The Republic of South Africa is a sovereign country located at the southern tip of Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. South Africa's coast stretches 2,798 kilometres and borders both the Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 and Indian

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 ocean

Ocean

An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...

s. To the north of South Africa lie Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

, Botswana

Botswana

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

, Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

 and Swaziland

Swaziland

Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...

, while the Kingdom of Lesotho

Lesotho

Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...

 is an independent enclave surrounded by South African territory.

Modern human beings have inhabited South Africa for more than 100,000 years. However, with the discovery of the Cape Sea Route

History of Cape Colony

The written history of Cape Colony South Africa began when Bartolomeu Dias, a Portuguese navigator, discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. In 1497, Vasco da Gama sailed along the whole coast of South Africa on his way to India. The Portuguese, attracted by the riches of Asia, made no...

, the Dutch East India Company

Dutch East India Company

The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...

 founded a refreshment station at what would become Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

 in 1652. Cape Town became a British colony in 1806. European settlement expanded during the 1820s as the Boers (original Dutch settlers) and the British 1820 Settlers

1820 Settlers

The 1820 Settlers were several groups or parties of white British colonists settled by the British government and the Cape authorities in the South African Eastern Cape in 1820....

 claimed land in the north and east of the country. Conflicts arose between the original inhabitants of the land, the Khoi, Xhosa and Zulu, and the new European settlers. However, the discovery of diamonds and later gold triggered the conflict known as the Anglo-Boer War as the Boers and the British fought for the control of South Africa's mineral wealth. Although the Boers were defeated, limited independence was given to South Africa in 1910 as a British dominion. Anti-British policies focused on ultimate independence which was achieved in 1961 when South Africa was declared a republic. The leading National Party

National Party (South Africa)

The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...

 legislated segregation

Racial segregation

Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...

 known as apartheid despite opposition both in and outside of the country. In 1990, upon his release from prison, Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

 as well as the then president F.W. de Klerk began to dismantle this legislation, and in 1994 the first democratic election was held in South Africa. This election brought Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

 and the current ruling party, the African National Congress

African National Congress

The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...

 to power.

South Africa is known for its diversity, and eleven official languages are recognised in its constitution. English is the most commonly spoken language in official and commercial public life, however it is only the fifth most spoken home language. South Africa is ethnically diverse, with the largest Caucasian

Whites in South Africa

White South African is a term which refers to people from South Africa who are of European descent and who don't regard themselves, or are not regarded as being part of another racial group, for example, as Coloured...

, Indian

Asians in South Africa

The majority of the Asian South African population is Indian in origin, most of them descended from indentured workers transported to work in the 19th century on the sugar plantations of the eastern coastal area, then known as Natal. They are largely English speaking, although many also retain the...

, and racially mixed

Coloured

In the South African, Namibian, Zambian, Botswana and Zimbabwean context, the term Coloured refers to an heterogenous ethnic group who possess ancestry from Europe, various Khoisan and Bantu tribes of Southern Africa, West Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaya, India, Mozambique,...

 communities in Africa. Although 79.5% of South Africa's population is Black

Black people

The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...

, this category is neither culturally nor linguistically homogenous, as they speak a number of different Bantu

Bantu languages

The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...

 languages, nine of which have official status. In 2006, South Africa's population was estimated at 47.4 million people.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to South Africa:

General reference

• Pronunciation
  International Phonetic Alphabet
  The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
  
  :
• Common English country name: South Africa
  South Africa
  The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
  
  
• Official English country name: The Republic of South Africa
• Common endonym(s):
• Official endonym(s):
• Adjectival(s): South African
• Demonym(s): South Africans
• Etymology
  Etymology
  Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
  
  : Name of South Africa
• ISO country codes: ZA, ZAF, 710
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:ZA
  ISO 3166-2:ZA
  ISO 3166-2:ZA is the entry for South Africa in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for South Africa, ISO 3166-2...
  
  
• Internet
  Internet
  The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
  
   country code top-level domain
  Country code top-level domain
  A country code top-level domain is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory....
  
  : .za
  .za
  .za is the Internet country code top-level domain for South Africa. It is administered by the .None of the official names for South Africa can be abbreviated to ZA, which is an abbreviation of the Dutch Zuid-Afrika...
  
  

Geography of South Africa

• South Africa is: a country
• Location:
  • Eastern Hemisphere
    Eastern Hemisphere
    The Eastern Hemisphere, also Eastern hemisphere or eastern hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the Prime Meridian and west of 180° longitude. It is also used to refer to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia, vis-à-vis the Western Hemisphere, which includes...
    
     and Southern Hemisphere
    Southern Hemisphere
    The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
    
    
  • Africa
    Africa
    Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
    
    
    • Southern Africa
      Southern Africa
      Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
      
      
  • Time zone
    Time zone
    A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
    
    : South African Standard Time (UTC+02)
  • Extreme points of South Africa
    • High: Mafadi
      Mafadi
      Mafadi is a peak on the border of South Africa and Lesotho. At a height of , it is the highest mountain in South Africa, but is lower than Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest peak in Lesotho which is, at , the highest point in Southern Africa...
      
