is on livestock; products - cattle, poultry,
sheep, wool, milk, beef, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables;
self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs:
transshipment center of heroin and cocaine; cocaine consumption on the
rise
Economic aid:
many aid packages for the new government are still being prepared;
current aid pledges include US $600 million over 3 years; UK $150
million over 3 years; Australia $21 million over 3 years
Currency:
1 rand (R) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
rand (R) per US$1 - 3.4551 (March 1994), 3.2636 (1993), 2.8497 (1992),
2.7563 (1991), 2.5863 (1990), 2.6166 (1989)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

@South Africa, Communications

Railroads:
20,638 km route distance total; 20,324 km of 1.067-meter gauge
trackage (counts double and multiple tracking as single track); 314 km
of 610 mm gauge; substantial electrification of 1.067 meter gauge
Highways:
total:
188,309 km
paved:
54,013 km
unpaved:
crushed stone, gravel, improved earth 134,296 km
Pipelines:
crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural gas 322 km
Ports:
Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha, Mosselbaai
Merchant marine:
5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 213,273 GRT/201,043 DWT,
container 4, vehicle carrier 1
Airports:
total:
886
usable:
718
with permanent-surface runways:
140
with runways over 3,659 m:
5
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
10
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
213
Telecommunications:
the system is the best developed, most modern, and has the highest
capacity in Africa; it consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines,
coaxial cables, radio relay links, fiber optic cable, and
radiocommunication stations; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town,
Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria; over 4,500,000
telephones; broadcast stations - 14 AM, 286 FM, 67 TV; 1 submarine
cable; satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 2
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT

@South Africa, Defense Forces

Branches:
the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) includes Army, Navy,
Air Force, and Medical Services of the former South Africa, the armed
forces of the former homelands, and the ANC and PAC military
components; the initial strength of the SANDF has been set at about
100,000 active duty members with plans to reduce it to about 40,000 by
1997; it is manned mostly by nonwhites, but the higher office