The 19th World Economic Forum on Africa will be held in the South African coastal city of Cape Town from Wednesday to Friday under the theme of " Implications of the Global Economic Crisis for Africa".

The following is a brief introduction about the host country South Africa:

The Republic of South Africa is located at the very southern tip of the African continent. It covers an area of 1.2 million square km, owning a land boundary of 4,862 km and the coastline of 2,798 km.

The country is bordered by Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the north, Mozambique and Swaziland to the east. The Kingdom of Lesotho is an independent enclave surrounded by South African territory.

The climate is mostly semiarid and subtropical along the east coast.

Among the population of 49 million in South Africa, about 61 percent are urban residents, according to statistics obtained last year.

The administrative capital of the country is Pretoria. The legislative capital is Cape Town while the judicial one is Bloemfontein. The whole country is divided into nine provinces.

Elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term and eligible for a second term, the president is both the chief of state and head of government in South Africa. The cabinet is appointed by the president.

South Africa's bicameral parliament consists of the 90-member National Council of Provinces and the National Assembly with 400 seats. Each of the nine provincial legislatures chooses 10 members of the National Council of Provinces by vote. Members in the National Assembly are elected by popular vote.

South Africa enjoys abundant natural resources, including gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt and natural gas.

As the economic powerhouse in sub-Saharan Africa, the country posted the GDP of 476.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2007 in terms of purchasing power parity.