| Official name | Republic of South Africa |
| Location | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa |
| Size | 1 219 090 km2 |
| Key economic areas | Mining services and transport, energy, manufacturing, tourism, agriculture |
| Population | 47,94 million (mid-2007) |
| Official languages | English, isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele, Afrikaans, siSwati, Sesotho sa Leboa, Sesotho, Setswana, Tshivenda and Xitsonga |
| Government | Constitutional multiparty, three-tier (local, provincial, national) democracy |
| Major cities | Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, East London, Kimberley. There are nine provinces. |
| 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%. |
| 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 |
| Total GDP (2006) | US$255.3 billion* |
| GDP per capita (2006) | US$5 321* |
| Real GDP growth (2006) | 5.0% |
| Inflation (CPIX) | 4,6% |
| Inflation (2006) | 4.7% |
| * Based on a mid-2006 exchange rate of R6,76.2 to the US$ |
