South Africa

South Africa occupies the southern tip of the African continent, its borders tracing a jagged line where the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans converge along nearly 2,800 kilometres of shoreline. Encompassing some 1.22 million square kilometres, it stretches from latitude 22° S to 35° S and longitude 16° E to 33° E. Nine provinces divide its landmass, each with its own seat of local government: Eastern Cape (capital Bhisho, largest city Gqeberha), Free State (Bloemfontein), Gauteng (Johannesburg), KwaZulu‑Natal (Pietermaritzburg), Limpopo (Polokwane), Mpumalanga (Mbombela), North West (Mahikeng), Northern Cape (Kimberley) and Western Cape (Cape Town). Pretoria serves as the executive centre, Cape Town hosts the legislature, and Bloemfontein holds the judiciary. With more than 62 million residents, South Africa is home to Africa’s largest economy by nominal GDP and sustains a density of cultures and landscapes unmatched elsewhere on the continent.

Archaeological evidence places hominid species here as early as 2.5 million years ago, while anatomically modern humans occupied the landover 100,000 years ago. The first well‑documented societies were the Khoisan hunter‑gatherers, whose click languages and intricate rock art endure in the semi‑arid western regions. Between roughly 2,000 and 1,000 years ago, Bantu‑speaking groups migrated southward from West and Central Africa, bringing iron‑smelting technology and establishing new agricultural and social systems. By the thirteenth century, the Kingdom of Mapungubwe thrived atop a sandstone plateau near today’s Limpopo River, trading ivory and gold with the Indian Ocean world.

The seventeenth century witnessed the arrival of European mariners seeking a waystation between Europe and the East Indies. In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck founded a provisioning post at Table Bay under the Dutch East India Company. Over the next century, small farms and outposts spread along the Cape’s fertile valleys. The British seized the settlement in 1795, relinquished it in 1803, and reoccupied it in 1806—initiating far‑reaching changes in land tenure, labour relations and language. Meanwhile, in the early nineteenth century, the upheavals known as the Mfecane rippled across southern Africa, as Zulu and other Nguni-speaking polities expanded under leaders such as Shaka kaSenzangakhona.

The discovery of diamonds in Kimberley (1867) and gold on the Witwatersrand (1886) drew waves of fortune‑seekers. Rapid industrial growth and urbanisation ensued, but also sharpened tensions between British authorities, Boer settlers and African communities. The Second Boer War (1899–1902) resulted in British victory and the reunification of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Orange Free State colonies. In 1910 these colonies entered union as a self‑governing dominion, and in 1961 South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth to become a republic.

Although a non‑racial voting qualification persisted in the Cape until the late 19th century, post‑Union legislation steadily disenfranchised Black and “Coloured” South Africans. In 1948, the National Party codified racial separation under apartheid, erecting barriers in housing, employment, education and movement. Anti‑apartheid resistance took shape within and beyond South Africa’s borders, marked by both non‑violent protest—such as the Defiance Campaign of 1952—and armed struggle by groups like Umkhonto we Sizwe, co‑founded by Nelson Mandela.

By the mid‑1980s, internal unrest and international isolation pushed the government to begin dismantling apartheid laws. In 1990, President F. W. de Klerk unbanned liberation movements and released political prisoners. Negotiations culminated in a new constitution and the country’s first universal suffrage elections in April 1994. Since then, every racial group has held seats in Parliament, and nine provincial legislatures govern local affairs.

South Africa’s interior rises to a vast plateau averaging 1,000–2,100 metres above sea level. Around its margins looms the Great Escarpment, whose eastern arm—the Drakensberg—soars to Mafadi’s 3,450 metres, the nation’s highest point. From this highland, the land slopes gently toward the west and north, giving way to the arid Bushmanland and, beyond it, the Kalahari Desert.

On the plateau’s southern flank lies the Great Karoo: a sparsely populated shrubland of hardy succulents and scrub. Northward, the Highveld’s rolling grasslands (elevation ~1,700 metres) nurture commercial farms and Gauteng’s urban sprawl. East of the Highveld, as the ground descends below 500 metres, the Bushveld and Lowveld appear, their riverine forests and savanna grasslands punctuated by parks like Kruger (19,633 km²).

