The Republic Of South Africa - 956 Words

Republic of South Africa History: The history of South Africa is characterized by racial and political violence, territorial conflict, wars of conquest, and inter-ethnic rivalry. South Africa was colonized by the English and Dutch in the seventeenth century. The Dutch were the first European trading power to set up a permanent settlement in South Africa. The Republic of South Africa is a constitutional democracy with three-tier system of government. South Africa s history and politics are complex and dominated by the country s harrowing journey to end apartheid. Political: Jacob Zuma of the African National Congress was elected president by the National Assembly in 2009 and re-elected by an ANC-dominated parliament for another five†¦show more content†¦However, the country saw rising unemployment due to the substitution of labor in most of the employment-generating sectors. Furthermore, the country s increasing public debt and irregular power supply continue to deter investors. The top exports of South Africa are Gold ($20.4B), Diamonds ($9.5B), Platinum ($7.85B), Coal Briquettes ($6.35B) and Iron Ore ($5.59B) South Africa main imports are: fuel (24 percent of total imports), nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances (14 percent), motor vehicles and car parts (9 percent), telephone sets (3 percent), pharmaceuticals (2 percent), vegetables (2 percent) and live animals and animal products (1 percent). Main trading partners are China (15 percent), Germany (10 percent), Saudi Arabia (8 percent), the United States (6 percent), India (5 percent) and Nigeria (4 percent). Others include the United Kingdom, Brazil and Angola. Currency: South African rand 1 USD=14.44 ZAR GDP per capita: 6,617.91 USD (2013) World Bank Gross domestic product: 350.6 billion USD (2013) World Bank Unemployment rate: 25.2% (2013) GNI per capita: 12,240 PP dollars (2013) World Bank GDP growth rate: 1.9% (2013) World Bank Gross national income: 648.7 billion dollars (2013) World Bank Economic freedom score -World Rank: 72 South Africa’s economic freedom score is 62.6, making its economy the 72nd freest in