South Africa
Top Sights & Landmarks
Background
Some of the earliest human remains in the fossil record were found in South Africa. By about A.D. 500, Bantu-speaking groups began settling into what is now northeastern South Africa, displacing Khoisan-speaking groups to the southwest. Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of present-day South Africa in 1652 and established a stopover point on the spice route between the Netherlands and the Far East, founding the city of Cape Town. After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many settlers of Dutch descent -- known then as "Boers," or farmers, but later called Afrikaners -- trekked north to found their own republics, Transvaal and Orange Free State. In the 1820s, several decades of wars began as the Zulus expanded their territory, moving out of what is today southeastern South Africa and clashing with other indigenous peoples and the growing European settlements. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred mass immigration, predominantly from Europe. The Zulu kingdom's territory was incorporated into the British Empire after the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, and the Afrikaner republics were incorporated after their defeat in the Second South African War (1899-1902). Beginning in 1910, the British and the Afrikaners ruled together under the Union of South Africa, which left the British Commonwealth to become a fully self-governing republic in 1961 after a Whites-only referendum. In 1948, the National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid -– billed as "separate development" of the races -- which favored the White minority and suppressed the Black majority and other non-White groups. The African National Congress (ANC) led the resistance to apartheid, and many top ANC leaders such as Nelson MANDELA spent decades in South Africa's prisons. Internal protests and insurgency, as well as boycotts from some Western nations and institutions, led to the regime's eventual willingness to unban the ANC and negotiate a peaceful transition to majority rule. The first multi-racial elections in 1994 ushered in majority rule under an ANC-led government. South Africa has since struggled to address apartheid-era imbalances in wealth, housing, education, and health care under successive administrations. President Cyril RAMAPHOSA, who was reelected as the ANC leader in 2022, has made some progress in reigning in corruption.
Location
Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Area
Elevation
Detailed Geography Information
Coastline
2,798 km
Geography - note
note 1: South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Eswatini note 2: sometimes mistaken for the southernmost point of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope is more accurately described as the southwestern-most point of the African continent; Cape Agulhas, the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, is the southernmost point of the African continent
Irrigated land
16,700 sq km (2012)
Land boundaries
Major aquifers
Karoo Basin, Lower Kalahari-Stampriet Basin
Major rivers (by length in km)
Orange (shared with Lesotho [s], and Namibia [m]) - 2,092 km; Limpoporivier (Limpopo) river source (shared with Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique [m]) - 1,800 km; Vaal [s] - 1,210 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Orange (941,351 sq km)
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Natural hazards
prolonged droughts volcanism: the volcano that formed Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands is South Africa's only active volcano
Natural resources
Terrain
vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
Population & Growth
Age Distribution
Demographic Longevity
Vital Dynamics
Detailed People & Society Information
Alcohol consumption per capita
7.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
4.9% (2017 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
33.6% (2020 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 53 (2025 est.) youth dependency ratio: 41.1 (2025 est.) elderly dependency ratio: 11.8 (2025 est.) potential support ratio: 8.4 (2025 est.)
Education expenditure
6% of GDP (2024 est.) 19.1% national budget (2025 est.)
Ethnic groups
Gross reproduction rate
1.1 (2025 est.)
Health expenditure
8.3% of GDP (2021) 16.9% of national budget (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 19.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.) male: 23.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20 deaths/1,000 live births
Languages
Literacy
total population: 91.2% (2024 est.) male: 91.5% (2024 est.) female: 90.8% (2024 est.)
Major urban areas - population
10.316 million Johannesburg (includes Ekurhuleni), 4.890 million Cape Town (legislative capital), 3.228 million Durban, 2.818 million PRETORIA (administrative capital), 1.296 million Port Elizabeth, 934,000 West Rand (2023)
Maternal mortality ratio
118 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Nationality
noun: South African(s) adjective: South African
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
28.3% (2016)
Physician density
0.79 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Population distribution
the population is concentrated along the southern and southeastern coast, and inland around Pretoria; the eastern half of the country is more densely populated than the west, as shown in this population distribution map
Refugees and internally displaced persons
Religions
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 14 years (2022 est.) male: 14 years (2022 est.) female: 14 years (2022 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 20.1% (2025 est.) male: 35.3% (2025 est.) female: 6% (2025 est.)
Climate & Issues
mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
Land Cover
Air & Carbon Emissions
Water Resources & Use
Detailed Environmental Information
International environmental agreements
Urbanization
urban population: 68.8% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 1.72% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually: 18.457 million tons (2024 est.) percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 28.2% (2022 est.)