The coastal belt exhibits yet more diversity. Along the south‑western shore, parallel ridges of Cape Fold Mountains shelter the Little Karoo, famed for ostrich farms around Oudtshoorn, and the Garden Route’s temperate rainforests. The Cape Peninsula defines a Mediterranean enclave—one of the few in sub‑Saharan Africa—where winter rains support the fynbos biome, home to Protea, erica and restio species. To the north, Namaqualand’s winter blooms transform arid plains into swathes of colour, while the Namaqua coast and Swartland wheat fields recall the region’s agricultural heritage. Offshore, the Prince Edward Islands archipelago extends South Africa’s reach into sub‑Antarctic waters.

Surrounded by two oceans and traversed by major elevation gradients, South Africa’s climate spans desert, Mediterranean, temperate and subtropical zones. Coastal KwaZulu‑Natal receives summer rainfall and supports mangrove-lined estuaries, whereas the Western Cape’s wet winters and dry summers nurture vineyards around Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. Johannesburg, on the Highveld at 1,740 metres, averages 760 mm of rain annually, mostly in summer thunderstorms.

Temperature extremes range from Buffelsfontein’s record −20.1 °C (2013) to an unofficial 51.7 °C in the Northern Cape Kalahari (1948), although the official maximum stands at 48.8 °C at Vioolsdrif (1993). Long-term climate models project a coastal temperature rise of about 1 °C by mid‑century, and over 4 °C in interior regions. Increased drought frequency, heatwaves and wildfires imperil biomes like the Cape Floral Region, which hosts over 9,000 plant species—three times the diversity of the Amazon.

South Africa ranks sixth among the world’s seventeen megadiverse nations. Its 22,000 vascular plants (roughly 9 percent of Earth’s total) and an estimated 200,000 fungal species reflect prodigious ecological richness. Grasslands dominate the Highveld, while savannas with acacia and baobab trees sweep across the Lowveld. Fynbos covers the Western Cape’s mountain slopes; small enclaves of montane and mangrove forest mark the eastern seaboard. Aquatic habitats sustain five endemic fish species in the Cape’s CapeFold rivers.

In the Bushveld and game reserves, megafauna range from lion, leopard and cheetah to rhinoceros, giraffe, wildebeest and hippopotamus. Conservation challenges include alien plant invasions—black wattle, Port Jackson willow and jacaranda among the most pervasive—and habitat loss from urban sprawl and agriculture. Poaching of rhinos and succulent plants remains a serious threat, prompting strict protection for yellowwood, stinkwood and ironwood trees, among others.

The 2022 census recorded 62 million inhabitants: 81 percent Black African, 8.2 percent Coloured, 7.3 percent White, 2.7 percent Indian or Asian, and 0.5 percent other or unspecified. Annual growth reflects both natural increase and an estimated five million undocumented immigrants, predominantly from Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia.

Twelve official languages reflect this diversity: Zulu (24.4 percent first‑language speakers), Xhosa (16.6 percent), Afrikaans (10.6 percent), English (8.7 percent) and eight others, including Pedi, Tswana and Venda. South African Sign Language joined the roster in 2023. English serves as the de facto lingua franca of commerce and public life, despite ranking fifth by home use. Many households continue to preserve Khoe, San dialects and South Asian languages among immigrant communities.

Christianity claims 79.8 percent adherence—divided among Zion Christian (11.1 percent), Pentecostal (8.2 percent), Roman Catholic (7.1 percent), Methodist (6.8 percent), Dutch Reformed (6.7 percent), Anglican (3.8 percent) and various other denominations (36 percent). Muslims (1.5 percent), Hindus (1.2 percent), practitioners of traditional African faiths (0.3 percent) and Jews (0.2 percent) constitute smaller groups. Fifteen percent report no religious affiliation, even as an estimated 60 percent of South Africans consult traditional healers blending ancestral rites and herbal remedies.

South Africa is a parliamentary republic composed of a national legislature and nine provincial legislatures. Every five years, voters elect members by party‑list proportional representation. Provinces exercise authority over health, education, housing and transport within constitutional bounds. Local administration comprises eight metropolitan and 44 district municipalities, subdivided into 205 local municipalities. Executive power resides in a president chosen by the National Assembly.

