfrica.com
| South Africa
- news reports and headlines derived from the African press
http://allafrica.com/southafrica/
- Atlapedia Online | country data - South Africa
- E-Conflict World Encyclopedia - South Africa - national anthem, flag, map, people, economy, geography, government,
defence, news and weather
- Index on Africa | country page - South Africa
- Nation by Nation | country data - South Africa - facts, government, geography, history, human rights, people
- World Skip | country data - South Africa
- World Bank | country brief - South Africa
- Africa Confidential | news articles from South Africa
- UNICEF | children's health & education statistics - South Africa
- IRINnews.org | news archive - South Africa - news articles from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- The Economist | country briefing - South Africa
- OneWorld.net | country database - South Africa - news articles selected from around the world
- U.S. Refugee Committee | World Refugee Survey country report - South Africa
- Amnesty International | Report 2001 - South Africa
- Human Rights Watch | Human Rights Developments 2000 - South Africa
- International Lesbian and Gay Association | Country Survey - South Africa] - information for those working to promote
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) rights
- Governments on the WWW - South Africa - comprehensive database of governmental institutions - parliaments, ministries,
offices, law courts, embassies, etc
- Political Resources | - South Africa
- CIA Library | Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members | - South Africa
- World Audit.org | national statistics and reports - South Africa - national statistics and reports from Freedom House,
Transparency International, Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists and others
- ElectionWorld.org | election results in South Africa
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(Click on map to go to surrounding locations)
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Portals, indexes, guides, searchers, phone directories
- SouthAfrica.info
- official internet gateway to South Africa, with information
for investors, tourists, citizens and South Africans abroad
- Ananzi South Africa
- search engine specific to South Africa
- South Africa Online
-- currency rates, weather forecast, humour, surveys and site
listings
- The Phone Book® - South
Africa's White Pages
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Executive, legislature, judiciary, ministries, departments, agencies, and commissions
- Directories
- South African Government Online - official government portal
- Governments on the WWW - South Africa - comprehensive database of governmental institutions - parliaments, ministries,
offices, law courts, embassies, etc
- Unwembi's Resource of South African Government Information
- Legislature
- Parliament of South Africa (Cape Town)
- Ministries & departments
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology
- Department of Communications
- Department of Corrective Services
- Department of Defence
- Department of Education
- Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
- Department of Foreign Affairs
- Department of Home Affairs
- Department of Housing
- Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
- Department of Labour
- Department of Land Affairs
- Department of Minerals and Energy
- National Treasury
- Department of Provincial and Local Government
- Department of Public Enterprises
- Department of Public Service and Administration
- Department of Public Works
- Department of Social Development
- Department of Sport And Recreation
- Department of Trade and Industry
- Department of Transport
- Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
- Secretariat for Safety and Security - provides government with civilian policy management capacity, independent of the vested
and occupational interest of the Police Service
- Commissions & Authorities
- National Lotteries
Board (NLB) - regulator of South Africa's National Lottery
- South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) - stand-alone authority charged with promoting, regulating and enforcing civil aviation
safety and security
- South African Competition
Commission - statutory body empowered to investigate, control
and evaluate restrictive business practices, abuse of dominant
positions and mergers in order to achieve equity and efficiency
in the South African economy
- South African Local Government Association (SALGA) - organization mandated by the South African Constitution to assist in
the wholesale transformation of local government in South Africa from the pre-1994 regime to the new dispensation under the
country's first democratically elected government
- South African Public Service Commission - independent and impartial body created by the Constitution to enhance excellence
in governance within the Public Service by promoting a professional and ethical environment and adding value to a public
administration that is accountable, equitable, efficient, effective, corrupt-free and responsive to needs of the people
- South African Truth
and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) (Cape Town) - set up
by the Government of National Unity to help deal with what happened
under apartheid
- Water Research Commission - promotes coordination, communication and cooperation in the field of water research,
establishes water research needs and priorities, funds water research on a priority basis, and promotes effective transfer of
information and technology
- Agencies & Bureaus
- Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) - considers complaints or allegations relating to deaths of persons in police custody
or deaths as a result of police action, involvement of police members in criminal activities, and police conduct or behaviour
prohibited by the Police Regulations
- National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) - advises the Ministers Committee and the Cabinet on the role and contribution
of science, mathematics, innovation and technology, including indigenous technologies
- National
Archives of South Africa - searchable records covering the
