South Africa Transportation - 2024

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

National air transport system

number of registered air carriers: 17 (2020)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 243

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 23,921,748 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 716.25 million (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

ZS

Airports

575 (2024)

Heliports

49 (2024)

Pipelines

94 km condensate, 1,293 km gas, 992 km oil, 1,460 km refined products (2013)

Railways

total: 30,400 km (2021)

standard gauge: 80 km (2021) 1.435-m gauge (80 km electrified)

narrow gauge: 19,756 km (2014) 1.065-m gauge (8,271 km electrified)

Roadways

total: 750,000 km (2016)

paved: 158,124 km (2016)

unpaved: 591,876 km (2016)

Merchant marine

total: 110 (2023)

by type: bulk carrier 3, general cargo 1, oil tanker 7, other 99

Ports and terminals

major seaport(s): Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay

container port(s) (TEUs): Durban (2,430,295) (2021)

LNG terminal(s) (import): Mossel Bay

Transportation - note

South Africa operates one PC 5 or 6 class light icebreaker
note - PC indicates a Polar Class vessel: PC 5 - year-round operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 70-120 cm); PC 6 - summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 30-70 cm)

NOTE: The information regarding South Africa on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of South Africa 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about South Africa 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.