Profile South Africa
Official name: Republic of South Africa
Capital: Cape Town ( legislative ); Pretoria ( Administrative ); Bloemfontein ( judicial )
Parliament: National Assembly (400 Seats); Provincial Council ( 90 Seats )
National day:
27 April ( Freedom Day ); Independence
31 May 1961 ( Britain )
27 April 1994 ( first democratic election )
National Anthem:
Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika ( God bless Africa )
Motto: Ike e ; xarra ; Ike ( Unity in Diversity )
Administrative areas: 9 Provinces
Language:
11 % Official Language
24 % IsiZulu
18 % IsiXhosa
13 % Afrikaan
9 % Sepedi
8 % English
8 % Setswana
8 % Sesotho
4 % Xitsonga
3 % SiSwati
2 % Tshivenda
2 % IsNdebele
Currency: 1 Rand ( ZAR ) = 100 Cents
Denominations:
Notes; 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 ZAR
Coins; 1, 2, 5 ZAR ; 5, 10, 20, and 50 Cents
Population: 48,000,000
Ethnic groups: 80 % African; 10 % White; 9 % Coloured;
Religion: 36 % Christian; 1! % Zion Christian Church; 8 % Pentecostal / Charismatic; 8 % Catholics;
7 % Methodist; 7 % Dutch Reformed; 7 % Anglican; 2 % Muslims
Rivers : Orange, Vaal Vals, Breede, Limpopo, Caledon,,etc.
Lake: Fundudzi
Airports: 728 (144 paved runways)
Roads: 364,000 km (63,000 km paved roads)
Railways: 22,300 km
The current flag of the Republic of South Africa was adopted on April 27, 1994, after the first free elections and the end of apartheid. A new national flag was adopted to represent the new democratic government of South Africa that represented all South Africans. None of the flag designs submitted by the public was supported by the committee charged to select the final design. An interim flag was designed by State Herald Frederick G. Brownell for the April 27 elections 1994, the nation’s first fully inclusive elections, and for Nelson Mandela’s May 10 inauguration. The flag was so well received that the interim version was made the final, national flag in the South African Constitution. Given the troubled historical context, it is remarkable that a consensual replacement for the former national flags was found. The new flag is seen as an enduring symbol of the modern South African State. The flag has horizontal bands of red ( on the top ) and blue ( on the bottom ) , of equal width, separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal “ Y “ shape, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side ( and follow the flag’s diagonals ). The Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes. The stripes at the fly end are in the 5:1:3:1:5 ratio. The South African flag is the only national flag in the world with six colors and without a seal or brocade.
The Coat of Arms of South Africa was adopted on Freedom Day April 27, 2000
