Wayzata World Factbook 1995/World Factbook - 1995 Edition - Wayzata Technology (1995).iso/mac/text/Build/orig BACKGR/BNOT0093.TXT

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National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : ST BNOTES SOUTHAFR
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994

AGENCY      : U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
PROGRAM     : BACKGROUND NOTES
TITLE       : Background Notes - SOUTH AFRICA

Source key      : ST
Program key     : ST BNOTES
Update sched.   : Occasionally
Data type       : TEXT
End year        : 1992
Date of record  : 19941018
Keywords 3      :
Keywords 3      : | SOUTH AFRICA

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BACKGROUND NOTES: SOUTH AFRICA

Official Name:  Republic of South Africa
PROFILE

Geography
Area: 1,233,404 sq. km.(472,359 sq. mi.), including the enclave of
Walvis Bay in Namibia; (almost twice the size of Texas). Capitals
(population from the 1985 South African Government census):
Administrative-Pretoria (850,000). Cape Town (1.9 million),
Judicial-Bloemfontein (232,000).  Other cities-Johannesburg (1.7
million), Soweto (est. 2 million),  Durban (1 million). Terrain: Plateau,
savanna, desert, mountains, coastal plains. Climate: Moderate.

People

Nationality:  Noun and adjective-South African(s).  Population: 37.5
million (1988 estimate).  Ethnic groups:  African (black) 28 million;
white 5.4 million (Afrikaners 2.9 million; English-speaking and others
2.5 million); "colored" (mixed-race) 3.2 million; Asian (Indian) 1
million.  Annual growth rate:  overall 2.3%;  African 2.5%; white
0.85%; "colored" 2.4%; Asian 1.89%.  Languages: English and
Afrikaans (official) , Zulu, Xhosa, North and South seSotho,
seTswana, others.  Religions:  predominantly Christian;  traditional
African, Hindu, Muslim,  Jewish.  Education:  Years compulsory-white
and "colored" from ages 7-16; Asian from ages 7-15; being
introduced incrementally for blacks.  Health:  Infant mortality rate per
1,000 live births (range of official and unofficial estimates,
1985)-overall 66.4; black 40-124 (wide variation reflects urban/ rural
differences); white 9-12; "colored" 29.51; Asian 12.18.  Life
expectancy (U.S. Census Bureau, 1987)-overall 60.7 yrs.; black 58.6
yrs; white 71.9 yrs.; "colored" 60.8 yrs.; Asian 67.0 yrs.  Work force
(11 million):  agriculture 25%; manufacturing and commerce 32%;
services 34.5%; mining 8.5%.


Government

Type:  Executive-president; under the 1984 constitution, tricameral
Parliament with one chamber each for whites, "coloreds," and Asians.
Independence:  The Union of South Africa was created on May 31,
1910; became sovereign state within British Empire in 1934; became
a republic on May 31, 1961; left the British Commonwealth in
October 1961.
Branches:  Executive-state president (chief of state) elected to a
5-year term subject to removal by majority vote of each of the three
Houses.  Legislative-tricameral Parliament consisting of 308 members
in three chambers elected by, respectively, the white, "colored," and
Asian electorates on separate voters' rolls. House of Assembly
(white) 166 members elected directly for maximum 5-year term, four
members nominated by the president, eight indirectly elected by the
chamber; House of Representatives ("colored") 80 directly elected
members, two members nominated by the president, and three
indirectly elected by the chamber; House of Delegates (Asian) 40
members directly elected, two nominated by the president and three
indirectly elected by the chamber. President's Council: 60 members,
25 appointed by the president, 20 elected by the House of Assembly,
10 elected by the House of Representatives and five elected by the
House of Delegates. Members serve during term of parliament.
Judicial-Supreme Court consisting of Appellate Division in
Bloemfontein and four provincial divisions.
Administrative subdivisions:  Provincial governments of the Transvaal,
Orange Free State, Cape of Good Hope, and Natal; 10 separate
"homelands," which the government has designated for Africans.
Four  are regarded as independent by South Africa but not  by any
other government.

Political parties:  White-National Party, Conservative Party,
Democratic Party (merger of Progressive Federal Party, Independent
Party, and National Democratic Movement).  "Colored"-Labour Party,
Freedom Party, People's Progressive Party, Reformed Freedom
Party, New Convention People's Party.  Asian-National People's
Party, Solidarity, Progressive Independent Party, National Federal
Party, National Democratic Party.  Suffrage: Adult whites, "coloreds,"
and Asians 18 and older.

Central government budget  (FY 1989-90): Rand 46.32 billion (1
rand=about US$.38)
Defense (FY 1989-90): Rand 8.7 billion.

Fiscal year:  April 1- March 31.

Flag: Three horizontal bands-orange, white, and blue from top to
bottom with the Union Jack and the flags of the two former Boer
Republics (the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic)
reproduced in miniature and centered on a white band.


Economy

GDP (1988): $83.5 billion.  GDP growth rate (1988): 3.2% . GDP per
capita (1988): $2,256.  Government spending (1986): 18.8% of GDP.
Inflation (1988): About 12.5%.  Unemployment (1988): Estimated
25%-30% for blacks; less than 2% for whites.

Natural resources:  Almost all essential commodities, except
petroleum.

Agriculture (1988):  About 6% of GNP.  Products-corn, wool, dairy
products, wheat, sugar cane, tobacco, citrus fruits, wine.  Cultivated
land-12%.

Mining (1988):  About 13% of GDP.

Manufacturing (1988):   About 24% of GNP.

Industry:  Types-minerals, automobiles, fabricated material,
machinery, textiles, chemicals, fertilizer.

       Trade:  Exports (1988)-f.o.b. $20.9 billion:   gold, platinum
group metals, ferrochromium, uranium compounds, diamonds, coal,
agricultural products.  Major markets-Japan,  West Germany., UK.,
US,  Switzerland. Imports (1988)-f.o.b. $14.3 billion: machinery,
mining equipment, transportation equipment, computers, aircraft
parts, rice, and office machinery parts.  Major suppliers-Japan, West
Germany, United Kingdom.

Official exchange rate (May 1989): Financial rand exchange rate (1
rand/$US: 0.23; commercial rand exchange rate (1 rand/$US): 0.38.


Membership in International Organizations
UN and many of its specialized and related agencies, including the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT); INTELSAT; International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA).  (South Africa's voting rights in the UN General
Assembly have been suspended since 1974.)
GEOGRAPHY

The Republic of South Africa lies at the southern tip of the African
continent.  The independent country of Lesotho is an enclave
situated within the east-central part of South Africa.

South Africa has a narrow coastal zone and an extensive interior
plateau with altitudes ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 meters
(3,000-6,000 ft.) above sea level.  South Africa lacks important arterial
rivers or lakes, so extensive water conservation and control are
necessary.  The coastline is about 4,300 kilometers (2,700 mi.) long.

