concentration of wealth and economic control.

GDP: purchasing power parity--$290.6 billion (1998 est.)

GDP--real growth rate: 0.3% (1998 est.)

GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$6,800 (1998 est.)

GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 5%
industry: 39%
services: 56% (1996 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 47.3% (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (1998 est.)

Labor force: 15 million economically active (1997)

Labor force--by occupation: services 35%, agriculture 30%,
industry 20%, mining 9%, other 6%

Unemployment rate: 30% (1998 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $30.5 billion
expenditures: $38 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.6
billion (FY94/95 est.)

Industries: mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold,
chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile,
iron and steel, chemical, fertilizer, foodstuffs

Industrial production growth rate: -1% (1998 est.)

Electricity--production: 186.949 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 93%
hydro: 0.7%
nuclear: 6.3%
other: NA% (1996)

Electricity--consumption: 181.404 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity--exports: 5.575 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity--imports: 30 million kWh (1996)

Agriculture--products: corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables;
beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products

Exports: $28.7 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports--commodities: gold 20%, other minerals and metals 20%-25%,
food 5%, chemicals 3% (1997)

Exports--partners: UK, Italy, Japan, US, Germany (1997)

Imports: $27.2 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Imports--commodities: machinery, transport equipment, chemicals,
petroleum products, textiles, scientific instruments (1997)

Imports--partners: Germany, US, UK, Japan (1997)

Debt--external: $23.5 billion (1997 est.)

Economic aid--recipient: $676.3 million

Currency: 1 rand (R) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: rand (R) per US$1--5.98380 (January 1999), 5.52828
(1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996), 3.62709 (1995), 3.55080
(1994)

Fiscal year: 1 April--31 March

Communications

Telephones: 4.2 million (1997)

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