WE SOME THINGS TO SMILE ABOUT IN SOUTH AFRICA

Fast Facts & Quick Stats About South Africa
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Fifty Facts About South Africa(170KB)
* 29 South African beaches were awarded Blue Flags, an international indicator of high environmental
standards for recreational beaches in 2009.
* "South Africa is probably the leading economy in the world." (CNBC Europe)
* South Africa’s Rand is the second best-performing emerging market currency of the 26 monitored by
Bloomberg in 2009
* With two gold medals and one silver medal, South Africa ended the 2009 IAAF World Championships in
Athletics in ninth position on the medals table, ahead of the likes of Australia, Cuba, China and
France.
* South Africa sold $1.8 billion worth of cars to the US last year, putting us ahead of Sweden and Italy as
suppliers to the US market.
* In 2009, the Springboks become the first international team to be World Champions in both 15-a-side
and Sevens rugby.
* In 2009, Time magazine named two South Africans in their annual list of the 100 most influential people
in the world.
* The International Monetary Forum's World Economic Outlook ranks us in the top 10% of counties in
respect of Real GDP Growth Projections for 2010.
* In the Economist Intelligence Unit's Survey of Democratic Freedom we rank 31st of of 184 countries.
* South Africa ranks second worldwide in terms of the transparency surrounding its budgets - just
behind the United Kingdom, tie with France, and ahead of New Zealand and the United States -
according to the Open Budget Index.
* The number of 'dollar millionaires' in South Africa has increased from less than 25,000 in 2004 to over
55,000 in 2007, according to the World Wealth Report
* According to the World Pay Report, South African managers are earning disposable incomes that are
higher than those in many developed countries.
* The first MBA programme outside of the United States was started by the University of Pretoria in
1949.
* South Africa is home to the world's largest individually timed cycle race (the Cape Argus Cycle Race),
the world's largest open water swim (the Midmar Mile) and the world's largest ultra-marathon (the
Comrades Marathon).
* Johannesburg ranks 2nd among countries from Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa in dealing with
urbanisation and environmental challenges, in the MasterCard Insights Report on Urbanisation and
Environmental Challenges.
* South Africa ranked 44th out of 131 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness
Report 2007/8.
* South Africa ranks as 44th strongest state out of 177 countries in the Fund for Peace's Failed States
Index. The index measures state vulnerability based on 12 social, economic, political, and military
indicators.
* South Africa was ranked as the 18th most attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment by
global strategic management consulting firm AT Kearney.
* Three South African cities were voted amongst the world's top 100 Most Liveable Cities in a study
conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Cape Town was ranked in 85th place, Johannesburg
90th and Port Elizabeth 97th.
* Since the 1940s, South African golfers have won more golf majors than any other nation, apart from
the United States.
* South Africa has been ranked 28th among 108 countries measured for responsible competitiveness,
according to the global think tank AccountAbility.
Fast Facts & Quick Stats About South Africa (Published: 13 September 2007)
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* Johannesburg has been ranked as the eighth cheapest city in the world for expatriates, according to
the most recent Cost of Living Standards Survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
* More than 12,000 'Black Diamond' families (South Africa’s new black middle class) - or 50,000 people -
are moving from the townships into the suburbs of South Africa's metro areas every month, according to
the UCT Unilever Institute's Black Diamonds 2007 survey.
* South Africa is ranked 20th out of a total of 128 economies in the World Economic Forum’s Global
Gender Gap Report 2007, ahead of many developed nations, including, the United States (31),
Switzerland (40), Austria (27) and France (51).
* South Africa ranks 57th out of 157 countries in the world in terms of economic freedom, ahead of Italy
(64), Brazil (101), the United Arab Emirates (63), Greece (94th), India (104th) and China (126), according
to the Index of Economic Freedom 2007
* Two young South Africans have been named Rookie of the Year in their respective sports in 2006.
Golfer Trevor Immelman was named best new player by his peers on the prestigious PGA Tour and after
a sensational 2006 season, 18 year old Jordy Smith took the coveted Vans Triple Crown of Surfing
‘Rookie of the Year’ award, considered by the surfing world to be second only to the world title in
prestige.
* The black middle class grew by 30% in 2005, adding another 421,000 black adults to SA's
middle-income layer and ramping up the black population's share of SA's total middle class to almost a
third, according to the Financial Mail. Between 2001 and 2004, there were 300,000 new black entrants to
the middle class.
* South Africa is ranked 35th out of 178 countries for ease of doing business - ahead of Spain, Brazil
and India - according to Doing Business 2008, a joint publication of the World Bank and the International
Finance Corporation.
* Cape Town has the fifth-best blue sky in the world according to the UK's National Physical Laboratory
* La Colombe restaurant in Constantia, Cape Town, was voted the 28th best restaurant in the world by
the UK's Restaurant Magazine
* South African media ranks 26th out of 167 countries in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007,
higher than any country in Asia, the Middle East or South America, and ahead of Japan, Spain, Italy and
the United States.
* The Johannesburg Stock Exchange was the 7th best performing stock market in 2005, according to
the World Federation of Exchanges
* Home ownership in SA has increased from 64% (5,12m households) in 1994 to 78% (7,9m
households) in 2006, according to a South African Advertising Research Foundation development index
* Pretoria has the second largest number of embassies in the world after Washington, D.C.
* In 2005, interest rates were at a 25-year low
* Johannesburg is the 117th most expensive city out of the 144 measured by Irish business website
finfacts.com
* South Africa accounts for almost 45% of the GDP of the entire African continent, with an economy
three times the size of the second biggest (Egypt)
* Almost a quarter of South Africa’s non-interest budget is spent on education
* The University of South Africa UNISA is a pioneer of tertiary distance education and is the largest
correspondence university in the world with 250,000 students
* In 1991, South Africa became the first country in the world to provide full protection status for the
Great White shark within its jurisidictional waters. Countries including USA, Australia, Malta and Namibia
follwed suit later.
* Afrikaans is the youngest official language in the world
* In 2005, Time Magazine hailed President Thabo Mbeki as the Most Powerful Man in Africa
* According to the Economic Freedom of the World 2005 Annual Report, South Africa ranks 38th out of
127 countries in terms of ecomomic freedom, tied with France and ahead of Israel, India, Italy, China,
Brazil and Russia.
* The rand, the world's most actively traded emerging market currency, has joined an elite club of 16