South Africa's climate is generally moderate, with sunny days and
cool nights.  The seasons are reversed from those in the northern
hemisphere.  The average mean temperature is remarkably uniform,
with the most southerly point, near Cape Town, having a mean
yearly temperature of 16.50C (61.8 0F), while Johannesburg, about
1,600 kilometers (1,000 mi.) to the northeast and 1,700 meters (5,700
ft.) higher, has an annual mean temperature of 16 0C (60.80F).
Mean annual precipitation ranges from less than 12.7 centimeters (5
in.) along the west coast to 102 centimeters (40 in.) or more in the
east.


PEOPLE

South African law divides the population into four major racial
categories: Africans (blacks), whites, "coloreds," and Asians.  The
Africans (72% of the population) are mainly descendants of the
Sotho and Nguni peoples who migrated southward centuries ago.
The largest African ethnic groups, according to 1980 estimates, are
Zulu (6 million) and Xhosa (5.8 million).  Africans are officially
subdivided into 10 groups corresponding to the 10 ethnically based,
government-created "homelands" (sometimes called "national states"
by South Africa).

Whites are primarily descendants of Dutch, French, English, and
German settlers, with smaller admixtures of other European peoples,
and constitute about 14% of the population.

"Coloreds" are mostly descendants of indigenous peoples and the
earliest European and Malay settlers in the area.  "Coloreds"
comprise 9% of the population and live primarily in Cape Province.

Asians are mainly descendants of the Indian workers brought to
South Africa in the mid-19th century to work as indentured laborers
on sugar estates in Natal.  They constitute about 3% of the
population.

Of South Africa's 15 residential universities, 10 are designated for
whites (6 Afrikaans-speaking and 4 English-speaking), 4 for blacks,
and 1 each for "coloreds" and Asians.  Africans also have a medical
university.  Increasing numbers of blacks are now admitted to white
universities.  The government has the legal power to impose quotas,
and as it underwrites 75%-80% of university costs, has the leverage
to withhold money to force universities to follow government
standards and regulations.  The four English-speaking universities for
whites and the one university for "coloreds" are seeking to integrate.
The student body at these "open" or integrated universities is 17%
nonwhite overall (i.e., African, "colored", Asian), with an estimated
25% at the University of Cape Town in 1988.  The University of South
Africa conducts correspondence courses for some 86,000 students
of all races.  The literacy rate (15 years and older) for the various
groups has been estimated at: 98% for whites, 50% for Africans, 75%
for "coloreds," and 85% for Asians.


HISTORY

People have lived in southern Africa for thousands of years.  Of the
present inhabitants, the earliest are Bushmen and
Hottentots-members of the Khoisan language group, of whom only
a few survive.

Members of the Bantu language group, to which most of the
present-day blacks of South Africa belong, migrated slowly
southward from central Africa and began to enter the Transvaal
region sometime before 100 AD.  The Nguni, ancestors of the Zulus
and Xhosas, had occupied most of the east coast by 1500.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach the Cape of Good
Hope, in 1488.  Permanent white settlement began when the Dutch
East India Company established a provisioning station there in 1652.
In subsequent decades, French Huguenot refugees, Dutch, and
Germans settled in the Cape area to form the Afrikaner segment of
the modern population.  By the end of the 18th century, European
settlement had extended through the southern part of the Cape
westward to the Great Fish River, where the whites first came into
conflict with the Xhosa branch of the Nguni.

Britain seized the Cape of Good Hope at the end of the 18th century.
Subsequent British settlement and rule marked the beginning of a
long conflict between Afrikaner and English.  Partly to escape British
political rule and cultural hegemony, many Afrikaner farmers (Boers)
undertook a northern migration (the "Great Trek") beginning in 1836.
This movement brought them into contact with several African
groups, the most formidable of which were the Zulus.  Under their
powerful leader, Shaka (1787-1828), the Zulus conquered most of
the territory between the Drakensberg Mountains and the sea (now
Natal).  At the Battle of Blood River in 1838, the whites defeated the
Zulus and weakened their power.  The Zulus remained a potent force
in northern Natal until 1879, when, after an initial Zulu victory, British
troops destroyed Zulu military power and occupied Zululand.

Independent Boer republics of the Transvaal (the South African
Republic) and the Orange Free State were created in 1852 and 1854.
Relations between these republics and the British Government
continued to be strained.  The famous diamond strike at Kimberley
in 1870 and, 16 years later, the discovery of extensive gold deposits
in the Witwatersrand region of the Transvaal prompted an influx of
European (mainly British) investment and immigrants.  The Boer
reaction to this flood and to British political intrigues against the two
republics led to the two Boer wars in 1880-1881 and 1899-1902.  In
the second struggle, British forces conquered the Boer republics and
incorporated them into the British Empire.  The two former republics
and the two British colonies of the Cape and Natal were joined on
May 31, 1910, to form the Union of South Africa, a dominion of the
British Empire.  Whites controlled most domestic matters.  In 1934,
under the Statute of Westminster, the Union achieved status as a
sovereign state within the British Empire.

Conflict between Afrikaners and English-speaking groups continued
to influence political developments.  A strong resurgence of Afrikaner
nationalism in the 1940s and 1950s led to a decision, through a 1960
referendum among whites, to give up dominion status and establish
a republic.  The republic was established on May 31, 1961.  In
October 1961, South Africa withdrew its application for continued
membership in the Commonwealth.

In 1983, whites approved by 66% of the vote a new constitution
containing limited power sharing with "coloreds" and Asians.
Elections for the "colored" and the Asian Houses of Parliament took
place in August 1984.  The new constitution was promulgated on
September 3, 1984.


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

When the Union of South Africa was established, the former Boer
republics and the principal British colony wanted their
capitals-Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town-to be selected as the
capital of the new Union.  They compromised by making Pretoria the
administrative capital, Cape Town the legislative capital, and
Bloemfontein the judicial capital.

The Union's successor, the Republic of South Africa, has opted for
a unique combination of a strong presidential system and a
tricameral parliament.  Ultimate power in South Africa today is
increasingly "extraparliamentary" in nature and rests to a substantial
degree with the State President, his advisory council, members of his
cabinet, and the security/defense establishment.

South African laws are based on the doctrine of apartheid, which
prescribes basic rights and obligations according to racial or ethnic
origin.  The country's black majority continues to suffer from
pervasive, legally sanctioned discrimination based on race in political,
economic, and social aspects of life.  The "colored" and Asian
minorities also suffer from discrimination, although to a somewhat
lesser degree than blacks.  Political rights of the black majority are
confined to participation in tightly controlled urban councils in the
country's black residential areas (townships) and in the 10 so-called
homelands.  Blacks have been excluded from even the limited
political changes initiated under South Africa's 1984 constitution.
They have no right to vote in national elections and have no
representation in Parliament.