Capital & State Profile
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
National Identity & Symbols
two equal-width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band that splits into a horizontal Y; a black isosceles triangle is in the Y, with narrow yellow bands around it; the red and blue bands are bordered by narrow white stripes
Detailed Government Information
Administrative divisions
9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape
Citizenship
citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of South Africa dual citizenship recognized: yes, but requires prior permission of the government residency requirement for naturalization: 5 year
Constitution
history: several previous; latest drafted 8 May 1996, approved by the Constitutional Court 4 December 1996, effective 4 February 1997 amendment process: proposed by the National Assembly of Parliament; passage of amendments affecting constitutional sections on human rights and freedoms, non-racism and non-sexism, supremacy of the constitution, suffrage, the multi-party system of democratic government, and amendment procedures requires at least 75% majority vote of the Assembly, approval by at least six of the nine provinces represented in the National Council of Provinces, and assent of the president of the republic; passage of amendments affecting the Bill of Rights, and those related to provincial boundaries, powers, and authorities requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly, approval by at least six of the nine provinces represented in the National Council, and assent of the president
Country name
conventional long form: Republic of South Africa conventional short form: South Africa former: Union of South Africa abbreviation: RSA etymology: self-descriptive name from the country's location on the continent; "Africa" is derived from the Roman designation of the area corresponding to present-day Tunisia "Africa terra," which meant "Land of the Afri" (the tribe resident in that area), but which eventually came to mean the entire continent
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International organization participation
Judicial branch
highest court(s): Supreme Court of Appeals (consists of the court president, deputy president, and 21 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of the chief and deputy chief justices and 9 judges) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court of Appeals president and vice president appointed by the national president after consultation with the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), a 23-member body chaired by the chief justice; other Supreme Court judges appointed by the national president on the advice of the JSC and hold office until discharged from active service by an Act of Parliament; Constitutional Court chief and deputy chief justices appointed by the president of South Africa after consultation with the JSC and with heads of the National Assembly; other Constitutional Court judges appointed by the national president after consultation with the chief justice and leaders of the National Assembly; Constitutional Court judges serve 12-year nonrenewable terms or until age 70 subordinate courts: High Courts; Magistrates' Courts; labor courts; land claims courts
Legal system
mixed system of Roman-Dutch civil law, English common law, and customary law
National heritage
total World Heritage Sites: 12 (7 cultural, 4 natural, 1 mixed) selected World Heritage Site locales: Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa (c); iSimangaliso Wetland Park (n); Robben Island (c); Maloti-Drakensberg Park (m); Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape (c); Cape Floral Region Protected Areas (n); Vredefort Dome (n); Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape (c); Khomani Cultural Landscape (c); Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains (n); Human Rights, Liberation and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites (c); The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa (c)
Political parties
African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP African Independent Congress or AIC African National Congress or ANC African People's Convention or APC Agang SA Congress of the People or COPE Democratic Alliance or DA Economic Freedom Fighters or EFF Freedom Front Plus or FF+ GOOD Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP National Freedom Party or NFP Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania or PAC United Christian Democratic Party or UCDP United Democratic Movement or UDM
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Economic Overview
upper-middle-income, largest southern African economy; Government of National Unity facing slow growth, fiscal gaps, and structural challenges; high income inequality, unemployment, and poverty; reforms to address electricity generation, transport, and logistics; leading producer and exporter of critical minerals
Size & Performance
GDP Sector Breakdown
Trade Balance
Budget Balance
Export Profile
Top Export Partners
Major Export Commodities
Labor & Employment
Income Inequality
Detailed Economic Data
Agricultural products
Current account balance
-$2.384 billion (2024 est.) -$6.143 billion (2023 est.) -$1.878 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars
Debt - external
$93.879 billion (2023 est.) note: present value of external debt in current US dollars
Exchange rates
rand (ZAR) per US dollar - Exchange rates: 18.329 (2024 est.) 18.45 (2023 est.) 16.356 (2022 est.) 14.779 (2021 est.) 16.459 (2020 est.)
GDP - composition, by end use
Industrial production growth rate
-0.4% (2024 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
Industries
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
4.4% (2024 est.) 6.1% (2023 est.) 7% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Public debt
76.2% of GDP (2022 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP
Remittances
0.2% of GDP (2024 est.) 0.2% of GDP (2023 est.) 0.2% of GDP (2022 est.) note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$65.435 billion (2024 est.) $62.492 billion (2023 est.) $60.553 billion (2022 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Taxes and other revenues
26% (of GDP) (2022 est.) note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP
Grid Infrastructure
Generation Mix
Fossil Fuels Production
Intensity & Nuclear
Digital Access
Active internet users as a percentage of the total population.
Fixed Broadband
Mobile Cellular
Broadcast Media
Aviation
Railways
Ports & Harbors
Merchant Marine
Military Expenditures
Active Duty Strengths
approximately 65-70,000 active-duty National Defense Forces (2025)
Service & Defense Details
South African National Defense Force (SANDF): South African Army (includes Reserve Force), South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), South African Military Health Services Ministry of Police: South African Police Service (SAPS) (2025)
approximately 2,000 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO and Southern African Development Community) (2025)
the SANDF's inventory is a mix of domestically produced and foreign-supplied equipment; South Africa's domestic defense industry produced most of the Army's major weapons systems (some were jointly produced with foreign companies), while the Air Force and Navy inventories include a mix of European, Israeli, and US origin armaments, alongside some domestic systems, such as combat helicopters and some naval vessels; South Africa has one of Africa's leading defense industries (2025)
the South African National Defense Force's (SANDF) primary responsibilities include territorial and maritime defense, supporting the Police Service, protecting key infrastructure, responding to disasters, and participating in international peacekeeping missions; border security and maintaining a rapid reaction capability for regional security missions and disaster response have been priorities; in recent years, it has been deployed internally to assist the Police with quelling unrest and assisting with border security; the SANDF also regularly participates in African and UN peacekeeping missions and is a member of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Standby Force the SANDF was created in 1994 to replace the South African Defense Force (SADF); the SANDF was opened to all South Africans who met military requirements, while the SADF was a mostly white force (only whites were subject to conscription) with non-whites only allowed to join in a voluntary capacity; the SANDF also absorbed members of the various anti-apartheid opposition groups, including the African National Congress, the Pan Africanist Congress, and the Inkatha Freedom Party, as well as the security forces of the formerly independent Bantustan homelands (2025)
18-22 (18-26 for college graduates) years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; initial 24-month service obligation (2025) note: in 2023, women comprised nearly 30% of the military
Space Agency
South African National Space Agency (SANSA; established 2010) (2025)