Full country name: The Republic of South Africa
Area: 1,219,912 sq km
Population: 43.8 million
Capital city: Pretoria (administrative capital); Bloemfontein (seat of high court) and Cape Town (seat of parliament).
People: 75% black, 13% white (60% of whites are of Afrikaner descent, most of the rest are of British descent), 8% mixed race, 3% of Indian descent.
Languages: English, Afrikaans, seSotho, isiXhosa and isiZulu are the most commonly spoken. Other official languages are isiNdebele, saLebowa, siSwati, Xitsonga, Setswana and Tshivenda.
Religion: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and traditional religions.
Government: Republic and independent member of the British Commonwealth
President: Thabo Mbeki

South Africa extends nearly 2000 km from the Limpopo River in the north to Cape Agulhas in the south and nearly 1500 km form Port Nolloth in the west to the eastern port city of Durban. All the former homelands have been absorbed into the country's nine provinces, but regional and historical distinctions remain. There are 11 official languages in South Africa, but most people speak English.

HIV/AIDS Situation in South Africa

South Africa has more HIV-positive individuals than any other country in the world.

Estimated HIV Infected: 4.8 million

Estimated 1999 AIDS Deaths: 250,000

Estimated AIDS Orphans: 420,000

11% of South Africans are HIV-infected; by 2010 adult HIV prevalence could reach 25%.
Daily estimates of 1,600 people with new HIV infection; two-thirds of them aged 15 to 20.
By 2008, 1.6 million children will have been orphaned by AIDS.
South Africa has a well-developed health infrastructure relative to other African nations, and there is a substantial amount of international and donor interest in the country.
In 2005 the population is expected to be 16 percent lower than it would have been in the absence of AIDS. By 2015 population loss to
AIDS-related deaths will be 4.4 million.
In 1998 South Africa had approximately 100,000 AIDS orphans, and by 2008, 1.6 million children will have been orphaned by AIDS.
An estimated 50 percent of all tuberculosis patients are co-infected with HIV. In some hospitals in South Africa, the HIV prevalence in tuberculosis patients is higher than 70 percent.
For more information on South Africa http://www.southafrica.co.za/
http://www.hst.org.za/
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Country_Specific/S-Africa.html
http://www.synergyaids.com/files.fcgi/551_South_Africa.PDF
http://www.health.gov.za - South African Department of Health
http://www.healthnet.org.za - South African Health Information
http://www.aidsinfo.co.za - Information on HIV/AIDS in South Africa Charlene Smith, Johannesburg South Africa

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