South Africa country profile

Area 1, 221 million square kilometres
Population 53 million (2013, mid-year estimate)
Currency Rand Rand (R1 = 100 cents)
Time GMT + 2hrs
Dialing code +27
Official name Republic of South Africa
Capitals Cape Town (Legislative)
Pretoria (Executive)
Bloemfontein (Judicial)
Head of State President Jacob Zuma
Ruling party African National Congress (ANC)
Form of State Federal / unitary hybrid, comprising a central government and nine provincial governments
Legal system Based on Roman Dutch law and 1996 Constitution
Languages English is the language of commerce, banking, government and official documentation. There are eleven official languages: Afrikaans, English, IsiNdebele, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Sesotho, Northern Sotho, Setswana, SiSwati, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga
Total GDP $384.3 billion (2012)
GDP per capita $11,021 (2012)
Real GDP growth 2.5% (2012)