       3450 m (11,319 ft)
    • Low: South Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean
      Indian Ocean
      The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
      
       0 m
  • Land boundaries: 4,862 km

 Botswana 1,840 km

 Namibia 967 km

 Lesotho 909 km

 Mozambique 491 km

 Swaziland 430 km

 Zimbabwe 225 km

• Coastline: 2,798 km
• Population of South Africa: 47,850,700 (July 1, 2007) - 26th most populous country
• Area of South Africa: 1 221 037 km²
• Atlas of South Africa

Environment of South Africa

• Climate of South Africa
  Climate of South Africa
  South Africa, which geopolitically resides between the 22nd and 34th degrees south, is part OF Southern Hemisphere's subtropical zone. It experiences a wider diversity of climatological changes than most other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, but also tends to retain lower average temperatures than...
  
  
• Environmental issues in South Africa
• Green building in South Africa
  Green building in South Africa
  Green building in South AfricaThe Green Building Council of South Africa has developed a Green Star SA rating tools, based on the Green Building Council of Australia tools, to provide the property industry with an objective measurement for green buildings and to recognize and reward environmental...
  
  
• Ecoregions in South Africa
• Renewable energy in South Africa
• Geology of South Africa
• Protected areas of South Africa
  • Biosphere reserves in South Africa
  • National parks of South Africa
• Wildlife of South Africa
  Wildlife of South Africa
  South Africa has a large variety of wildlife, including snakes, birds, plains animals, and predators. The country has 299 species of mammals and 858 species of birds....
  
  
  • Flora of South Africa
  • Fauna of South Africa
    Fauna of South Africa
    The fauna of South Africa is astonishingly varied, but largely typical of the ecosystems of Africa.-Habitats:The topography and geology of South Africa is extremely varied, resulting in a wide variety of habitats. Due to this, South Africa is ranked sixth out of the world’s seventeen megadiverse...
    
    
    • Birds of South Africa
    • Mammals of South Africa

Natural geographic features of South Africa

• Glaciers in South Africa: none
• Islands of South Africa
• Lakes of South Africa
• Mountains of South Africa
  • Volcanoes in South Africa
• Rivers of South Africa
  • Waterfalls of South Africa
• Valleys of South Africa
• World Heritage Sites in South Africa

Ecoregions of South Africa

Administrative divisions of South Africa

• Provinces of South Africa
  Provinces of South Africa
  South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. The twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the constitution...
  
  
  • Districts of South Africa
    Districts of South Africa
    South Africa is divided into 52 districts . The 12th amendment to the Constitution reduced this number from 53. Another effect of this amendment is that each district is now completely contained within a province, thus eliminating cross-border districts. The districts also cover the entire area of...
    
    
    • Municipalities of South Africa
      Municipalities of South Africa
      Municipalities in South Africa are a division of local government that lie one level down from provincial government, forming the lowest level of democratically elected government structures in the country. The foundation for this layer of government is set out in Chapter 7 of the Constitution of...
      
      

Provinces of South Africa

• Western Cape
  Western Cape
  The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
  
  
• Northern Cape
  Northern Cape
  The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...
  
  
• Eastern Cape
  Eastern Cape
  The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
  
  
• KwaZulu-Natal
  KwaZulu-Natal
  KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
  
  
• Free State
  Free State
  The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...
  
  
• North West
  North West (South African province)
  North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mafikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng.-History:...
  
  
• Gauteng
  Gauteng
  Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
  
  
• Mpumalanga
  Mpumalanga
  Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
  
  
• Limpopo
  Limpopo
  Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. The capital is Polokwane, formerly named Pietersburg. The province was formed from the northern region of Transvaal Province in 1994, and initially named Northern Transvaal...
  
  

Districts of South Africa

• City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality
• West Coast
  West Coast District Municipality
  The West Coast District Municipality is a district municipality located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its municipality code is DC1. Moorreesburg is the seat of the district...
  
  
• Cape Winelands
  Cape Winelands District Municipality
  The Cape Winelands District Municipality, formerly the Boland District Municipality, is a district municipality located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2007, it had a population of 712,413...
  
  
• Overberg
  Overberg District Municipality
  The Overberg District Municipality is a district municipality located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its municipality code is DC3.- Adjacent municipalities :*Cape Winelands District Municipality *Eden District Municipality...
  
  
• Eden
  Eden District Municipality
  The Eden District Municipality is a district municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Its municipality code is DC4.-Adjacent municipalities:* Central Karoo District Municipality...
  
  
• Central Karoo
  Central Karoo District Municipality
  The Central Karoo District Municipality is a district municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa...
  
  
• Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality
• Cacadu
  Cacadu District Municipality
  Cacadu District Municipality is situated in the Western Portion of the Eastern Cape province, covering an area of 58 242 square kilometres. The area of the district municipality includes nine local municipalities and other portions collectively known as the District Management Areas . The seat of...
  
  
• Amatole
  Amatole District Municipality
  Amathole is one of the 7 districts of Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of Amathole is East London. Over 90% of its 1 664 259 people speak Xhosa . The district code is DC12...
  
