rs:
Germany, Japan, UK, US, Italy
External debt:
$18 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate NA%; accounts for about 40% of GDP
Electricity:
46,000,000 kW capacity; 180,000 million kWh produced, 4,100 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries: mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile
assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemical,
fertilizer, foodstuffs
Agriculture:
accounts for about 5% of GDP and 30% of labor force; diversified
agriculture, with emphasis on livestock; products - cattle, poultry, sheep,
wool, milk, beef, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables;
self-sufficient in food
Economic aid:
NA
Currency:
1 rand (R) = 100 cents

*South Africa, Economy

Exchange rates:
rand (R) per US$1 - 3.1576 (May 1993), 2.8497 (1992), 2.7563 (1991), 2.5863
(1990), 2.6166 (1989), 2.2611 (1988)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

*South Africa, Communications

Railroads:
20,638 km route distance total; 20,324 km of 1.067-meter gauge trackage
(counts double and multiple tracking as single track); 314 km of 610 mm
gauge; substantial electrification of 1.067 meter gauge
Highways:
188,309 km total; 54,013 km paved, 134,296 km crushed stone, gravel, or
improved earth
Pipelines:
crude oil 931 km, petroleum products 1,748 km, natural gas 322 km
Ports:
Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Richard's Bay, Saldanha, Mosselbaai,
Walvis Bay
Merchant marine:
5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 213,708 GRT/201,043 DWT; includes 4
container, 1 vehicle carrier
Airports:
total:
899
usable:
713
with permanent-surface runways:
136
with runways over 3,659 m:
5
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
10
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
221
Telecommunications: the system is the best developed, most modern, and has the highest capacity
in Africa; it consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables,
radio relay links, fiber optic cable, and radiocommunication stations; key
centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth,
and Pretoria; over 4,500,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 14 AM, 286 FM,
67 TV; 1 submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT
and 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT

*South Africa, Defense Forces

Branches:
South African Defense Force (SADF; including Army, Navy, Air Force, Medical
Services), South African Police (S