South Africa

South Africa is the only country with three capital cities, Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein. Its constitution recognises twelve official languages.

South Africa has 3 capitals,

Pretoria is the executive capital;
Cape Town is the legislative capital;
Bloemfontein is the judicial capital

South Africa Flag

South Africa Armorial

Easy learning about South Africa

The capital city of South Africa is Pretoria (executive capital), capital city of South Africa.

Word: Ubuntu

Meaning: human kindness

Administrative Divisions

7 provinces and 2 divisions.

Provinces:

Eastern Cape
Free State
Limpopo
Mpumalanga
North West
Northern Cape
Western Cape

Divisions:

ZA-GT
ZA-NL

Administrative divisions of South Africa map

South Africa is a Country on the Sub-Saharan Africa located in the Southern Africa sub-region in the continent of Africa.

0400 km (249 mi)800 km (497 mi)1200 km (746 mi)1600 km (994 mi)

Height

-3 m (-10 ft), 100 m (328 ft), 250 m (820 ft), 500 m (1640 ft), 750 m (2460 ft), 1000 m (3280 ft), 1500 m (4920 ft), 2000 m (6560 ft), 2500 m (8200 ft), Max altitude 3406 m (11170 ft)

Sea depth

0 m (0 ft), 150 m (492 ft), 600 m (1970 ft), 1800 m (5910 ft), 3200 m (10500 ft), deeper than 5200 m (17060 ft)

Height from west to east in South Africa

Height from south to north in South Africa

1Indian Ocean (Southeast), South Atlantic Ocean (Southwest)0 m2Orange50 to 1 461 m3Vaal995 to 1 655 m

Population of South Africa, 1960–2025

The World Bank: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL): United Nations Population Division, national statistical offices

Natural Earth · GEBCO 2026 Grid

Basic Information

Capital City: Pretoria (executive capital), capital city of South Africa

Population: 64,747,319 (World Bank)

Area: 1,221,037 km² / 471,445 sq mi

People from South Africa are called: South Africans

Geography

Latitude: 29.709° S

Longitude: 23.666° E

Geographical Subregion: Southern Africa

Intermediary Region: Sub-Saharan Africa

Continental Region: Africa

Highest Elevation Point: Mafadi (3 450 m)

Lowest point: Indian Ocean (0 m)

Borders

Zimbabwe — Land border
Eswatini (Swaziland) — Land border
Mozambique — Land border
Botswana — Land border
Namibia — Land border
Lesotho — Land border

Citizenship & Passport

Passport Ranking: 50 (HP Index)

Visa-Free Destinations: 101

Climate

mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights

Global Indices

EF EPI Position: 11 (EF EPI)

EF EPI Score: 594 (EF EPI)

EF EPI Proficiency: High Proficiency (EF EPI)

Global Peace Index Rank: 123 (GPI)

Global Peace Index Score: 2.308 (GPI)

Economy

GDP per Capita: $6,769 (IMF)

GDP per Capita Position: 109

Currency: Rand

Currency Code: ZAR

Human Development

HDI Rank: 106 (UNDP)

HDI Value: 0.741

Mean Years of Schooling: 11.6

Expected Years of Schooling: 13.8

Life Expectancy at Birth: 66.1 Years

Religion

Most Predominant: Christian

Second Most Predominant: Folk Religion tribal, animist, or other traditional African religions

LGBTI Rights

Legal Status: Legal (ILGA)

Legal Mechanism: Judicial

Death Penalty: No

Maximum Prison Sentence: No

Physical Punishment: No

Technical Information

Time Zone: UTC+02:00, UTC+03:00

TLD: .za

Calling Code: +27

MapGeo Name: South Africa

MapGeo Code: ZA