All About South Africa

South Africa is located at Africa’s southern tip and has 2,798 km of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It borders Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland. Lesotho is a country completely surrounded by South Africa.

South Africa has diverse cultures and languages with eleven officially recognized languages in the constitution. Two originated in Europe: (1) Afrikaans came from Dutch and is spoken mostly by white South Africans and (2) South African English.

79.5 percent of the country is of black African ancestry. These people are divided among a number of ethnic groups. The country contains the largest racially mixed communities in Africa. 25 percent of the country’s people are unemployed. The country is the largest to have legitimized same-sex marriage.

The population of South Africa is estimated at 59.39 million (2021).

South Africa is a parliamentary republic. The head of state and head of government are merged in a parliamentary dependent president. It has the largest economy of any African Union member and is also a founding member of the U.N. and NEPAD.