South Africa Transportation - 2024

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)