South Africa borders Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho, an independent enclave.The landscape of South Africa includes temperate forests, high mountains, high plains, and the semi-desert that covers one-third of the country. The country’s wildlife preserves are among the most celebrated in the world. Kruger National Park is a world famous destination for those who want to see the “big five” in person: lions, black rhinos, buffalo, leopards, and elephants. 

The southern coast of the African continent is alive with diverse marine and plant life. A tropical ocean current off the lushly forested east coast is the perfect habitat for coral reefs. A much cooler current skims the dry, arid west shore. These currents meet off the most southerly cape, Cape Agulhas, creating a unique habitat for plants and animals that have adapted to their environment. Cape Town is warmest in February with temperatures skimming 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and coolest in July when the daily high hovers around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Snow can occasionally dust the city in winter.

Early man populated what is presently South Africa as far back as 110,000 years ago. Around 1 AD farmers from Botswana moved into South Africa, and by 200 AD black farmers and iron-workers settle south of the Limpopo River. By 1400, stone settlements of Sotho people expanded into the present-day Free State. In 1652, the Dutch set out to create trade relations with the local farming communities and the indigenous Khoina. The locals were quickly marginalized, and with the arrival of French Huguenot families in 1688 most of the indigenous people were driven from their ancestral lands. In 1778 the British arrived as colonizers, and assigned land to British settlers. Meanwhile, Shaka Zulu to the east, was laying the foundation for his empire. British colonist slave policy clashed with the Dutch farmers (also known as the Boers) who depended on slave labor, so the Boers headed east on their “Great Trek.” Due to the discovery of diamonds and gold, Britain attempted to tighten her grip on the African kingdoms and Boer republics. In 1910 South Africa became one of Britain’s self-governing colonies, and in 1948 the white Afrikaner-based National Party came into power. The apartheid (apartness) years stripped black South Africans of most of their human rights and is marked by political isolation. The decree that Afrikaans would be the language used in all schools sparked a revolt in 1976, and finally in 1990 President Willem de Klerk took steps to change the policies by disbanding the ANC and freeing Nelson Mandela. In 1994, the African National Congress was democratically elected, Nelson Mandela became President, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established by Desmond Tutu to examine the political crimes that occurred during the apartheid.

Quick Facts

Size: 1.2 million km2

Population: 47,432,000

Government: Multi-Party Democracy with an Independent Judiciary, President is Thabo Mbeki

Currency: South African rand

Languages: Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga