Country
Countries A-Z
South Africa
Republic of South Africa
Republiek van Suid-Afrika
Unofficial African Name: Azania
Political Status: Fully independent state since 1934; republican regime established May 31, 1961; Interim Constitution ratified on December 22, 1993, with effect from April 27, 1994, for a five-year term; new text signed into law on December 10, 1996, effective February 4, 1997, with certain provisions implemented gradually through 1999.
Area: 470,882 sq. mi. (1,221,037 sq. km.).
Population: 44,819,770 (2001C); 46,745,000 (2005E).
Major Urban Centers (urban areas, 2005E): PRETORIA (administrative capital, 2,534,000), Cape Town (legislative capital, 3,143,000), Bloemfontein (judicial capital, 793,000), Durban (4,610,000), Johannesburg (3,974,000). In 2005–2006 a move was underway to change the name of the administrative capital from Pretoria to TSHWANE. As of August 2006 the change was meeting strong resistance in some quarters.
Official Languages: There are eleven ...