KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1931 (Statute of Westminster; left in 1961, re-joined in 1994) Population: 52,776,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 0.9% p.a. 1990–2013 GNI p.c.: US$7,190 (2013) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 118 Life expectancy: 57 years (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 44 (2013) Largest contribution to mortality: HIV/AIDS Government health expenditure: 4.2% of GDP (2012) General information The Republic of South Africa has land borders with Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland. Its sea borders are with the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Lesotho is enclosed within its land area. The country comprises nine provinces: Eastern Cape (provincial capital Bhisho), Free State (Bloemfontein), Gauteng (Johannesburg), KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg), Limpopo (Polokwane), Mpumalanga (Nelspruit), Northern Cape (Kimberley), North-West (Mafikeng) and Western Cape (Cape Town). Climate: Climate varies with altitude and continental position – Mediterranean climate in the Western Cape; humid subtropical climate on the northern KwaZulu-Natal coast; continental climate of the Highveld; and arid Karoo and Kalahari fringes, with a great temperature range, giving very hot summer days and cold dry nights. Environment: The most significant environmental issues are soil erosion, desertification, air pollution and resulting acid rain, and pollution of rivers from agricultural run-off and urban discharges. In a country with relatively few major rivers and lakes, extensive water conservation and control measures are necessary to keep pace with rapid growth in water usage. Population: 52,776,000 (2013); 64 per cent of people live in urban areas and 37 per cent in urban agglomerations of more than a million people. The population growth rate stood at 1.6 per cent p.a. between 1990 and 2013. In 2013 the birth rate was 21 per 1,000 people (38 in 1970) and life expectancy was 57 years (53 in 1970 and 61 in 1990). People of African origin constitute 79 per cent of the population (2001 census), European origin 9.6 per cent, mixed descent 8.9 per cent (‘coloureds’) and Asian origin 2.5 per cent. The African linguistic groups comprise Zulu (23.8 per cent of the total population), Xhosa (17.6 per cent), Pedi (9.4 per cent), Tswana (8.2 per cent), Sotho (7.9 per cent), Tsonga (4.4 per cent), Swati (2.7 per cent), Venda (2.3 per cent) and several smaller groups. The ‘coloureds’ include descendants of slaves brought from Malaya, Indonesia and Madagascar, and the Khoi-Khoi people of the Cape. There is also a substantial flow of inward migration of people seeking employment, most from neighbouring countries. Economy: South Africa is classified as an upper-middle-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: Infant mortality in South Africa was 33 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an under-five mortality rate of 44 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012. The country’s under-five mortality rate increased from around 60 deaths to 80 per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2003. The decline in under-five mortality in the period 2004–13 has resulted in the lowest rate in more than 20 years, 44 per 1,000 live births. While this decline is encouraging, the under-five mortality rate is not yet in line with the country’s target of 20 deaths per 1,000 live births as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). The greatest single cause of death for children below the age of five years is HIV/AIDS, which accounted for 17 per cent of deaths in the under-fives in 2012. Other contributory causes were acute respiratory infections (16 per cent), prematurity (14 per cent), intrapartum-related complications (ten per cent), injuries (seven per cent), diarrhoea (seven per cent), congenital anomalies (six per cent), neonatal sepsis (four per cent) and measles (one per cent). In 2013 South Africa had an adjusted maternal mortality ratio of 140 deaths per 100,000 live births (this figure was estimated at 300 deaths per 100,000 by UN agencies/World Bank in 2010). Burden of disease: Communicable diseases along with maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions accounted for an estimated 48 per cent of all mortality in South Africa in 2012. The prevalence of Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 267 South Africa
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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