In the September 6, 1989 election to the House of Assembly, the
governing National Party lost strength to both the right and left but
still captured 93 seats.  The right-wing Conservative Party won 39
seats, up from 22, and remained the official opposition.  The
pro-reform Democratic Party increased its strength from 19 to 33
seats.
Members for each House are elected from separate, racially based
voter rolls.  Each House has primary responsibility for "own-affairs"
matters; i.e., legislation affecting its own racial constituency.  The
State President is empowered to decide arbitrarily which "general
affairs" matters are to be treated by all three chambers.  If efforts at
consensus on general affairs issues fail, the issues are referred to
the President's Council, a body composed of whites, "coloreds," and
Asians, for an advisory opinion.  The ruling National Party controls
the President's Council.  In June 1986, the "colored" and Asian
Houses of Parliament attempted to block security legislation passed
by the white House of Assembly.  The President's Council overrode
this effort, and the disputed security legislation became law.

The lines between "own affairs" and "general affairs" are sometimes
imprecise.  Matters usually considered general affairs include foreign
policy, defense, and national security.  Education is normally an "own
affair" but is subject to general
laws prescribing norms and standards for salaries, curriculum, and
exams.  The terms of the new constitution and the existence of a
white majority in Parliament ensure control by the white House of
Assembly over general affairs.  The National Party, which has
controlled South African political affairs since its first parliamentary
victory in 1948, dominates legislative affairs by sheer force of
numbers.  Within the National Party, viewpoints toward reform of the
apartheid system range from moderate to reactionary.  Internal
differences are, in theory, resolved in party caucuses.  In practice,
the State President, who also is the National Party leader, is the
ultimate arbiter.

Blacks have no representation in Parliament.  Their political
participation remains limited to a franchise in one of the 10
homelands to which all blacks, in principle, are assigned through
ethnic or linguistic identification, or, in the case of urban blacks, to
selecting black local government officials.  Assignment takes place
regardless of the wishes of those involved and without regard to
whether they have been born, ever lived in, or even visited their
putative homeland.  When a homeland "requests" and is granted
"independence" by the South African Government, blacks assigned
to that homeland lose their South African citizenship and receive the
"citizenship" of the homeland.  (Provision now has been made to
permit nominal citizens of the "independent" homelands to regain
South African citizenship under circumstances not fully defined.)
An estimated 8 million blacks have lost South African citizenship
under this policy by South African legislation granting "independence"
to four homelands: Transkei (1976); Bophuthatswana (1977); Venda
(1979); and Ciskei (1981).  The Government has said it has no plans
to abolish the homelands system.

An estimated 10 million blacks live in townships near white urban
areas.  Their only voting rights are those granted under the
Community Councils Act of 1977 and the Black Local Authorities Act
of 1982.  The Black Local Authorities Act of 1982 elevated the legal
status of black municipal authorities to that of white municipal
governments.  It did nothing, however, about the critical problems of
inadequate financial resources and the lack of political credibility
faced by black local government.  Much of the violence in black
townships in 1986 was directed at black town councillors and black
policemen who were viewed by many blacks as collaborators with
the South African Government.  In many areas, town councils
resigned because of community opposition, which often took the
form of political violence.

In 1985, Parliament passed legislation to replace all-white provincial
councils with multiracial regional services councils (RSCs), which
were to include representatives of black, Asian, and "colored" local
governments.  The government has had difficulty drawing authentic
black leaders into the RSCs.  The government characterizes RSCs
as a "devolution" of power to local bodies.  Many people regard them
as barriers to greater democracy in local government.

In Natal Province, the Indaba, a convention in which all racial groups
and a range of social and political organizations are represented, met
for several months in 1986 on a proposal for a new constitution for
the province.  The proposal (among other provisions) provided for
a bill of rights with firm constitutional guarantees of individual
liberties.  It also proposed a universal franchise and a bicameral
legislature in which the larger chamber would be elected on a
one-person, one-vote basis, and the smaller chamber would
represent specified ethnic groups with veto rights over certain affairs
affecting them.  The leader of the ruling National Party for Natal
Province rejected the terms of the Indaba proposal when it was first
announced.  Indaba leaders later presented the proposal to the
government, where it remains "under study."

Human Rights

The human rights situation in South Africa deteriorated from 1985 to
1989.  Throughout this period, political discontent and violence have
persisted in black and colored townships.  Following the July
1985-March 1986 state of emergency, the government imposed a
new state of emergency in June 1986 for 1 year, which has been
extended for each of the 3 succeeding years.  Under the state of
emergency, police and military exercise extraordinary arrest and
detention powers.  Further, legislative amendments passed in 1986
give the executive branch broad emergency powers even without
declaring a state of emergency.

Human rights groups estimate that at least 846 people died as a
result of political unrest between June 1987 and June 1988,
compared with 695 in the same period a year earlier.  In mid-1988,
human rights groups asserted that more than 30,000 people had
been detained since the June 1986 declaration of a state of
emergency and that an estimated 1,500 remained in detention at the
end of the year.  Following a series of hunger strikes and
negotiations between the government and community leaders, most
of the detainees had been released by mid-1989.

Leaders of the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), a coalition
of more than 700 antiapartheid groups, and various black trade
unions have been special targets for detention under the emergency
decree.  In February 1988, the government effectively banned the
UDF and 16 other leading antiapartheid groups and prohibited the
Congress of South African Trade Unions, the country's largest labor
organization, from participating in "political" activities.  At the end of
1988, 32 opposition groups had been effectively banned.
Throughout the state of emergency, reports of officially sanctioned
acts of violence against dissidents have been widespread.

The banned African National Congress (ANC), most of whose
leadership was in exile, imprisoned, or operating underground within
South Africa, proclaimed 1986 as a year of intensified armed struggle
against apartheid.  In 1986, the ANC claimed responsibility for a
number of acts of urban violence and landmine explosions in rural
areas, although it has often equivocated on its responsibility for
incidents that involved civilian deaths.  The ANC also has called on
blacks to overthrow the government by concerted acts of violence,
notably against black police and township officials, in attempts to
make the townships "ungovernable."  The ANC has admitted
responsibility for some bomb attacks that shook South Africa in the
first half of 1988.  Attacks against "soft targets"-theaters, restaurants,
sports facilities-increased in late 1988, but the ANC described these
as aberrations from its policy.  The number of such attacks in 1989
was negligible.

The government released two elderly long-term prisoners in 1988,
Zeph Mothopeng, President of the PAC, and Henry Gwala, an ANC
leader.  Three prominent UDF activists who escaped police custody
and took refuge in the US Consulate General in Johannesburg in
September were allowed to leave the consulate unmolested and
were granted passports for travel abroad.  In December 1988, under
great international pressure, the government commuted the death
sentences of the Sharpeville Six, who  were convicted of murder for
their presence in a crowd that killed a black township official.

Newly elected President F.W. De Klerk took several steps in 1989
and 1990 to demonstrate his commitment to ending apartheid,
including the release of ANC leader Nelson Mandela, imprisoned in
1962 and sentenced to life in 1964 for treason and sabotage, and
other political prisoners and detainees; unbanning the ANC and 32
other antiapartheid organizations; lifting some state of emergency
restrictions; and allowing peaceful demonstrations.  An
unprecedented mass pro-ANC rally was held earlier in Johannesburg
without police interference.
Other opponents of apartheid, such as young black activists in the
townships, have advocated and engaged in violent attacks on black
township officials and others suspected of "collaborating" with the
government.  During the greatest unrest in 1984-85, many blacks
were attacked by activists attempting to enforce protest activities
such as school or consumer boycotts.  These actions, in turn,
spawned the creation, often with government encouragement, of
black
vigilante groups opposed to the young black political activists, which
has led to internecine strife in a number of communities.

