994)

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)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 14, FM 286, shortwave 0

Radios: 12.1 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 67 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 3.45 million (1990 est.)

@South Africa:Transportation

Railways:
total: 21,431 km
narrow gauge: 20,995 km 1.067-m gauge (9,087 km electrified); 436 km
0.610-m gauge (1995)

Highways:
total: 182,329 km
paved : 55,428 km (including 2,040 km of expressways)
unpaved: 126,901 km (1991 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural gas
322 km

Ports and harbors: Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mosselbaai, Port
Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha

Merchant marine:
total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 270,848 GRT/266,029 DWT
ships by type: container 6, oil tanker 1 (1996 est.)

Airport