  
• Chris Hani
  Chris Hani District Municipality
  Chris Hani is one of the 7 districts of Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of Chris Hani is Queenstown. The majority of its 810 274 people speak Xhosa , although Afrikaans speaking people predominate in the far west of the district...
  
  
• Ukhahlamba
  Ukhahlamba District Municipality
  Joe Gqabi is one of the 7 districts of Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of Joe Gqabi is Barkly East. The majority of its 341 337 people speak IsiXhosa . The district code is DC14...
  
  
• OR Thambo
• Alfred Nzo
  Alfred Nzo District Municipality
  Alfred Nzo is one of the 7 districts of Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of Alfred Nzo is Mount Ayliff. The majority of its 550 392 people speak Xhosa...
  
  
• Xhariep
  Xhariep District Municipality
  Xhariep is one of the 5 districts of Free State province of South Africa. The seat of Xhariep is Trompsburg. The largest language group in the 135 253 people is Afrikaans...
  
  
• Motheo
  Motheo District Municipality
  Motheo was, until the municipal elections of 18 May 2011, a district of the Free State province of South Africa...
  
  
• Lejweleputswa
  Lejweleputswa District Municipality
  Lejweleputswa is one of the 5 districts of Free State province of South Africa. The seat of Lejweleputswa is Welkom. The majority of its 657 019 people speak Sotho...
  
  
• Thabo Mofutsanyane
  Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality
  Thabo Mofutsanyana is one of the 5 districts of the Free State province of South Africa. The seat of Thabo Mofutsanyana is Witsieshoek. The majority of its 725 932 people speak Sesotho...
  
  
• Northern Free State
  Fezile Dabi District Municipality
  Fezile Dabi District Municipality, formerly known as Northern Free State District Municipality, is one of the 5 districts of Free State province of South Africa. The seat of Northern Free State is Sasolburg. The majority of its 460 289 people speak Sesotho...
  
  
• Namakwa
  Namakwa District Municipality
  Namakwa is one of the 5 districts of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of Namakwa is Springbok and the region is also known as Little Namaqualand. The majority of its 108 118 people speak Afrikaans...
  
  
• Pixley ka Seme
• Siyanda
  Siyanda District Municipality
  Siyanda is one of the 5 districts of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of Siyanda is Upington. The majority of its 209 883 people speak Afrikaans...
  
  
• Frances Baard
  Frances Baard District Municipality
  Frances Baard is one of the 5 districts of Northern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of Frances Baard is Kimberley. The majority of its 324 814 people speak Afrikaans . The district code is DC9....
  
  
• Kgalagadi
  Kgalagadi District Municipality
  John Taolo Gaetsewe is one of the five districts of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of the authority is Kuruman. The majority of its 176,899 people speak Setswana...
  
  
• Bojanala Platinum
  Bojanala Platinum District Municipality
  Bojanala Platinum is one of the 4 districts of North West province of South Africa. The seat of Bojanala Platinum is Rustenburg. The majority of its 1 185 325 people speak Setswana...
  
  
• Ngaka Modiri Molema
• Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati
• Dr Kenneth Kaunda
• West Rand
  West Rand District Municipality
  The West Rand District Municipality is one of the districts of Gauteng province of South Africa, that covers the West Rand area, with the exception of Roodepoort. The seat of the district municipality is Randfontein. The most spoken language of its 744 168 people is Setswana...
  
  
• City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
  City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
  The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, South Africa...
  
  
• Sedibeng
  Sedibeng District Municipality
  Sedibeng is one of the districts of the Gauteng province of South Africa. The administrative seat of Sedibeng is Vereeniging. The most widely spoken language among its 794,605 inhabitants is Sesotho .-Geographic location:...
  
  
• Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality
• Metsweding
  Metsweding District Municipality
  Metsweding District Municipality was, from 2000 till 18 May 2011, a district municipality in Gauteng province, South Africa. Metsweding, and its component local municipalities, was disestablished and absorbed into the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality on the date of the 2011 municipal election.The...
  
  
• City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
• Mopani
  Mopani District Municipality
  Mopani is one of the 6 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat of Mopani is Giyani. The majority of its 964 195 people speak Tsonga or Northern Sotho . The district code is DC33...
  
  
• Vhembe
  Vhembe District Municipality
  Vhembe is one of the 5 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. It is the northernmost district of the country and shares its northern border with Beitbridge district in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. The seat of Vhembe is Thohoyandou. The majority of its 1 199 856 people speak Venda...
  
  
• Capricorn
  Capricorn District Municipality
  Capricorn is one of the 6 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. The district is named after the Tropic of Capricorn which runs through it. The seat of Capricorn is Polokwane. The majority of its 1 154 673 people speak Northern Sotho...
  
  
• Waterberg
  Waterberg District Municipality
  Waterberg is one of the 5 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat of Waterberg is Modimolle . The majority of its 614 139 people speak Northern Sotho . The district code is DC36.-Geography:...
  
  
• Sekhukhune
  Sekhukhune District Municipality
  Sekhukhune is one of the 6 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat of Sekhukhune is Groblersdal. The majority of its 967 126 people speak Northern Sotho...
  