Until De Klerk's inauguration, the government had imposed curbs on
the media to limit the reporting of political unrest and antigovernment
activities.  In December 1986, the government tightened existing
emergency regulations to prohibit reporting on a variety of politically
related topics without clearance by state censors.  In August 1987,
it imposed further curbs permitting it to bypass the courts in banning
or censoring newspapers and other journals.  Several prominent U.S.
and other foreign journalists have been expelled for allegedly
violating these restrictions.  The government continued to clamp
down on the press in 1988, suspending three newspapers for one to
three months.  In late 1989, the government indicated that press
restrictions would be reduced.
A milestone event in the black struggle for equal rights occurred in
August 1987 when the National Union of Mineworkers, the country's
largest black labor union, struck on an unprecedented scale, shutting
down about a third of the country's more than 100 gold and coal
mines.  The strike continued for 3 weeks, longer than most
observers thought possible in view of the union's lack of resources,
including the absence of a strike fund.  Its leaders finally accepted a
management offer of improved benefits but failed to win the wage
hike and other goals they had sought.  The strike nevertheless
signified the importance of trade union organization and mobilization
among black workers.  The government rejected right-wing pressure
to attempt to force the strikers back to work.  And although the cost
was heavy-nine people died-the strike marked a critical test of the
1979 legislation legalizing black unions and strikes by black workers.

In the first half of 1986, Parliament made significant changes in the
apartheid system, including abolition of influx control or "pass" laws,
which for years extensively regulated the right of blacks to be
present in urban areas.  Parliament passed legislation permitting
some blacks to regain the citizenship they had lost in previous years
when some homelands were given "independence."  The government
also introduced a freehold system of land ownership for blacks,
permitting some to own homes in urban areas designated for blacks
under the Group Areas Act.  Recently, the government repealed the
remaining racial job discrimination decrees in the mining industry.

Race remains the fundamental basis for the organization of South
African society.  Although De Klerk has said that he supports the
eventual abolition of apartheid, the recognition and protection of
group rights and interests remains central to government policy.
Nevertheless, by 1990 the government and oppo-sition leaders
appeared to be moving toward negotiations to end apartheid and
create a new South Africa.


Principal Government Officials

State President-Frederik Willem De Klerk

Ministers
Administration and Privatization-W.J. De Villiers
Agriculture-Jacob De Villiers
Constitutional Development and Planning and National Education
(White)-Gerrit Viljoen
Defense-Magnus Malan
Education and Development Aid-C.J. Van Der Merwe
Environmental and Water Affairs-G.J. Kotze
Finances-Barend Du Plessis
Foreign Affairs-Roelof F. "Pik" Botha
Internal Affairs and Manpower-E. Louw
Justice-H.J. Coetsee
Law and Order-Adriaan Vlok
Mineral and Energy Affairs and Public Enterprises-D.J. De Villiers
National Health and Population Development-E.H. Venter
Planning and Provincial Affairs-Hernus Kriel
Trade, Industry, and Tourism-Kent Durr
Transport, Public Works, and Land Affairs-George Bartlett

Ambassador to the United States-Piet G.J. Koornhof
Ambassador to the United Nations-Jeremy Shearar
Chairman of the Ministers' Council of the ("colored") House of
Representatives-A.J. Hendrickse
Chairman of the Ministers' Council of the (Indian) House  of
Delegates-Jayaram N. Reddy

The Republic of South Africa maintains an embassy in the United
States at 3051 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008,
[phone].


ECONOMY

Until well into the 19th century, most South Africans, black and white,
lived primarily by herding and farming.  The discovery of diamonds
in 1867 and gold in 1886 helped create South Africa's industrial age.
Rapidly growing mineral industries promoted the development of
cities and the concentration of workers by the hundreds of
thousands.

Today, South Africa is an industrializing country with most of the
characteristics associated with developing economies-a division
between formal and informal sectors, uneven distribution of wealth
and income, a dependence on commodity exports, and a legacy of
government intervention.  Despite its highly visible modern sector,
South Africa is not a wealthy country, with a population of 37 million
and a GDP of $83.5 billion.  It is comparable in size and per capita
income to South Korea.

South Africa has a well-developed formal sector based on mining
and manufacturing and a smaller, but important ,sector based on
agriculture and services.  Despite the presence of a free-market
ideology, South Africa has a mixed economy, with substantial
government intervention existing jointly with a strong private sector.
Economic policy has concentrated on the formal sector, but since
the mid-1980s it has turned to developing the informal sector through
education and training, job creation, and assistance to small
businesses.

The South African economy has evolved as part of the broader
Western industrial economy.  The cyclical economic fortunes of
South Africa have depended largely on demand from the
Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for
its exports, the world gold price, and foreign capital inflows.  At the
time that it became a republic in 1961, South Africa's exports
equalled almost a third of GDP, with more than 90% of these exports
going to OECD countries.  As the following data indicate, during the
quarter-century since, the real growth rate has correlated with the
performance of the major industrialized economic powers (Canada,
France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United
States).

South Africa's economy has slowed despite a rise in the price of its
key export, gold, from $35 an ounce in the 1960s to an average of
$130 in the 1970s and $450 in 1980-1985.  South Africa's economy
has suffered primarily because of slower growth in export demand,
a severe drought in 1982-1986, a drop in the price of gold, and a
shortage of foreign exchange.

Economic sanctions also have worked to depress economic  growth
(see page 9).  Most economists agree that long-term economic
recovery will continue to be undermined by rising inflation and
unemployment and by balance-of-payments pressures.


Financial Policy

The financial structure and financial institutions in South Africa are
extremely sophisticated, mirroring those found in a developed
economy, including an effective stock exchange that handles large
volumes of gilt and semigilt securities, in addition to private scrip.

The South Africa Reserve Bank performs all central banking
functions.  Its customers are limited to government agencies, private
banks, and discount houses.  The Reserve Bank is semi-independent
of government control but in practice works closely with the
Department of Finance and the State President in formulating and
implementing government policy.

The private financial structure is equally sophisticated, and the full
spectrum of financial institutions is found in the country.  Five firms
dominate retail banking.  A money market with four private discount
houses operates along the lines of the London discount market.
South Africa also has a strong building society movement, which has
traditionally provided a major part of the finance requirements for
private home ownership.  Private pension funds and long-term
insurers are important savings institutions.

     South African monetary policy for the most part attempts to
emphasize market forces, including a managed float of the rand,
some deregulation of banking activities, money-supply growth
targets, and market-related interest rates.  Fiscal policy is less
controlled, with a history of increases in government spending as a
percent of GDP and deficits in the range of 4% to 5% of GDP in the
last several years.

