40 reasons to stay in SA
You may find these figures interesting-
40 South African Strengths:
The World Competitiveness Report ranks South Africa 2nd in the export
market diversification and 14th for shareholder value.
South Africa's quality of air transportation 6th in the world.
South Africa's self-sufficiency in non-energy raw materials is ranked 3rd
in the world.
South Africa has one of the highest levels of expenditure on education in
the world, currently at 20% of GDP
South Africa's protection of patent and copyright is ranked 8th in the
world.
South Africa has the 20th largest economy out of 230 countries in the
world, according to gross domestic product measured in US dollars
purchasing power parity.
South African government efficiency is rated as the 15th best in the world
as rated by IMD International.
Our management of public finance is rated 3rd in the world and we are rated
1st in terms of effective personal income tax collection.
South Africa has the world's largest reserves of gold (35%), manganese
(80%), Chromium (68%), platinum-group metals (56%), vanadium (45%) and
alumino-silicates (37%), and is the leading producer of these and many
other metals.
South Africa is the world's largest platinum producer, producing 73% of the
world's platinum output.
South African tap water is now piped into 76% of the country's households,
compared to only 23% in 1994.
South Africa has the lowest cost of electricity in the world and the lowest
cost of living compared to the world's major cities.
South Africa has produced in the form of the King II Report, what is widely
considered to be one of the most comprehensive and most advanced reports on corporate governance in the world, emphasising the South African business
community's determination to adhere to good and ethical business practices.
South Africa is the world's leading producer of gold, generating 17% of the
world's annual output.
South Africa has been identified by US department of commerce as one of the
world's top 10 Big Emerging Markets based on the enormous potential that
exists in South Africa for US business.
The Institute of International Finance has praised South Africa as being
"among the best performers in terms of corporate governance in emerging
markets".
South Africa has the 5th most productive labour force in the world,
measured in dollar terms.
The Johannesburg Securities Exchange is one of the 15th largest stock
exchanges in the world, in terms of market capitalisation.
Our banking sector is rated one of the top 10 in the world and our data
security is ranked 8th
Following almost 10 years of capital outflows, South Africa has experienced
capital inflows averaging 6% of GDP per annum since 1996.
South Africa ranks 23rd in telecommunications development in the world and
is ranked 5th in terms of investments in the industry. In addition, 99.8%
of our telecommunications network is digital.
South African vehicle exports by BMW, Daimler Chrysler, Toyota Motor
Corporation, Volkswagen and Ford increased from 20000 units to 140000 units
between 1995 and 2002. With annual revenue standing at R15billion in 2002,
the industry is now the 3rd largest export earner after mining.
Sasol Mining was voted as the Coal Company of the Year in 2002 by the
Platts/BusinessWeek Global Energy Awards.
South Africa straddles important shipping routes between Europe, Asia and
South America, and the country's five major ports handle 13000 freight
vessels annually, carrying 500 million tons of cargo.
Over six million people have found homes in the 1.5 million houses that
have been constructed since 1996. The housing programme has R50billion
budgeted for the historically marginalized people and 22000 emerging
contractors have been established.
BMW's plant in South Africa won the European Gold Plant quality award,
which ranked it best in the world in terms of quality of production. Over
70% of the leather that is needed for the global production of all BMW cars
is sourced from South Africa.
Our gross domestic product is the 26th highest in the world, totaling
US$126 billion.
Eskom, the national power utility, supplies over 50% of the African
Continent's electricity needs and, in 2001, was voted as the Power Company
of the Year by the Financial Times Global Energy Awards.
Daimler Chrysler's plant in East London is the sole exporter of right-hand
drive Mercedes-Benz C-class vehicles for the Japanese, Australian, and
United Kingdom markets.
Of course we all know that South Africa is the best country in the world to
live in but it is interesting to see our world wide rankings in other
things as well.
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