  
• Gert Sibande
  Gert Sibande District Municipality
  Gert Sibande is one of the 3 districts of Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The seat of Gert Sibande is Secunda. The majority of its 900 007 people speak IsiZulu . The district code is DC30...
  
  
• Nkangala
  Nkangala District Municipality
  Nkangala is one of the 3 districts of Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The seat of Nkangala is Middelburg. The Nkangala District Municipality consists of 160 towns and villages. The most spoken language of its 1 020 592 people is IsiNdebele...
  
  
• Ehlanzeni
  Ehlanzeni District Municipality
  Ehlanzeni is one of the 3 districts of Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The seat of Ehlanzeni is Nelspruit. The majority of its 944 665 people speak SiSwati...
  
  
• Amajuba
  Amajuba District Municipality
  Amajuba is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province. The seat of Amajuba is Newcastle. The majority of its 468 040 people speak Zulu . The district code is DC25-Tourism:...
  
  
• Zululand
  Zululand District Municipality
  Zululand is one of the 11 district municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal province. The seat of Zululand is Ulundi. The majority of its 804,456 people speak IsiZulu . The district code is DC26...
  
  
• Umkhanyakude
  Umkhanyakude District Municipality
  Umkhanyakude, named after the famous yellow-barked fever tree, literally meaning “seen from afar”, is the northernmost district in KwaZulu-Natal and contains many areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the St Lucia greater wetland park, Sodwana Bay and Kosi Bay. Game parks include...
  
  
• uThungulu
  UThungulu District Municipality
  Uthungulu is one of the 11 district municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. The seat of uThungulu is Richards Bay. The majority of its 885 944 people speak Zulu...
  
  
• Umzinyathi
  Umzinyathi District Municipality
  Umzinyathi is one of the 11 district municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. The seat of Umzinyathi is Dundee. The majority of its 456 452 people speak IsiZulu...
  
  
• Uthukela
  Uthukela District Municipality
  uThukela is one of the 11 districts of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The seat of uThukela is the city of Ladysmith. The majority of its 656 986 people speak IsiZulu...
  
  
• Umgungundlovu
  Umgungundlovu District Municipality
  Umgungundlovu is one of the 11 district municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal province. The seat of Umgungundlovu is Pietermaritzburg. The majority of its 927 834 people speak Zulu...
  
  
• iLembe
  ILembe District Municipality
  iLembe is one of the 11 district municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. The seat of iLembe is KwaDukuza . The majority of its 560 409 people speak Zulu...
  
  
• eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality
• Ugu
  Ugu District Municipality
  Ugu is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Ugu is Zulu for "coast". The seat of Ugu is Port Shepstone. The majority of its 704 001 people speak IsiZulu...
  
  
• Sisonke
  Sisonke District Municipality
  Sisonke is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The seat of Sisonke is Ixopo. The majority of its 298 392 people speak IsiZulu...
  
  

Municipalities of South Africa

• Capital of South Africa: Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial) and Cape Town (legislative)
• Cities of South Africa

Government and politics of South Africa

Main article: Government of South Africa

Government of South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a nearly unique system that combines aspects of parliamentary and presidential systems. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa...

 and Politics of South Africa

Politics of South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The President of South Africa is both head of state and head of government; in the same manner as the prime minister of other nations, the President is elected by the National Assembly and must enjoy the confidence of the Assembly...

• Form of government
  Form of government
  A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...
  
  :
• Capital of South Africa: Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial) and Cape Town (legislative)

• Elections in South Africa
  Elections in South Africa
  Elections in South Africa take place on national, provincial, and local levels. South Africa is a multi-party democracy with the African National Congress in power with a significant majority since 1994...
  
  
  • (specific elections)
• Political parties in South Africa
• Political scandals of South Africa
• Taxation in South Africa
  Taxation in South Africa
  Taxation in South Africa may involve payments to a minimum of two different levels of government: central government through the South African Revenue Service or to local government. Central government revenues come primarily from income tax, value added tax , corporation tax and fuel duty...
  
  

Executive branch of the government of South Africa

• Head of state
  Head of State
  A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
  
  : President of South Africa
  President of South Africa
  The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
  
  
• Cabinet of South Africa

Legislative branch of the government of South Africa

• Parliament of South Africa
  Parliament of South Africa
  The Parliament of South Africa is South Africa's legislature and under the country's current Constitution is composed of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces....
  
   (bicameral)
  • Upper house
    Upper house
    An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
    
    : National Council of Provinces
    National Council of Provinces
    The National Council of Provinces is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the constitution which came into full effect in 1997...
    
    
  • Lower house
    Lower house
    A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
    
    : National Assembly of South Africa
    National Assembly of South Africa
    The National Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape Province. It consists of no fewer than 350 and no more than 400 members...
    
    

Judicial branch of the government of South Africa

• Constitutional Court of South Africa
  Constitutional Court of South Africa
  The Constitutional Court of South Africa was established in 1994 by South Africa's first democratic constitution: the Interim Constitution of 1993. In terms of the 1996 Constitution the Constitutional Court established in 1994 continues to hold office. The court began its first sessions in February...
  