In early 1985, growing international nervousness over South Africa's
political situation led some foreign banks to refuse to roll over South
African debt repayments.  This caused the value of the rand to
plummet, threatened the country with an uncontrolled outflow of
capital, and led the government to suspend principal repayments on
$14 billion of South Africa's $24 billion in foreign debt.

To stabilize the value of the rand and act as a barrier against capital
outflow, South Africa reintroduced a dual exchange rate system.  The
exchange rate for the financial rand applies to all capital funds
leaving or entering South Africa.  A separate exchange rate for the
commercial rand was established for use solely within the country.
Decreasing foreign investment has led to reduced demand for the
financial rand, which usually trades at a considerable discount
vis-avis the commercial rand.

In 1987 and in 1989, the South African Government was able to
reach 3-year agreements with major commercial creditor banks for
repayment of the debt.  The dual-rand exchange rate system remains
in practice.

Foreign Trade

Despite the development of a diversified manufacturing sector, South
Africa retains its historic pattern of importing mainly manufactured
capital goods and exporting raw and semiprocessed mineral and
agricultural products.

Top trading partners in 1988 were West Germany and Japan, with
the United Kingdom and the United States next.

South Africa's trade with Western countries has come under a variety
of well-documented stress:  declining Western demand for its
traditional commodity exports (coal, iron, steel, sugar, corn, wine);
trade sanctions and boycotts; an embargo on foreign financial
capital; and South Africa's foreign currency exchange controls.  As
a result, South Africa's growth potential has been reduced, creating
a new urgency for economic reform while narrowing the options for
promoting structural change.


Sanctions

South Africa has been the target of restrictions because of opposition
to apartheid.  By executive order and legislation, the United States
has imposed increasingly stringent sanctions over the last 25 years,
including prohibitions on new investment; loans to the South African
Government's importers of iron, steel, krugerrand gold coins, textiles,
uranium, and products produced by "parastatal" organizations; and
crude oil exports, petroleum products, some computer technology,
and arms.  By mid-1988, the US share of South Africa's foreign trade
had plummeted to 7.5%, far below its 1978 peak of 17.2%.

South Africa has proved adept at circumventing sanctions.  Oil
continues to reach the country through third-party arrangements, and
a UN arms embargo in place since 1977 has led to the development
of a strong local armaments indus-try, which now exports arms.


Foreign Investment

Foreign private investment is important to South Africa's economic
development.  In recent years, South African officials estimate that
about 10% of new investment capital has been obtained from foreign
countries.  Foreign investment is concentrated in mining,
manufacturing, and petroleum processing and distribution.

Book value of US investment at the end of 1987 was $1.5 billion.
Under the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, the US
Government prohibits new investment in South Africa.  An exception
is allowed for private investment in South African firms owned by
black South Africans.  US firms already present in South Africa are
required to adopt fair labor standards that prohibit discrimination in
the workplace and provide assist-ance and training to black
employees and other blacks.  All US firms with investment in South
Africa must register with the Department of State and submit a
completed questionnaire that describes their efforts to comply with
the fair labor standards.  Firms judged to be failing to comply are
denied US export-promotion assistance worldwide.

Americans considering investment in black-owned businesses in the
so-called independent homelands of Transkei, Ciskei,
Bophuthatswana, or Venda should be aware that the United States
can offer no diplomatic or consular assistance in such areas.  The
US Government does not recognize the local "homeland
governments" and has no official contact with them.


Employment

South Africa's sluggish growth has inhibited its ability to create new
jobs.  From 1970 to 1987, total nonagricultural employment grew an
average of 1.1% a year.  Between 1978 and 1987, the average
employment growth rate was only 0.4%, well below the growth in the
labor force.

Many analysts estimate South Africa will need a 5% real annual
growth rate just to keep pace with the number of new black entrants
into the labor market.  Given South Africa's long-term economic
problems, 5% is considerably higher than appears likely.   Assuming
the average GDP growth rate at 3% a year, a better rate than in
recent years, some 6 million South Africans, almost all of them black,
will be unemployed by the year 2000.

The South African Government has attempted to alleviate
employment problems by eliminating reservation of certain jobs for
whites, legalizing black labor unions, spending more on black
education, and offering incentives for on-the-job training.


Key Sectors

Minerals.  South Africa is endowed with a variety of minerals.  It is
the world's leading producer of gold, gem diamonds, vanadium, and
ferro-chromium, and a major producer of platinum-group metals,
titanium, antimony, asbestos, and manganese.  South African
reserves of manganese, platinum-group metals, and chrome ore are
each greater than half of the world's known supplies; reserves of
gold are almost half of total known world reserves.


Mining, and in particular gold mining, is the most critical sector in the
South African economy.  Gold typically accounts for about 40% of all
export proceeds, and other minerals account for a further 20%.
Total exports represent between one-fourth and one-third of GDP,
and domestic growth is to a considerable degree still led by export
demand.

Inadequate petroleum resources are a cause of concern to this
otherwise mineral-rich country.  Following extensive exploration
efforts, limited commercially promising petroleum deposits have been
found in the offshore areas adjacent to Mossel Bay.  Natural gas
deposits are being developed in the Mossel Bay area.  As of now, no
commercial production of oil has occurred, but exploration continues
on and offshore.  South African officials have long been aware of the
vulnerability of their country to a petroleum boycott and have built a
substantial strategic oil reserve.  They also have stressed the
necessity of using coal for energy.  Domestic coal provides about
75% of the country's energy needs and may provide more in the
future. South Africa's SASOL corporation provides a coal
gasification/liquefaction process to produce petroleum products and
is capable of providing an estimated 50% of South Africa's petroleum
requirements.


Manufacturing.   South Africa has the most extensive and diversified
manufacturing sector in Africa.  Manufacturing accounts for 19% of
the country's GDP.  Most goods produced in South Africa are
destined for the domestic market.

Although the public sector is involved in manufacturing through
parastatal corporations such as ISCOR, the largest steel
manufacturer, most manufacturing is in the private sector.

Investment in the manufacturing sector has fallen steadily, with real
net fixed investment turning negative in 1985--86.  In short, it was
inadequate even to cover depreciation in those years, and the
physical capital stock shrank.  Moreover, the investment that has
occurred has tended to substitute capital for labor, which has further
hindered job creation.


     Agriculture.  Except in periods of extreme drought such as
1982-86, South Africa has been a net food exporter.  About 30% of
nongold export proceeds typically come from sales of agricultural
and processed agricultural products.  A variety of agricultural
products is produced because the country is so large and has a
range of climatic conditions.  Almost every kind of food crop and
fiber is grown successfully.  A number of major irrigation schemes
enable farmers to produce crops in areas where the natural rainfall
is too low.  But the bulk of agricultural production is still rain-fed.

Agricultural land, like residential areas, is racially zoned.  Blacks can
hold land only in the "independent" homelands, although a few black,
Asian and "colored" farmers are found in nominally white areas.  The
majority of agricultural production comes from sophisticated
white-owned commercial farms, yet the bulk of the agricultural labor
force is concentrated in the subsistence sector of the homeland
areas.


