South Africa

January 20, 2010

Geographical map of southern Africa with South Africa highlighted

Country Profile
Country name: South Africa
Capital: Pretoria
Population: 49,004,031
Land Size: 471,443 sq mi (slightly less than twice the size of Texas)
President: Jacob Zuma
Languages: Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
Unemployment: 24.9 percent
GDP (PPP): $524 billion
GDP (PPP) per capita/ average income: $10,700
Statistics for Persons with Disabilities: According to the 2001 Census, 5% of South Africans have some kind of disability, of them about 30% have no formal education and 19% are currently employed .

State of Disability Legislation: South Africa has signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Since 1994 the government has formulated various policies to address the inequities which were embedded in the policies pursued by the apartheid regime. The policies have focused on empowering previously disadvantaged groups including women, children and disabled persons. These policies are contained in various policy documents such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) and the Integrated National Disability Strategy (INDS).