  
  • Chief Justice of South Africa
    Chief Justice of South Africa
    The Chief Justice of South Africa is the head of the judiciary of South Africa, who exercises final authority over the functioning and management of all the courts...
    
    
• Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
  Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
  The Supreme Court of Appeal is an appellate court in South Africa; it is the highest appeal court except in constitutional matters, which are ultimately decided by the Constitutional Court...
  
  
• High Court of South Africa
  High Court of South Africa
  The High Courts are superior courts of law in South Africa. The courts were created in 1996 on the adoption of the Constitution of South Africa, and inherited the jurisdiction of the provincial and local divisions of the former Supreme Court of South Africa...
  
  
• Magistrates' Courts of South Africa

Foreign relations of South Africa

• Diplomatic missions in South Africa
• Diplomatic missions of South Africa
  Diplomatic missions of South Africa
  This is a list of diplomatic missions of South Africa. South Africa dramatically expanded its diplomatic presence globally, especially in Africa, in the immediate years after the end of apartheid...
  
  

International organization membership

The Republic of South Africa is a member of:

• African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP)
• African Development Bank Group (AfDB)
• African Union
  African Union
  The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
  
   (AU)
• African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID)
• Bank for International Settlements
  Bank for International Settlements
  The Bank for International Settlements is an intergovernmental organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks." It is not accountable to any national government...
  
   (BIS)
• Commonwealth of Nations
  Commonwealth of Nations
  The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
  
  
• Food and Agriculture Organization
  Food and Agriculture Organization
  The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
  
   (FAO)
• Group of 24 (G24)
• Group of 77
  Group of 77
  The Group of 77 at the United Nations is a loose coalition of developing nations, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization, but the organization has...
  
   (G77)
• Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20)
• International Atomic Energy Agency
  International Atomic Energy Agency
  The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
  
   (IAEA)
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
  
   (IBRD)
• International Chamber of Commerce
  International Chamber of Commerce
  The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise....
  
   (ICC)
• International Civil Aviation Organization
  International Civil Aviation Organization
  The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
  
   (ICAO)
• International Criminal Court
  International Criminal Court
  The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
  
   (ICCt)
• International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)
• International Development Association
  International Development Association
  The International Development Association , is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. It complements the World Bank's other lending arm — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and...
  
   (IDA)
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is a humanitarian institution that is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement along with the ICRC and 186 distinct National Societies...
  
   (IFRCS)
• International Finance Corporation
  International Finance Corporation
  The International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....
  
   (IFC)
• International Fund for Agricultural Development
  International Fund for Agricultural Development
  The International Fund for Agricultural Development , a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries...
  
   (IFAD)
• International Hydrographic Organization
  International Hydrographic Organization
  The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing the hydrographic community. It enjoys observer status at the UN and is the recognised competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting...
  
   (IHO)
• International Labour Organization
  International Labour Organization
  The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
  
   (ILO)
• International Maritime Organization
  International Maritime Organization
  The International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...
  
   (IMO)
• International Mobile Satellite Organization
  International Mobile Satellite Organization
  The International Mobile Satellite Organization is the intergovernmental organization that oversees certain public satellite safety and security communication services provided via the Inmarsat satellites...
  
   (IMSO)
• International Monetary Fund
  International Monetary Fund
  The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
  
   (IMF)
• International Olympic Committee
  International Olympic Committee
  The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
  
   (IOC)
• International Organization for Migration
  International Organization for Migration
  The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help resettle people displaced by World War II....
  
   (IOM)
• International Organization for Standardization
  International Organization for Standardization
  The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
  
   (ISO)
• International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
  International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
  The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
  
   (ICRM)

• International Telecommunication Union
  International Telecommunication Union
  The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...
  
   (ITU)
• International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
  International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
  The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization is an intergovernmental organisation charged with overseeing the public service obligations of Intelsat.-External links:*...
  
   (ITSO)
• International Trade Union Confederation
  International Trade Union Confederation
  The International Trade Union Confederation is the world's largest trade union federation. It was formed on November 1, 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour...
  
   (ITUC)
• Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency is a member organization of the World Bank Group that offers political risk insurance. It was established to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries. MIGA was founded in 1988 with a capital base of $1 billion and is headquartered in...
  
   (MIGA)
• Nonaligned Movement (NAM)
• Nuclear Suppliers Group
  Nuclear Suppliers Group
  Nuclear Suppliers Group is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.- History :It was founded in...
  
   (NSG)
• Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
• Permanent Court of Arbitration
  Permanent Court of Arbitration
  The Permanent Court of Arbitration , is an international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands.-History:The court was established in 1899 as one of the acts of the first Hague Peace Conference, which makes it the oldest institution for international dispute resolution.The creation of...
  
   (PCA)
• Southern African Customs Union
  Southern African Customs Union
  The Southern African Customs Union is a customs union among five countries of Southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.-History:SACU is the oldest still existing customs union in the world...
  
   (SACU)
• Southern African Development Community
  Southern African Development Community
  The Southern African Development Community is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 15 southern African states...
  
