Prior to England's match with South Africa tonight, TheFA.com takes a brief look

Prior to England's match with South Africa tonight, TheFA.com takes a brief look at Durban, the city in which the Three Lions will play...

South Africa v England
International Friendly, Durban
Thursday 22nd May, 19.30

South Africa - The Stat Pack

Full country name: The Republic of South Africa
Area: 1,221,037 sq km

Land Boundaries: total: 4,862 km border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km
Coastline: 2,798 km
Population: 43.1 million
Capitals: Pretoria (administrative); Bloemfontein (judicial) and Cape Town (legislative).
People: 77% black, 10% white (60% of whites are of Afrikaner descent, most of the rest are of British descent), 8% mixed race, 2.5% of Indian or Asian descent.
Languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Pedi, English, Tswana, Sotho, Tsonga, Swati, Venda, Ndebele.
Religion: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and traditional religions.
Government: Republic and independent member of the British Commonwealth
President: Thabo Mbeki
GDP: US$146 billion
GDP per head: US$2133
Annual growth: 0.9%
Inflation: 7.8%
Major industries: Mining, finance, insurance, food processing
Major trading partners: USA, UK, Germany, Japan, Italy

Your Guide to... Durban

Durban, a large sub-tropical city in the the north-eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, has a wonderful climate, blessed as it is with balmy weather all year round. Historically an entry point into Africa, Durban is the largest and busiest port city on the continent. Now served by a major international airport, Durban receives regular, daily flight from London and other major European cities.

A major port since the mid nineteenth century, today Durban is better known as a major holiday destination popular with Europeans looking for some winter sun.

The city's beachfront is bordered by five star hotels and luxury apartments, all of which have scenic vistas of the Indian Ocean but apart from the sandy strip, Durban still has a fair bit to offer.

Durban has one of the largest concentrations of people of Indian decent in all South Africa and as such the Indian area, to the west of the city centre, is one of the highlights of any visit.  The Victoria St Market is the area's central point, but other tourist favourites are the Juma Mosque, the largest in the southern hemisphere, and the Alayam Hindu Temple, South Africa's oldest and biggest.

Marine Parade, fronting the beach, is where most people spend more time than anywhere else as most places to stay and eat are on or near the parade as is the city's entertainment.

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