     Economic Effects of Apartheid.

Economists agree that apartheid is incompatible with a modern,
healthy economy.  The multitude of laws and regulations that
implement the apartheid system imposes great costs on the
economy and inhibit market flexibility.  Apartheid and its impact on
South Africa's international status deny Pretoria the option of
addressing its economic challenges without reference to broader
political issues.  As South Africa wrestles with this problem,
observers point to the following effects of apartheid on the economy:

-- Too many resources have gone into projects, programs, and
policies that are motivated by ideological and racial concerns without
due regard for economic realities.


-- Inadequate investment has been made in "human capital,"
particularly to educate blacks, damaging the country's international
competitiveness, among other effects.


-- The continued practice of apartheid breeds instability and political
upheaval.  The underlying unease over the political situation in South
Africa serves to undermine economic confidence and performance.
As political instability has increased, it has tended to reinforce the
economic difficulties.  During the last several years, this occurred in
several ways:

--  Foreign investor confidence was damaged, leading to capital
flight, disinvestment, and a plummeting rand, culminating in
reimposition of foreign exchange controls and the declaration of a
partial moratorium on debt repayment; domestic political upheavals
thus reinforced the erosion of economic ties to the West.


-- Domestic consumer and business confidence were hurt, leading
to a domestic "liquidity trap," with sharply reduced purchases of
durable goods, surplus industrial capacity, declining investment, and
negative real interest rates; domestic political unrest thus
exacerbated South Africa's deindustrialization.


--  The government repressed most black political activities in a bid
to end the unrest, which led to politicization of the black labor union
movement and greater conflict between business and labor than
might otherwise have been the case; domestic political upheavals
thus may have reinforced mechanization of the narrowing industrial
base.


Each of these factors, in turn, feeds upon the others, creating an
unhealthy political-economic dynamic.  Recent government efforts to
instigate some reforms may reflect the realization that South Africa's
socioeconomic future otherwise would be bleak.


DEFENSE

The South African Defense Force (SADF) comprises four
services-army, navy, air force, and medical-each headed by a
lieutenant general.  Most SADF personnel are white.  Because of
growing need for staff in the military and civilian sectors, recruitment
of volunteers among other races is increasing.  Only white males are
subject to the draft.

The SADF in 1987 had about 100,000 men on active duty, 55,000 of
whom were conscripts.  About 13,000 "coloreds," blacks, and Asians
were serving in the military.  A total of 400,000 other whites from the
reserves can be rapidly mobilized for duty.  The armed forces can
conduct counterinsurgency and conventional operations within South
Africa and in neighboring countries.  Improving the quality of training
and increasing the quality and quantity of military equipment are
emphasized.  South Africa has no international alliances.  The military
budget for FY 1989-90 was estimated to be rand 8.7 billion (about
$3.3 billion).


FOREIGN RELATIONS

South African forces fought in World War I on the Allied side, and its
diplomats participated in the 1919 Versailles Peace Conference.
South Africa was a founding member of the League of Nations and
was given a mandate to govern South-West Africa, now Namibia,
which had been a German colony before the war.  South Africa
created a Department of External Affairs in 1927 and later that year
established diplomatic missions in the main West European countries
and in the United States.

South African volunteer forces, including blacks, fought on the side
of the Allies in World War II, took part in the Berlin Airlift, and
participated in the postwar UN force in Korea.  The South African
Government has long stressed anticommunism in unsuccessful
efforts to enlist Western countries in common defense efforts.

South Africa's foreign relations have been bedeviled by its racially
discriminatory domestic policies, particularly since the end of World
War II.  Its refusal until 1988 to allow independence for Namibia also
provoked negative reaction.

South Africa ignored an advisory judgment of the International Court
of Justice (ICJ) in 1950 that any change in the status of the Namibian
territory must receive the assent of the United Nations as the
successor to the League of Nations.  Ethiopia and Liberia later
charged South Africa with violating its mandate, but the ICJ
dismissed the case on technical grounds in 1966.  Later that year,
the UN declared, with US support, that the mandate was terminated
and that responsibility for the territory had passed to the UN.  The
ICJ upheld this position in a 1971 advisory opinion.  (See
Background Notes on Namibia.)
In 1974, the 29th UN General Assembly voted to deprive South Africa
of its Assembly seat (although South Africa was not expelled from
the organization) for its refusal to comply with UN and ICJ rulings on
Namibia.  In January 1976, the UN Security Council voted
unanimously to demand that elections leading to independence be
held in Namibia under UN supervision.  In 1978, the South African
Government agreed in principle.  Nevertheless, the growing presence
of Cuban forces in Angola led the South African Government to insist
on the withdrawal of these forces in parallel with their implementation
of UN Security Council Resolution 435, which sets out a formula for
Namibian elections.
A 10-year mediation by the United States among Angola, Cuba, and
South Africa culminated in two agreements signed on December 22,
1988.  The agreements established a timetable for the withdrawal of
Cuban troops from Angola and cleared the way for South African
withdrawal from Namibia.  Implementation of Resolution 435 began
on April 1, 1989.  Elections for a constituent assembly were
scheduled for November 1989, in anticipation of independence a few
months thereafter.

Beginning in the 1960s, South Africa attempted to improve relations
with the rest of Africa, emphasizing the role that its economic and
technological resources might play in the future of African
development efforts.  Exchanges of visits between South African
leaders and those of other African countries began in the late 1960s,
and various kinds of relationships were established with a number of
countries.  Only Malawi agreed to formal diplomatic relations.  In
1988, President P. W. Botha made unprecedented visits to
Mozambique, Malawi, Zaire, and Cote d'Ivoire.

In recent years, South African forces have conducted military raids
into Lesotho, Mozambique, Botswana, Swaziland, Zambia, and
Zimbabwe.  The incursions have been aimed at ANC bases and have
resulted in civilian casualties.  South Africa has backed
antigovernment insurgencies in Angola and Mozambique and has
been accused of supporting dissident elements in Zimbabwe and
other neighboring countries.

In 1984, South Africa signed the Nkomati Accord with Mozambique,
in which each country agreed to prohibit hostile operations against
the other from its territory.  Mozambique has complained that the
South Africans have failed to live up to their side of the bargain
through continued support to RENAMO-the Mozambique resistance
movement founded by Rhodesian authorities in the 1970s.  More
recently, relations between the two countries  have improved amid
signs that the South Africans were distancing themselves from
RENAMO.  South Africa also has agreed to rehabilitate the electrical
distribution system bringing power from the Cahora Bassa Dam to
South Africa, much of which has been destroyed by RENAMO.

South Africa has no diplomatic relations with any communist country.
The Soviet Union broke off relations in the 1950s.  With the advent
of "new thinking" in Soviet foreign policy, the USSR, through its role
as an observer during the Angola-Namibia negotiations, has begun
informal contacts with South Africa.  The Soviet Union also
participates in the Joint Commission that oversees implementation of
the Angola-Namibia agreements.  A Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister
visited South Africa unofficially in early 1989.