   (SADC)
• United Nations
  United Nations
  The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
  
   (UN)
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
  
   (UNCTAD)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
  
   (UNHCR)
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization
  United Nations Industrial Development Organization
  The United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...
  
   (UNIDO)
• United Nations Institute for Training and Research
  United Nations Institute for Training and Research
  The United Nations Institute for Training and Research was established in 1965 following a "for the training of personnel, particularly from developing Member States, for administrative and operational assignments with the United Nations and the specialized agencies, both at Headquarters and in...
  
   (UNITAR)
• United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
• Universal Postal Union
  Universal Postal Union
  The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...
  
   (UPU)
• World Confederation of Labour
  World Confederation of Labour
  The World Confederation of Labour was an international labour organization founded in 1920 and based in Europe. Totalitarian governments of the 1930s repressed the federation and imprisoned many of its leaders, limiting operations until the end of World War II...
  
   (WCL)
• World Customs Organization
  World Customs Organization
  The World Customs Organization is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global customs community...
  
   (WCO)
• World Federation of Trade Unions
  World Federation of Trade Unions
  The World Federation of Trade Unions was established in 1945 to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions. Its mission was to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...
  
   (WFTU)
• World Health Organization
  World Health Organization
  The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
  
   (WHO)
• World Intellectual Property Organization
  World Intellectual Property Organization
  The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....
  
   (WIPO)
• World Meteorological Organization
  World Meteorological Organization
  The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
  
   (WMO)
• World Tourism Organization
  World Tourism Organization
  The World Tourism Organization , based in Madrid, Spain, is a United Nations agency dealing with questions relating to tourism. It compiles the World Tourism rankings. The World Tourism Organization is a significant global body, concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information...
  
   (UNWTO)
• World Trade Organization
  World Trade Organization
  The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
  
   (WTO)
• Zangger Committee
  Zangger Committee
  The Zangger Committee, also known as the Nuclear Exporters Committee, sprang from Article III.2 of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons which entered into force on March 5, 1970...
  
   (ZC)

Law and order in South Africa

• Capital punishment in South Africa
  Capital punishment in South Africa
  Capital punishment in South Africa was abolished on 6 June 1995 by the ruling of the Constitutional Court in the case of S v Makwanyane. The last execution carried out by the South African government was Solomon Ngobeni's hanging in November 1989. In 1990, a moratorium was declared by President De...
  
  
• Constitution of South Africa
  Constitution of South Africa
  The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the country of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was...
  
  
• Crime in South Africa
  Crime in South Africa
  Crime is a prominent issue in South Africa. South Africa has a high rate of murders, assaults, rapes, and other crimes compared to most countries. Many emigrants from South Africa state that crime was a big factor in their decision to leave...
  
  
• Human rights in South Africa
  Human rights in South Africa
  Human rights in South Africa are protected under the constitution. The 2009 Human Rights Report by the United States Department of State noted that the government generally respected the rights of the citizens, however there were concerns over the use of force by law enforcement, legal proceedings...
  
  
  • LGBT rights in South Africa
  • Freedom of religion in South Africa
• Law enforcement in South Africa
  Law enforcement in South Africa
  Law enforcement in South Africa is primarily the responsibility of the South African Police Service , South Africa's national police force, which is responsible for investigating crime and maintaining safety and security throughout the country...
  
  

Military of South Africa

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief
    Commander-in-Chief
    A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
    
    : President of South Africa
    President of South Africa
    The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
    
    
    • Minister of Defence of South Africa
      Minister of Defence and Military Veterans (South Africa)
      The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans is a Minister in the Government of South Africa, who is responsible for overseeing the Department of Defence and the South African National Defence Force...
      
      
    • Department of Defence of South Africa
• Forces
  • South African National Defence Force
    South African National Defence Force
    The South African National Defence Force is the armed forces of South Africa. The military as it exists today was created in 1994, following South Africa's first post-apartheid national elections and the adoption of a new constitution...
    
    
  • South African Army
    South African Army
    The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...
    
    
  • South African Navy
    South African Navy
    The South African Navy is the navy of the Republic of South Africa.-Formation:The South African Navy can trace its official origins back to the SA Naval Service, which was established on 1 April 1922....
    
    
  • South African Air Force
    South African Air Force
    The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
    
    
  • South African Military Health Service
    South African Military Health Service
    The South African Military Health Service is the branch of the South African National Defence Force responsible for medical facilities and the training and deployment of all medical personnel within the force...
    
    
  • South African Special Forces Brigade
    South African Special Forces Brigade
    The South African Special Forces Brigade is the only Special Forces unit of the South African National Defence Force ....
    
    
• Military history of South Africa
  Military history of South Africa
  The history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defense both within South Africa and against it...
  
  
• Military ranks of South Africa

History of South Africa

Main article: History of South Africa

History of South Africa

South African history has been dominated by the interaction and conflict of several diverse ethnic groups. The aboriginal Khoisan people have lived in the region for millennia. Most of the population, however, trace their history to immigration since...

, Timeline of the history of South Africa, and Current events of South Africa

• Economic history of South Africa
  Economic history of South Africa
  Prior to the arrival of European settlers in the 15th century the economy of what was to become South Africa was dominated by subsistence farming and hunting....
  