history and heritage of the country
- National Research Foundation (NRF) - supports and promotes research through funding, human resource development and the
provision of the necessary research facilities, in order to facilitate the creation of knowledge, innovation and development in all
fields of science and technology
- South African Cross-Border Road Transport Agency - facilitates and regulates cross-border road traffic flow in a manner that
optimises mobility and accessibility, thus contributing to the seamless integration of Southern African Development Community
economies
- South African National Roads Agency Limited - independent statutory company
- South African Police Service (SAPS)
- South African Post Office
- South African Rail Commuter Corporation (SARCC) - ensures that rail commuter services are provided in the public interest
- Metrorail - provides rail services that meet the country needs for affordable public transport http://www.metrorail.co.za/
- South African Revenue Service (SARS)
- South African Weather Service
- Statistics South Africa - national statistics office
- Provincial governments
- Eastern Cape Province
- Gauteng Province
- KwaZulu-Natal Province
- Mpumalanga Province
- Northern Cape Province
- Limpopo Province (formerly Northern Province)
- North West Province
- Free State Province
- Western Cape Province
- Local Government
- City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality - comprises the city of Pretoria and surrounding districts
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Human rights & civil liberties, humanitarian aid, political parties, activism, environment, and labour
- Activism
- Artists for a New South
Africa (ANSA) - nonprofit organization dedicated to combating
the African AIDS pandemic and advancing democracy and equality
in South Africa
- Gun Control Alliance (GCA)
South Africa - alliance of organizations lobbying for stricter
gun control laws in South Africa
- Charities & trusts
- Childline - registered
charity committed to protecting children from all forms of violence
and abuse, with services including a 24 hour toll-free Helpline,
as well as treatment centres for individual, family and play
therapy, prevention programs, community safehouses, and training
and awareness programs in the community
- Feed SA - charity
whose main object is to generate funds to alleviate and help
combat the escalating problem of hunger in South Africa
- Development & Assistance
- Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) South Africa - works with several partner organizations in South Africa
- Fahamu (United Kingdom, office in Durban) - a small core of highly skilled and experienced staff in the UK and South Africa
committed to supporting progressive social change in the South through information and communication technologies
- GODISA Programme (Pretoria) - aims to increase economic growth and employment creation through the enhancement of
technological innovation, improvement in productivity and accelerated international competitiveness of South African SMMEs
- European Union Development Programme - South Africa
- Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) South Africa (US-based, office in Durban) - provides financial
services (small loans, Village Banking) to the worlds poorest families so they can create their own jobs, raise household
incomes, and improve their standard of living, delivering these services through a global network of locally managed,
self-supporting institutions
- Re-Cycle (Johannesburg) - UK based charity that aims to relieve poverty by taking used bikes to new territories
- SANGONeT (Johannesburg) - facilitator in the effective and empowering use of information communication technology (ICT) tools
by development and social justice actors in Africa, with the aim of sharing information, building capacity and linking people and
organisations through the use of ICTs
- South African National NGO Coalition (SANGOCO) - unites and strengthens the NGO sector to enable it to influence
development policy and advocate better programmes for the poor
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Office-South Africa
(Pretoria) - local office of the UN's global development
network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge,
experience and resources to help people build a better life
- Education & Youth
- Education With Enterprise Trust (EWET) (Natal) - enables poor African communities via local economic and youth
entrepreneurship development
- Open Learning Systems Education Trust (OLSET) - addresses education imbalances in South Africa
- Environment
- Afribike (Johannesburg) - mobilizes South Africans with bicycles and bicycle skills training, helping to build communities which
are cleaner, more economically vibrant and efficient, more livable and more environmentally sound
- Biowatch South Africa
- national non-governmental organisation dedicated to publicising,
monitoring and researching issues of biological diversity, genetic
engineering and sustainable livelihoods
- BirdLife South Africa
- lead organisation in the RSA for everyone interested in birds
and their survival - with over 8000 members in 40 branches and
affiliates throughout South Africa - whose mission is to promote
the enjoyment, conservation and understanding and study of wild
birds and their habitat
- Empowerment for African Sustainable Development (EASD) (Cape Town) - private non-profit corporation focussing on the
empowerment of African people and institutions operating in the area of environmental management and sustainable
development
- GLOBE Southern Africa (Cape Town) - organisation of more than 200 MPs in 15 countries in Southern and East Africa which
addresses environmental issues via the legislative process and other means and works in close collaboration with the other
members of GLOBE International
- Southern Africa Environment
Project (SAEP) (Cape Town) - educational and charitable
non-governmental organisation that believes the key to the economic
development of Southern Africa is conserving and sustainably
using that environment
- Wildlife and
Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) (Howick, KwaZulu-Natal)
- non-government, membership-based environmental organisation