International pressure on South Africa has intensified in reaction to
three major outbreaks of violent protest and government repression:
in 1960-61, when demonstrations broke out in the aftermath of the
Sharpeville massacre, in which 69 black protesters were shot dead
during peaceful protests; in 1976-77, when Soweto students revolted
and protests again swept across the country; and since 1984,
because of Government action to suppress dissent by declaring
states of emergency.

By 1987, South Africa faced economic sanctions in place by the
United States, members of the European Community, the Nordic
countries, and many Third World countries.


US-SOUTH AFRICAN RELATIONS

The United States has maintained an official presence in South Africa
since an American consulate was opened in Cape Town in 1799 (the
fifth on the African Continent).  US Consulates General are in
Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town.  The US Embassy in
Pretoria moves to Cape Town during parliamentary sessions.  In
addition to official relationships, Americans and South Africans have
many nongovernmental ties.  For example, black and white American
missionaries have a long history of activity there, and the United
States has long been one of South Africa's leading trading partners.

During the last 20 years, however, US-South African relations have
been increasingly affected by South Africa's racial policies, which are
antithetical to the US commitment to racial justice and human rights.
The United States believes the denial of all political rights and equal
economic opportunity to the black majority of South Africa to be a
major factor of instability in southern Africa.  The United States
attaches great importance to good relations with other African
countries, all of which oppose South Africa's racial policies.  If South
Africa's policies are unaltered, the United States predicts
progressively violent racial confrontation and the possible
introduction of great-power rivalry into the region, to the detriment of
all of its inhabitants.

To demonstrate US opposition to apartheid and to support peaceful
change toward racial justice, the United States has imposed
restraints on relations with South Africa.  Since 1963, the United
States has embargoed arms sales to South Africa, and in 1977 it
supported the UN Security Council's imposition of a mandatory
international arms embargo on South Africa.  In February 1978, the
US Government issued regulations (in compliance with, but going
beyond, the Security Council resolution) to prohibit exports destined
for the South African military, the police, or apartheid-enforcing
agencies.  These were revised in early 1982 to enhance
enforceability.

On October 2, 1986, Congress passed the Comprehensive
Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986.  This act widened sanctions against
South Africa, including a ban on new investments unless they were
in firms owned by black South Africans.  South African Airways'
landing rights in the United States were terminated, loans to the
private sector in South Africa were banned, and a prohibition on
imports of iron, steel, textiles, food, sugar, and other agricultural
products was introduced.  The legislation prohibited export of crude
oil and petroleum products to South Africa.

By 1987, US sanctions were the toughest of any of South Africa's
major trading partners.  In late 1989, the Bush Administration
recommended to Congress that additional sanctions not be enacted
in view of steps being taken within South Africa to bring about
change through peaceful means.

The United States has refused to recognize the "independence" of
Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, and Ciskei and has said that it
will not recognize the "independence" of any of the South African
homelands.

The United States opposes the homeland policy because it arbitrarily
denies South African citizenship to most blacks residing in those
areas.  Moreover, it allocates less than 15% of the land area to the
almost three-fourths of the population that is black.

In addition to these restraints, the United States has sought to
encourage peaceful evolution in South Africa toward a government
based on the consent of all those governed by it, regardless of race.
The United States maintains contacts with political opposition groups
within and outside South Africa, trying to convince all parties that
negotiated change is preferable to violence.  In January 1987,
then-Secretary of State Shultz met in Washington with ANC President
Oliver Tambo.  In May 1989, President Bush met with Archbishop
Desmond Tutu and other clergymen prominent in the struggle
against apartheid.  The United States has repeatedly called for the
release of all political prisoners, as well as the lifting the state of
emergency, viewing these actions as necessary first steps toward
meaningful negotiations.

Meanwhile, the US Government sponsors an assistance program
whose aim is to help South Africans disadvantaged by apartheid.
The program is conducted entirely outside South African Government
channels.  In fiscal 1989, about $35 million was programmed for
projects in education, human rights, labor, black enterprise, and
community development.


Principal US Officials
Ambassador-William L. Swing
Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister-Counselor-Genta Hawkins
Holmes
Economic Counselor-Stephen H. Rogers
Political Counselor-Robin Raphel
Public Affairs Officer-Kent Obee
Defense Attache-Lt. Col. Michael Fergunson
Administrative Counselor-Andrew J. Winter
AID Director-Dennis P. Barrett
Agricultural Attache-Roger Puterbaugh
Consul General, Cape Town-Charles R. Baquet, III
Consul General, Durban-F. Allen Harris
Consul General, Johannesburg-Peter R. Chaveas.


The African National Congress (ANC)

The African National Congress (ANC) is a predominantly black South
African political and paramilitary organization, founded in 1912.  It is
the oldest organization opposing legalized racism and white rule and
was banned by the South African Government from 1960 to 1990,
operating underground and in exile.

The ANC was founded with the objectives of eliminating all
restrictions based on color and obtaining black representation in
Parliament. In its first 50 years of existence, the ANC staged
demonstrations, strikes, petitions, and other peaceful protest, all of
which made it a target for police harassment and arrest.  After the
National Party came to power in 1948, with its doctrine of white
supremacy and apartheid, ANC membership grew rapidly, rising to
more than 100,000 by 1952.  In that year, Chief Albert Luthuli was
elected president general of the party.  He was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1961.

In 1960, the ANC, along with a splinter group known as the Pan
Africanist Congress (PAC), organized mass demonstrations to
protest the pass laws that for years regulated the right of blacks to
be present in urban areas.  In one of these protests, at Sharpeville,
south of Johannesburg, police opened fire and killed 69
demonstrators.  Scores were wounded.  Subsequently, the ANC and
the PAC were outlawed.  Denied legal avenues toward political
change, the ANC turned first to sabotage and then began to
organize for guerrilla warfare.  Nelson Mandela, a black lawyer and
ANC leader, was the most prominent of the ANC members who were
arrested, tried, and convicted for treason in 1964.  Following the
release in October 1989 of Walter Sisulu and other longtime fellow
prisoners, the release of Mandela was expected to occur by early
1990.  Mandela, along with the current president, Oliver Tambo, who
operates from exile in Zambia, are the best-known leaders.

Long-term aims of the ANC were set forth in the "Freedom Charter,"
which was adopted in 1955.  This document states that the ANC's
ultimate goal is a liberated, nonracial South Africa in which individual
rights would be guaranteed and nationalization of certain industries
would occur within a basically mixed economy.  In 1988, the ANC
published draft constitutional guidelines that expounded on the ideas
expressed in the Freedom Charter but contained less rigid views on
South Africa's economic future.

The South African Communist Party has aligned itself with the ANC
since the civil disobedience campaigns of the 1950s and remains a
significant influence within the organization's leadership.  But the
Communist Party is only one element in the coalition of interests in
the ANC.

The Soviet Union and its allies have provided arms to the ANC to
conduct its insurgent campaign, while the Scandinavian countries
provide nonmilitary assistance.  The South African Government has
depicted the ANC as terrorists and puppets of Moscow and has
across borders of neighboring countries at ANC guerrilla bases.