  
• Military history of South Africa
  Military history of South Africa
  The history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defense both within South Africa and against it...
  
  

Culture of South Africa

• Architecture of South Africa
• Cuisine of South Africa
  Cuisine of South Africa
  The cuisine of South Africa is sometimes called "rainbow cuisine", as it has had a variety of multicultural sources and stages. The cuisine can be generalized as:...
  
  
• Ethnic minorities in South Africa
• Festivals in South Africa
• Humour in South Africa
• Languages of South Africa
  Languages of South Africa
  South Africa has eleven official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. Fewer than one percent of South Africans speak a first language other than an official one. Most South Africans can speak more than one language. Dutch and...
  
  
• Media in South Africa
  Media in South Africa
  The media of South Africa has a large mass media sector and is one of Africa's major media centres. While South Africa's many broadcasters and publications reflect the diversity of the population as a whole, the most commonly used language is English. However, all ten other official languages are...
  
  
• National symbols of South Africa
  National symbols of South Africa
  Since unification in 1910, South Africa has used a range of national symbols to identify the country: coats of arms, official seals, flags, national anthems, and floral, bird, animal, and other emblems.-Coats of arms:...
  
  
  • Coat of arms of South Africa
    Coat of arms of South Africa
    The present coat of arms of South Africa was introducedon Freedom Day April 27, 2000. It replaced the earlier national arms, which had been in use since 1910. The motto ǃke e: ǀxarra ǁke is written in the Khoisan language of the ǀXam people and translates literally to "diverse people unite"...
    
    
  • Flag of South Africa
    Flag of South Africa
    The current flag of the Republic of South Africa was adopted on 27 April 1994, at the beginning of the 1994 general election, to replace the flag that had been used since 1928...
    
    
  • National anthem of South Africa
    National anthem of South Africa
    Since 1997, the South African national anthem has been a hybrid song combining new English lyrics with extracts of the hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the former anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" . The fact that it shifts and ends in a different key, a feature it shares with the Italian national...
    
    
• People of South Africa
• Prostitution in South Africa
  Prostitution in South Africa
  Prostitution in South Africa has been illegal since the 1957 Sexual Offences Act , and the purchase of sex was added as an offence in a 2007 amendment...
  
  
• Public holidays in South Africa
  Public holidays in South Africa
  A list of holidays in South Africa:The Public Holidays Act determines that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following it will be a public holiday.-Once-off holidays:...
  
  
• Records of South Africa
• Religion in South Africa
  Religion in South Africa
  South Africa has a wide mix of religions. Many religions are represented in the ethnic and regional diversity of South Africa's population. The traditional spiritualities of the Khoisan and Bantu speakers were succeeded in predominance by the Christianity introduced by the Dutch and, later,...
  
  
  • Buddhism in South Africa
    Buddhism in South Africa
    Buddhist traditions are represented in South Africa in many forms. Although the inherently introspective nature of Buddhism does not encourage census, adherents to these traditions are usually outspoken and supported by perhaps an even greater, though hidden number of sympathisers...
    
    
  • Christianity in South Africa
    • Catholicism in South Africa
    • Protestantism in South Africa
      Protestantism in South Africa
      Protestantism in South Africa date back to the initial European settlement on the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. Since then, Protestantism has been the preponderant religion of the European settlers and today, of all South Africans, regardless of ancestry....
      
      
  • Hinduism in South Africa
    Hinduism in South Africa
    Hinduism in South Africa has a following primarily in KwaZulu-Natal, due to historical patterns of migration to the region from India. But now a significant population exists also in Gauteng, especially around Lenasia...
    
    
  • Islam in South Africa
    Islam in South Africa
    Islam in South Africa pre-dates the colonial period, and consisted of isolated contact with Arab and East Africa traders. Many South African Muslims are described as Coloureds, notably in the Western Cape, including those whose ancestors came as slaves from the Indonesian archipelago...
    
    
  • Judaism in South Africa
  • Sikhism in South Africa
• World Heritage Sites in South Africa

Art in South Africa

• Art of South Africa
  Art of South Africa
  South African art is the creative output of human beings from South Africa.The oldest art objects in the world were discovered in a South African cave. Dating from 75,000 years ago, these small drilled snail shells could have no other function than to have been strung on a string as a necklace....
  
  
• Cinema of South Africa
  Cinema of South Africa
  The cinema of South Africa refers to the films and film industry of the nation of South Africa.-List of South African films:* Sarie Marais * Die kaskenades van Dr...
  
  
• Literature of South Africa
  Literature of South Africa
  South African literature is the literature of South Africa which has 11 national languages, Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Pedi, Tswana, Venda, SiSwati, Tsonga, and Ndebele.-Overview:...
  
  
• Music of South Africa
  Music of South Africa
  The South African music scene includes both popular and folk forms. Pop styles are based on four major sources, Zulu isicathamiya singing and harmonic mbaqanga...
  
  
• Television in South Africa
  Television in South Africa
  Television in South Africa was first introduced in 1976. Despite being the most economically advanced country in Africa, South Africa was relatively late in introducing television broadcasting to its population.- Opposition to introduction :...
  
