“South Africa is a parliamentary republic whose president is both the head of state and the head of government. It is the southernmost country on the African continent. It has borders with Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique in the north and it sorrounds the Kingdom of Swaziland and the Kingdom of Lesotho. South Africa’s society is multiethnic, mainly due to the diversity of native tribes and both the Dutch and English colonial rule, which began in the late 17th century.The country is considered an emerging country, as it has become more and more industrialized in the past decades and its meaning in region has thus increased singnificantly. Its main economic activities include agriculture (i.e. fruit and vegetable exports), mining and industrial manifacturing.

General Information
Official Name: 
Republic of South Africa, iRiphabhuliki yaseNingizimu Afrika, iRiphabliki yomZantsi Afrika, Republiek van Suid-Afrika, and six others.
Capitol: 
Pretoria
Population: 
53,699,000
Languages: 
English, Afrikaans,Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
Geographic Region: 
Africa
Southern Africa
Geographic Size (km sq): 
1,221,037
Year of UN Membership: 
1945
Year of Present State Formation: 
1961
Online Profiles
Key Statistics & Indicators
Gross Domestic Product (GDP, Nominal): 
$354.150 Billion
Per Capita Income (PPP Adjusted): 
$11,543 (CID)
GDP Growth: 
2.00 (%)
Human Development Index (HDI): 
0.66
Gini Index (Income Inequality): 
63.10
Economic Grouping: 
Developing Country
History
International Relations
UN Voting Blocs & Caucuses: 
Group of 77 (G-77)
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
African Group
Major International & Regional Organizations: 
ACP: African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States
AfDB: African Development Bank
AU: African Union
BIS: Bank for International Settlements
Commonwealth of Nations (British)
CD: Community of Democracies
FATF: Financial Action Task Force
G-20
G-24
ICC: International Chamber of Commerce
ICRM: International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
IFRCS: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
IHO: International Hydrographic Organization
IMSO: International Mobile Satellite Organization
Interpol: International Criminal Police Organization
IOC: International Olympic Committee
IOM: International Organization for Migration
IPU: Inter-Parliamentary Union
ISO: International Organization for Standardization
ITSO: International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
ITUC: International Trade Union Confederation
NSG: Nuclear Suppliers Group, aka London Group
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Paris Club
PCA: Permanent Court of Arbitration
SACU: Southern African Customs Union
SADC: Southern African Development Community
WCO: World Customs Organization
WFTU: World Federation of Trade Unions
ZC: Zangger Committee
UN Specialized Agencies & Organizations: 
CD: Conference on Disarmament
CTBTO: Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization
FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency
IBRD: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organization
IDA: International Development Association
IFAD: International Fund for Agricultural Development
IFC: International Finance Corporation
ILO: International Labor Organization
IMF: International Monetary Fund
IMO: International Maritime Organization
ITU: International Telecommunications Union
MIGA: Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
OPCW: Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNIDO: United Nations Industrial Development Organization
UNWTO: United Nations World Tourism Organization
UPU: Universal Postal Union
WBG: World Bank Group
WHO: World Health Organization
WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization
WMO: World Meteorological Organization
WTO: World Trade Organization
Current UN Peacekeeping Missions: 
MONUSCO: UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Bilateral Relations
United Nations Data
Government Sources
UN Mission
of South Africa to the United Nations 333 East 38th Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10016
(212) 213-5583
(212) 692-2498
pmun.newyork@foreign.gov.za

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