South Africa

Location : Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa.

Capital : Pretoria (Tshwane) but Cape Town is the legislative centre and Bloemfontein the judicial centre

Languages : IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census)

Area : 1,219,912 sq km

Land Use : arable land: 12.08%; permanent crops: 0.79%; other: 87.13% (2001)

Natural Resources : gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas

Population : 44,344,136 (July 2005 est.).

Labour force : 16.63 million economically active (2004 est.)

Labour force participation rate : 37.50% of population (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line : 50 % (2002 est.)

International Organisation participation : ACP, AFDB, AU, BIS, C, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, NSG, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

GDP per capita : U$11,100 (2004 est.)

GDP Growth Rate : 2.1% p.a. 1990-2001

GDP sectoral composition : agriculture: 3.6%; industry: 31.2%; services: 65.2% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 16.7 % of GDP (2004 est.)

Industries: mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair

Industrial Production Growth Rate: 5.5% (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products : corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products

Exports : U$41.97 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities : gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment

Exports - partners : US 10.2%, UK 9.2%, Japan 9%, Germany 7.1%, Netherlands 4% (2004)

Imports : U $39.42 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities : machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs

Imports - partners : Germany 14.2%, US 8.5%, China 7.5%, Japan 6.9%, UK 6.9%, France 6%, Saudi Arabia 5.6%, Iran 5% (2004)

QUALITATIVE TRADE PROFILE

South Africa's economy is relatively diversified, with manufacturing and services contributing a sizeable share of total GDP; mining and quarrying account for a large part of South Africa's total exports; while agriculture remains an important provider of employment, especially in the rural areas. South Africa has continued to liberalize its trade regime, with a focus on export promotion. A wide variety of incentives are available to local producers in general, and exporters in particular; some incentives are subject to local-content requirements. South Africa has also initiated the Industrial Development Zones Programme to foster international competitiveness, particularly of its small, medium, and micro enterprises. It maintains export controls on certain products.

With a few exceptions, import permits are maintained on health, sanitary, phytosanitary and environmental grounds, or under international conventions to which South Africa is a signatory. South Africa has redrafted or amended legislation in many areas, including intellectual property rights, and has continued to reform its government procurement system, with a view to increasing local content of purchases, and promoting "black economic empowerment" throughout the economy.

As a member of the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) South Africa's trade policy is regionally determined. Its tariff bindings cover 96.5% of its tariff lines. Average applied tariff rates stood at 5.8% in 2002, with the average for agricultural goods being 9.1% and non-agricultural goods being 5.3%. Approximately 45% of tariff lines are duty free on an MFN basis and non-ad valorem rates apply to approximately 4% of tariff lines. South Africa determines the structure of the SADC tariff and this has caused some concern among other SADC members. To address this, yhe revised provisions of the 2002 SACU Agreement creates a joint SACU Tariff Board which will, in future, determine duty rates, including anti-dumping and countervailing duties.

South Africa has a highly developed policy formulation, negotiation and implementation regime. The Department of Trade and Industry formulates and coordinate the country's trade and industrial policies. Initiatives on trade and investment may also come from other departments and agencies, such as the Departments of Finance, Agriculture, Health, Mineral and Energy Affairs, as well as from the South African Reserve Bank. Proposals and recommendations to the DTI may also come from the private sector, including through the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC), International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC), and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). The IDC and Parliamentary Committees assist the Department of Trade in carrying out periodic reviews and assessments of trade policies 

TRADE AGREEMENTS

Bilateral

South Africa has a bilateral trade agreement with Zimbabwe. It also grants non-reciprocal preferential treatment to Malawi and to a list of products from Mozambique.

Regional

South Africa is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU). Within SACU, South Africa is a part of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) and the rand serves as the base currency for the area. Through SACU, it is currently in the process of negotiating bilaterals with MERCUSOR and EFTA. In addition to its regional agreements, South Africa is involved in a series of bilateral trade arrangements, including the Trade, Development, and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) with the European Union.

Multilateral

South Africa is a founding member of the WTO and grants at least MFN treatment to all its trading partners. It has GATS commitments in 91 sectors.

NEED PRIORITIES

Because of its experience with trade policy issues, South Africa's technical assistance needs in trade policy is limited.

Source: Commonwealth Yearbook 2005, World Fact Book, WTO Secretariat.