The United States has maintained contacts with the ANC, just as with
other black opposition groups, for some time.  The freeing of Nelson
Mandela and the unbanning of the ANC in February 1990 were first
steps by the Government toward negotiations leading to a more just
society in South Africa.


What is Apartheid?

In the language of the ruling white Afrikaners in South Africa,
"apartheid" means "apartness."  Since 1948, when the National Party
assumed power, apartheid or "separate development" has been the
policy that governs relations between South Africa's white minority
and black majority (although the South African Government now
rarely uses these terms in official communications).  It sanctions
racial segregation and political and economic discrimination against
all who are not white.

The National Party extended racial segregation through passage of
a number of legislative acts soon after it came to power in 1948.  In
the 1960s and the 1970s, other laws were passed to make every
black African, irrespective of actual residence, a hypothetical citizen
of one of 10 homelands created by the South African Government as
political entities to which blacks would be arbitrarily assigned.  This
device excluded blacks from the South African body politic.  By the
early 1980s, four of the homelands-Transkei, Ciskei,
Bophuthatswana, and Venda-had been granted "independence" as
"national states."  No government except South Africa recognizes the
four homelands as independent.  All 10 remain politically and
economically dependent on South Africa.

In 1950, the white Parliament passed the Group Areas Act, which
established residential and business sections in urban areas for each
race and strengthened existing "pass laws," which require blacks to
carry documents authorizing their presence in restricted areas.
Other laws were enacted to forbid most social contacts between the
races, mandate segregated public facilities, establish separate
educational standards, restrict each race to certain kinds of jobs,
curtail black labor unions, and abolish nonwhite participation
(through white representatives) in the national government.

The Population Registration Act of 1950 required the classification of
every individual born in South Africa according to race:  white
(European), Asian (Indian), "colored" (mixed-race), or African.
Apartheid over the years has become an infamous term that signifies
institutionalized injustice based on racial discrimination.  Antiapartheid
actions and campaigns have been undertaken within and outside
South Africa to protest the continued deprivation of political rights
and economic justice affecting the majority of South African
inhabitants

Travel Notes

The Department of State advises US citizens that the political
situation in South Africa remains tense.  A state-of-emergency with
severe restrictions on the antiapartheid opposition and the media has
been in effect since 1986.  Visitors should be aware that
antiapartheid demonstrations are often met with force by security
officials and that the potential for violent clashes always exists in
such situations.  Many forms of political gatherings and other
expressions of dissent are prohibited or are subject to strict control.
State of Emergency regulations allow security officials to detain
persons whom they consider a threat to public order and hold them
indefinitely without charge.  Foreign nationals, including US citizens,
are not immune from such detention.  Severe restrictions have been
placed on the reporting or photographing of antiapartheid activities
or incidents of unrest.  US citizens should exercise extreme caution
in photographing or filming any assembly that could be construed as
antigovernment.

Travel to the areas most frequented by tourists, such as city centers,
game parks, and beaches, generally is safe.  Although bomb
explosions have been numerous in recent years against civilian
targets, including shipping centers and bus terminals, the frequency
of such bombings appears to be diminishing.

Travel to the "independent" homelands of Bophuthatswana, Venda,
Ciskei, and Transkei is discouraged.  The South African Government
claims these areas are independent countries, but the United States
and all other countries have refused to recognize their independence.
Homeland officials often deny or limit access by US consular officials
to US citizens under arrest or otherwise in distress in these areas.
These officials have not consistently notified US consular officials
when American citizens have been arrested in the homelands.

       Because of the potential for fast-changing political
developments, US citizens who live in South Africa or visit for an
extended period should register upon arrival at the US Embassy in
Pretoria or the US Consulates General in Johannesburg, Cape Town,
or Durban.

Climate and clothing:  Clothing suitable for central and southern
California is appropriate for South Africa's mild climate.  Remember
that seasons in the southern hemisphere are reversed:  winter there
corresponds to summer here and vice versa.

Customs:  US citizens must obtain visas before arriving.  No
immunizations are required, except for yellow fever if the traveler
passes through an infected area.

Health:  The standard of community sanitation is high, and city water
is potable.  A cholera immunization is recommended for travelers
visiting an infected area.  Avoid swimming in fresh water, which may
be infested with bilharzia.

Telecommunications:  Telephone service in South Africa is good, and
cities have direct-dial systems.  Calls to the United States can be
dialed directly, and connections usually are good.  South Africa is 7
hours ahead of eastern standard time and 6 hours ahead of eastern
daylight savings time.  South Africa does not observe daylight saving
time.

Transportation:  South Africa has a modern transportation network,
including regularly scheduled flights, trains between major cities, and
excellent paved highways.

Tourist attractions:  Major attractions include Kruger National Park for
game viewing; the Cape Peninsula, including the national park at the
Cape of Good Hope; and the sandy beaches of Natal.  Most outdoor
activities are available, ranging from hiking and mountain climbing to
tennis and cricket.  The major cities offer various cultural attractions,
such as theaters, art galleries and museums.

National holidays:  Shops and businesses may be closed on the
following holidays.


New Year's Day                           January 1
Founders' Day                                   April 6
Good Friday*
Easter Monday*
Ascension Day*
Labor Day                                          May 1
Republic Day                                   May 31
Kruger Day                                October 10
Day of the Vow                      December 16
Christmas Day                       December 25
Day of Good Will                    December 26
*Dates vary.


Further Information
These titles are provided as a general indication of the material
published on this country.  The Department of State does not
endorse unofficial publications.

Adam, Heribert and Kogila Moodley.  South Africa Without Apartheid.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.

Adams, H., and H. Giliomee.  The Rise of Afrikaner Power.Cape
Town: David Philip, 1979.

Baker, Pauline H.  "The United States Policy in Southern Africa."
Current History. Vol. 86, No. 520, May, 1987.

Berger, Peter L. and Bobby Godsell.  A Future South Africa. 1989
De Klerk, F. W.  The Puritans in Africa-A Study in Afrikanerdom.
London: Collins, 1975
Gordon, L., ed.  Survey of Race Relations in South Africa.
Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations, annual.

Lelyveld, Joseph.  Move Your Shadow. New York: Time Books,
1985.

Lodge, Tom.  Black Politics in South Africa Since 1945.
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Average Real Growth Rate
1960-69   1970-79    1980-85

Group of 7 GDP   5.6         3.6             2.2
South Africa GDP   5.7             3.4             1.9
South Africa Exports    4.7             3.7             0.9


Available from the Superintendent of Documents, US Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC  20402:
American University.  South Africa-A Country Study. 1981.

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Published by the United States Department
of State --  Bureau of Public Affairs  -- Office of  Public
Communication --  Editorial Division --  Washington, D.C.-- March
1990
Editor: Jim Pinkelman  Department of State Publication 8021
Background Notes Series  -- This material is in the public domain
and may  be reprinted without permission; citation of this source is
appreciated. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US.
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC  20402.