Ghana’s main export destination is South Africa (44% of total value of exports in 2008), followed by the Netherlands (12% of total). (UN Data, World Statistics Pocketbook)

This week’s theme: Round of sixteen

South Africa’s Gini coefficient is 57.8 while Brazil’s is 55.0. A value of 0 represents perfect equality, and a value of 100 perfect inequality of the country’s citizens. In comparison, Germany’s Gini coefficient is 28.3 and that of Slovakia 25.8. (Human Development Report, http://hdr.undp.org/en)

This week’s theme: Round of sixteen

South Koreans consume 1733 cigarettes per capita per annum while the Spanish consume 2225. South Africans consume 511. (www.tobaccoatlas.org)

This week’s theme: Round of sixteen

The main export destination of South Africa is the United States (12.1% of total), followed by Japan (10.0% of total). (The Economist Pocket World in Figures 2010)

This week’s theme: Round of sixteen

Germans consume 115.8 litres of beer per capita per annum while South Africans consume 59.2 litres. (Kirin Brewery Company)

This week’s theme: Round of sixteen

Of the participating African nations, Nigeria has the highest internet penetration rate (percent of population) at 16.1%. The lowest is Ivory Coast with 3.2%. South Africa stands at 10.8%. (www.internetworldstats.com)

This week’s theme: African teams in the World Cup

In 2009, the median age in Algeria was 25.8, the highest of all participating African countries (South Africa was 24.7). The lowest median age was in Nigeria, at 18.5. (The Economist Pocket World in Figures 2010)

This week’s theme: African teams in the World Cup

Of the participating African countries, South Africa has the highest adult literacy rate, at 88%. The lowest is that of Ivory Coast, at 48.7%. (The Economist Pocket World in Figures 2010)

This week’s theme: African teams in the World Cup

On average, each South African uses almost 5,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per annum. Algeria’s average is 900kWh, and citizens of Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana use under 300kWh on average (World Bank, http://bit.ly/92M7iQ)

This week’s theme: African teams in the World Cup

South Africa’s fertility rate (births per woman) is 2.54. Nigeria’s, Cameroon’s, Ghana’s and the Ivory Coast’s are all over 4. (World Bank http://bit.ly/aG4PFt)

This week’s theme: African teams in the World Cup