which maintains a watchful eye on the South African environment
through its extensive network of regional offices, volunteer
branches, friends groups and environmental clubs
- World Wide Fund for Nature
South Africa (WWF-SA) (Stellenbosch) - aims to enhance
the capacity and effectiveness of conservation organisations
and to align environmental and biodiversity conservation with
socio-economic development
- Health Policy
- Planned Parenthood Association
South Africa (PPASA) - non-government organisation in the
field of sexual and reproductive health, affiliated with the
International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
- Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) (Nonkqubela) - campaigns for greater access to treatment for all South Africans,
- by raising public awareness and understanding about issues surrounding the availability, affordability and use of HIV treatments,
- and campaigns against the view that AIDS is a 'death sentence'
- Human Rights & Civil Liberties
- AIDS Law Project (ALP) (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) - in accordance with the U.N. International Guidelines
on HIV and Human Rights, applies litigation to counter wrongs that have occurred, offers free legal advice, carries out research
to support policy formulation, and creates an awareness of rights in government and civil society
- Amnesty International
South Africa (AISA) (Pretoria) - local branch of the worldwide
movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized
human rights
- Centre for Socio-Legal Studies - aims to sustain a developing democracy in South Africa
- Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) (Johannesburg) - non-governmental organisation dedicated to making
a meaningful contribution to peaceful and fundamental transformation in South Africa and hence, in the Southern African region
- Chapter 2 Network - clearinghouse of information and communication for social justice issues which allows Civil Society
Organisations involved in advocacy in South Africa to actively share skills, experiences and advocacy activities
- Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) (Cape Town) - develops child abuse prevention
strategies to combat the patterns of abuse which affect the lives of children and adults everywhere, by training adults, informing
children, disseminating materials, and advocacy
- South African Human Rights Commission
(SAHRC) - national institution established to entrench constitutional democracy and committed
to promoting respect for, and observance and protection of, human rights for everyone without fear or favour
- International Policy
- Institute for Security Studies
(ISS) (Pretoria) - aims to conceptualise, inform and enhance
the security debate in Africa through independent applied research
and analysis, and by facilitating and supporting policy formulation,
raising awareness of decision-makers and the public, monitoring
trends and policy implementation, and by collecting, interpreting
and disseminating information
- Labour & Workers' Rights
- Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) (Johannesburg) - partner in the Tripartite Alliance (together with the African
National Congress and the South African Communist Party) which is based on the five principles of non-racialism, worker
control, paid-up membership, international worker solidarity, and one industry-one union-one country-one federation
- Federation of Unions
of South Africa (FEDUSA) - represents more than 500,000
members from more than 20 affiliated trade unions
- Peace & Conflict Resolution
- SERVAS South Africa - peace organization hosting and travelling for peace through personal contact
- Politics & Governance
- Electoral Institute of
Soath Africa (EISA) (Johannesburg) - not for profit company
whose mission is to strengthen electoral processes, good
governance, human rights and democratic values through research,
capacity building, advocacy and other targeted interventions
- Gun Control Alliance
- Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDSA) (Pretoria) - independent non-profit public interest organisation that promotes
sustainable democracy by building democratic institutions, educating citizens and advocating social justice
- Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC) (Cape Town) - promotes transparent democracy, fosters a culture of corporate and
government accountability, and assists people in South Africa to realise their human rights by supporting the effective
implementation of rights and laws that enable access to, and disclosure of, information
- Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG)
- Provincial Parliamentary Programme - non-partisan organisation networking with a range of interest groups in KwaZulu-Natal to
ensure policy and legislative processes are transparent, accessible and accountable
- Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) - tracks cases of public sector corruption and maladministration in South Africa's
Eastern Cape, following-up cases in an objective and politically non-partisan fashion
- Transparency South
Africa (T-SA) (Braamfontein) - one of the approximately
80 Chapters affiliated to the international anti-corruption
organisation, Transparency International (TI) which acts as
a network for socio-economic justice, against corruption
- Political Parties
- African National Congress (ANC)
- Azanian People's Organisation
- Christian Democratic Party
- Democratic Party
- Die Herstigte Nasionale Party
- Freedom Front
- Government by the People Green Party
- Green Party of South
Africa (formerly known as the People's Green Party of South
Africa)
- Inkatha Freedom Party
- New National Party of South Africa
- Pan African Congress of Azania
- South African Communist Party (SACP) (Johannesburg) - partner in the Tripartite Alliance consisting of the African National
Congress and the Congress of South African Trade Unions
- Vryheidsfront (Freedom Front Party)
- Women's issues
- Commission on Gender Equality - promotes gender equality and advises and recommends to Parliament on matters which
affects gender equality and the status of women
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