Internationally, South Africa asserts regional leadership as a member of the African Union, Southern African Development Community, BRICS+, the Commonwealth and the G20. Its foreign policy balances post‑apartheid solidarity with global economic engagement, especially in trade and climate negotiations.

As of 2023, South Africa’s GDP per capita stood at US $16,080 (PPP), ranking 95th globally. Private wealth totals some US $651 billion—second only to Egypt in Africa—and the country holds the continent’s largest nominal economy. Yet stark inequalities persist: a Gini coefficient of 0.63 marks among the world’s highest disparities. Approximately 32 percent of working‑age adults are unemployed (2024), and over half the population lives below the poverty line, with 25 percent in food poverty.

Unlike other developing nations, informal employment comprises only 15 percent of all jobs, attributable in part to an extensive social welfare system. Road transport dominates freight and passenger movement: a 750,000 km network (12 million vehicles, density 16 vehicles/km) connects cities and rural areas. Transnet Freight Rail oversees a 31,000 km rail grid (20,900 km in use), while PRASA manages commuter lines. Seaport facilities and six international airports—including O.R. Tambo (21 million passengers annually), Cape Town International (seven consecutive “best in Africa” awards), King Shaka (Durban) and Port Elizabeth’s Chief Dawid Stuurman—link South Africa to global markets.

Mining—once the engine of growth—accounts for significant exports of coal, gold, platinum and diamonds, though its relative share of GDP has declined. Manufacturing, services and finance have diversified the economy, yet infrastructure backlogs and energy shortages pose ongoing constraints.

Tourism contributes about 3.3 percent of GDP (2025), with nearly 9 million arrivals recorded in 2024. Visitors come for wildlife safaris in Kruger and Sabi Sand, the Cape’s scenic coastlines, the Drakensberg’s peaks, and vibrant cities—Cape Town’s Table Mountain, Durban’s beachfront and Johannesburg’s urban art scenes. Overseas markets include the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands and France; regionally, SADC neighbours and Nigeria are key sources.

South Africa’s media landscape is one of Africa’s largest, with broadcasters and publications in all official languages, though English predominates. Music genres range from township-born Kwaito and the current Amapiano wave to choral traditions of Ladysmith Black Mambazo and jazz legends Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim. Contemporary popular acts include Die Antwoord, Tyla and Seether, while local hip‑hop stars such as Nasty C and Cassper Nyovest have earned international acclaim.

Film has achieved rare global reach through works like District 9, Tsotsi (Academy Award, 2006) and U‑Carmen e‑Khayelitsha (Golden Bear, 2005), even as domestic production often struggles for funding. Literature, theatre and visual arts thrive in urban centres, reflecting social issues and historical memory.

Culinary customs draw on Indigenous, Dutch, Malay, Indian and British influences. The braai—community gatherings around charcoal grills—celebrates cuts of meat, boerewors sausages and maize porridge (pap). Coastal regions serve fresh seafood; Cape Malay stews highlight spices and dried fruits. South Africa’s wine industry, centred in the Western Cape’s valleys, ranks among the world’s most respected.

Sport unites diverse communities: football commands youth allegiance, rugby retains a national following since the 1995 World Cup, and cricket boasts a storied history. Athletics, golf, boxing, netball and surfing enjoy wide participation, while emerging interests include basketball and skateboarding.

Faced with climate change, water scarcity and biodiversity loss, South Africa has published national climate reports (2011, 2016) and a Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2006). It ranks as the 14th largest CO₂ emitter globally—largely from coal—yet has pledged emissions peaking by 2025. Protected areas and ecotourism initiatives aim to balance conservation with livelihoods.

Despite lingering legacies of inequality and poverty, South Africa’s plural society—often called the “rainbow nation”—continues to seek cohesion through constitutional rights, civic engagement and cultural expression. As the country navigates energy reforms, education expansion and economic diversification, it draws on a rich inheritance of human resilience, ecological marvels and complex histories.

In its broad sweeps of veld, crag and cityscape, South Africa remains a place where past and present converge—where deep time and recent transformation shape a society forever in the process of becoming.