1986 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1986 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Airfields
922 total, 829 usable; 112 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways over 3,659 m, 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 207 with runways 1, 220-2,439 m
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, Medical Services
Civil air
76 major transport aircraft
Highways
229,690 km total; 80,796 km paved, 148,894 km crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth
Military manpower
males 15-49, 7,917,000; 4,770,000 fit for military service; 286,000 reach military age (18) annually; obligation for service in Citizen Force or Commandos begins at 18; volunteers for service in permanent force must be 17; national service obligation is two years; figures do not include Bophuthatswana. Transkei, and Venda 2000km Mun
Pipelines
931 km crude oil; 1,748 km refined products; 322 km natural gas
Ports
1 major (Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay, East London, and Mosselbaai)
Railroads
36,499 km total (includes Namibia); 35,793 km 1.067-meter gauge, of which 6,830 km are multiple track, 16,271 km electrified; 706 km single track
Telecommunications
the system is the best developed, most modern, and highest capacity in Africa and consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, radio-relay links, and radiocommunication stations; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria; 3.47 million telephones (13.4 per 100 popl.); 14 AM, 286 FM, 67 main TV stations with 450 relay transmitters; 1 submarine cable; 1 satellite station with 1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean antennas Defense Forces