The South African financial system is described as robust, highly developed, sophisticated and well regulated – Joint IMF / World Bank assessment 2000.
The South African banking sector has been consistently ranked in the top 10 in terms of competitiveness. IMD, Switzerland
South Africa has moved up two notches in the World Economic Forum’s annual growth competitiveness index rankings to 32 out of 80, just behind Thailand and ahead of China. The WEF’s Peter Cornelius says the growth competitiveness index (GCI) represents a good estimate of underlying growth prospects for the next five to eight years. Finance Week, 27 November 2002
South Africa’s economy is a diversified one, with manufacturing representing the largest sector of the economy, contributing 26% of GDP.
“The structure of the South African economy has changed dramatically over the past few decades. The economy is now far more diversified than it used to be and we are far less reliant on primary goods. Today only 30% of total exports are beneficiated primary goods, and the share of gold exports as a percentage of total exports fell from 22% in 1996 to 14% in 2000 while annual export growth of manufactured goods increased from 20% in 1996 to 24% in 2000. Our export markets are also far more diversified than they ever have been and more diverse than those of most other economies around the world. While Europe is still our biggest trading partner, we are not reliant on only one or two countries or even regions for our export earnings.
South Africa: Reasons to Believe
Our Gross Domestic Product is the 26th highest in the world – US$126 billion. Proudly South African
Our Gross Domestic Product exceeds that of four European states – Finland, Portugal, Ireland and Greece
Small businesses in South Africa absorb more than half the people formally employed in the private sector and contribute about 42% of the country’s GDP. Department of Trade & Industry
In the past 15 years, South Africans have become 50% more productive. In the same period, American productivity has improved by 30%. The pace of improvement in South African labor force productivity is among the four highest improvement rates globally. INSIG Magazine, August 2002
We have the fifth most productive labor force in the world, measured in dollar terms.
www.howzitsa.co.za
Since 1992, the return to business owners has been rising faster than levels of remuneration to employees.
This reflects an increase in labor productivity that has outstripped the growth rate of wages. Labor productivity increased by 4, 32% in real terms in 1997, and by 4, 56% in 1998.
South Africa is located on the southern tip of the African continent, bordered by northern neighbors Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It encompasses the independent mountain kingdoms of Lesotho and Swaziland and is flanked by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the warm Indian Ocean on the east – giving the country its spectacular range of biodiversity.
South Africa occupies 4% of the continent’s total landmass, covering an area of 1 221 040 square kilometers. The country is five times larger than Great Britain and three times the size of Texas.
South Africa enjoys a temperate and pleasant climate, with lovely warm sunny days most of the year. The seasons of the southern hemisphere are opposite to those in the northern hemisphere so our summers run from November to February, when most of the country is characterized by hot weather with afternoon thunderstorms. Winters are generally mild and dry. South Africa enjoys one of the world’s highest average daily hours of sunshine – 8.5 compared with 3.8 in London, 6.4 in Rome and 6.9 in New York.
| Average temperatures in ºC |
Summer |
Winter |
| Cape Town |
20 |
12.6 |
| Durban |
23.6 |
17 |
| Johannesburg |
19.4 |
11.1 |
| Pretoria |
22.4 |
12. |
People
South Africa is home to some 43 million people – a colorful population as diverse in makeup as the country’s geography is varied. Almost 77% are black (or African), 11% white and 9% “colored”, the local label for people of mixed African, Asian and white descent. Just over half the population lives in the cities. Three-quarters are Christian and most of the other major world religions are represented here.
Language
There are 11 officially recognized languages, most of them indigenous to South Africa. English is one of these, and everywhere you go, you can expect to find people who speak and understand it. English is the language of the cities, of commerce and banking, of government and official documents. Road signs and official forms are in English. The President makes his speeches in English and at any hotel; the service staff will speak English.
South Africa is divided into nine provinces, namely Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu- Natal, Limpopo, Mpumulanga, Northern Cape, North West and the Western Cape. Major cities include the modern economic hub of Johannesburg, coastal Cape Town picturesquely perched between mountain and sea, historic Pretoria and the ‘sun and surf central’ city of Durban.
Time Differences
South Africa operates two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time throughout the year, making it an hour ahead of Central European Winter Time, seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Winter Time and seven hours behind Australian Central Time.
The currency unit is the Rand, denoted by the symbol R, with 100 cents making up R1 (one Rand). Foreign currency can be exchanged at local banks and Bureau de Changes. Most major international credit cards such as American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa and their affiliates are accepted and major petrol/gas also accept credit cards.
South Africa is ranked first in the world for its floral kingdom. www.insanetree.com
Of the six plant kingdoms of the world, one of these (the Cape Fynbos) is found only in South Africa.
The Cape Peninsula has more unique species of plant per hectare than any other area in the world.
The Cape Floral Kingdom has been recommended as a World Heritage Site. This stretches through roughly seven different areas in the Western and Eastern Cape and is one of only six floral kingdoms in the world. Although the smallest, with 8 600 different species, it is also the richest in terms of its size.
There are more species of fynbos in the Western Cape than floral species in the whole of the United Kingdom. In fact, South Africa has more threatened plant species (3 000) than Europe’s total plant species. South Africa: Reasons to Believe
Astonishingly, 90% of the plant species recorded in the Cape floral kingdom are endemic and found nowhere else on the planet.
South Africa has a wealth of life. Wildlife ranges from Aardwolf to Zebra, from puku to pangolin, from caracal to hirax. South Africa is home to: – (2002-3 South Africa at a Glance, Editors Inc.):
