| Capital |
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Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center
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| Population |
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44,344,136
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| Languages |
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11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
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| Independence |
|
31 May 1910 (from UK); become a republic in 1961
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| Location |
| Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa |
| |
| Area |
| 1,219,912 sq km |
| |
| Land boundaries |
total: 4,862 km
border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km
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| Climate |
mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
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| Natural resources |
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gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
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| Geography - note |
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South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland
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| Government type |
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republic
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| Currency - Currency code |
Rand (ZAR)
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| Internet country code: |
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.za
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| Internet users: |
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3.1 million (2002)
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