South Africa Embassy Sofia Bulgaria

SIZE
1 219 090 SQUARE KM

KEY ECONOMIC SECTORS
MINING SERVICES AND TRANSPORTATION
ENERGY
MANUFACTURING
TOURISM
AGRICULTURE

POPULATION
48.7 MILLION (MID-2008)

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES
ENGLISH
ISIZULU
ISIXHOSA
ISINDEBELE
AFRIKAANS
SISWATI
SESOTHO SA LEBOA
SESOTHO
SETSWANA
TSHIVENDA
XITSONGA

GOVERNMENT
CONSTITUTIONAL MULTIPARTY, THREE-TIER (NATIONAL, PROVINCIAL, LOCAL) DEMOCRACY

MAJOR CITIES
JOHANNESBURG
CAPE TOWN
DURBAN
PRETORIA
PORT ELIZABETH
BLOEMFONTEIN
EAST LONDON
KIMBERLEY

CURRENCY
100 CENTS EQUALS ONE RAND

TIME
GMT +2 HOURS

DISTANCES
CAPE TOWN TO JOHANNESBURG - 1 400 KM (880 MILES)
JOHANNESBURG TO DURBAN - 600 KM (380 MILES)
PORT ELIZABETH TO BLOEMFONTEIN - 700 KM (440 MILES)

TRANSPORTATION
EXCELLENT ROADS, RAIL AND AIR FACILITIES (BOTH DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
WORLD-CLASS INFRASTRUCTURE. INTERNET ACCESS IS WIDELY AVAILABLE. THERE ARE FOUR MOBILE (CELLULAR) NETWORKS.

VALUE-ADDED TAX
LEVIED AT 14%. TOURISTS MAY APPLY FOR TAX REFUNDS ON PURCHASES OVER R250 ON DEPARTURE.

HEALTH
TOP-QUALITY CARE IS AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, ALTHOUGH BASIC IN RURAL AREAS.

INOCULATIONS ARE ONLY REQUIRED FOR THOSE TRAVELLING FROM YELLOW-FEVER AREAS.

MALARIA PRECAUTIONS ARE NECESSARY IN SOME AREAS.

HISTORY

TO LEARN ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA HISTORY, PLEASE VISIT:

http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/history.htm

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON SOUTH AFRICA, PLEASE VISIT:

WWW.SOUTHAFRICA.INFO AND WWW.GOV.ZA