  
• Theatre in South Africa

Sports in South Africa

• Football in South Africa
• Cricket in South Africa
  Cricket in South Africa
  Cricket is the third most popular sport in South Africa, and is popular among English-speaking as well as Afrikaans-speaking whites. South Africa is a leading cricket-playing nation in the world, and is one of 10 countries sanctioned by the International Cricket Council to play Test Cricket.It...
  
  
• Rugby union in South Africa
  Rugby union in South Africa
  Rugby union is a popular team sport played in South Africa. Along with cricket and football it is one of the most popular ball sports in South Africa...
  
  
• South Africa at the Olympics
  South Africa at the Olympics
  South Africa first participated at the Olympic Games in 1904, and sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games until 1960. After the passage of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1761 in 1962 in response to South Africa's policy of apartheid, the nation was barred from the Games....
  
  

Economy and infrastructure of South Africa

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 30th (thirtieth)

• Agriculture in South Africa
  Agriculture in South Africa
  Agriculture in South Africa plays a major role in the economy of South Africa.South Africa has a broad and well-developed agricultural sector and is a net food exporter in most years. Agricultural production, reflecting the sector's increased mechanization and commercialization, increased...
  
  
• Banking in South Africa
  • South African Reserve Bank
    South African Reserve Bank
    The South African Reserve Bank is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920," as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial conditions which World War I had brought...
    
    
• Communications in South Africa
  Communications in South Africa
  Telecommunications infrastructure in South Africa provides modern and efficient service to urban areas, including cellular and internet services. In 1997, Telkom, the South African telecommunications parastatal, was partly privatised and entered into a strategic equity partnership with a...
  
  
  • Internet in South Africa
    Internet in South Africa
    The Internet is expanding in South Africa, which is one of the most technologically-resourced countries on the African continent. The internet country code top-level domain .za was granted to South Africa by ICANN in 1990....
    
    
• Companies of South Africa
• Currency of South Africa
  Currency
  In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
  
  : Rand
  South African rand
  The rand is the currency of South Africa. It takes its name from the Witwatersrand , the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found. The rand has the symbol "R" and is subdivided into 100 cents, symbol "c"...
  
  
  • Financial rand
    Financial rand
    The South African financial rand system was abolished with effect from 13 March 1995. The financial rand system was instituted on 1 September 1985 in an attempt to control the large outflows of capital from South Africa at that time. These outflows were largely the result of economic sanctions in...
    
     (abolished)
  • ISO 4217
    ISO 4217
    ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...
    
    : ZAR
• Economic history of South Africa
  Economic history of South Africa
  Prior to the arrival of European settlers in the 15th century the economy of what was to become South Africa was dominated by subsistence farming and hunting....
  
  
• Energy in South Africa
  Energy in South Africa
  Energy in South Africa describes energy and electricity production, consumption and export in South Africa.South Africa was 6. top hard coal producer in 2009. Hard coal production was 1,620 TWh in 2009 and total energy production 1,995 TWh in 2008. The environmenatal concerns of old abandoned coal...
  
  
  • Energy policy of South Africa
  • Oil industry in South Africa
• Health care in South Africa
• Mining in South Africa
  Mining in South Africa
  Mining in South Africa has been the main driving force behind the history and development of Africa's most advanced and richest economy. Large scale and profitable mining started with the discovery of a diamond on the banks of the Orange River in 1867 by Erasmus Jacobs and the subsequent...
  
  
• Johannesburg Stock Exchange
• Tourism in South Africa
  Tourism in South Africa
  South Africa is a popular tourist destination, with around 860 000 arrivals per month of which around 210 000 is from outside the African continent. A revenue equaling between 1% and 3% of GDP is generated by the tourism industry....
  
  
• Transport in South Africa
  Transport in South Africa
  -Roads:Approximately ten thousand people die on roads in South Africa yearly.The national speed limit is between 40 or 80  km/h in residential areas and 120 km/h on national roads/freeways/motorways....
  
  
  • Airports in South Africa
  • Rail transport in South Africa
    Rail transport in South Africa
    Rail transport in South Africa is the most important element of the country's transport infrastructure. All major cities are connected by rail, and South Africa's railway system is the most highly developed in Africa...
    
    
  • Roads in South Africa
• Water supply and sanitation in South Africa
  Water supply and sanitation in South Africa
  Water supply and sanitation in South Africa is characterized by both achievements and challenges. After the end of Apartheid South Africa's newly elected government inherited huge services backlogs with respect to access to water supply and sanitation. About 15 million people were without safe...
  
  

See also

• Index of South Africa-related articles
• List of international rankings
• List of South Africa-related topics
• Member state of the Commonwealth of Nations
• Member state of the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
• Member state of the United Nations
• Outline of Africa
  Outline of Africa
  The following outline provides an overview of and topical guide to the continent Africa:Africa – world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia.-Geography of Africa:* Atlas of Africa* List of cities in Africa...
  
  
• Outline of geography
  Outline of geography
  The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to geography:Geography – science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth.- Geography is :...
  
  

Southern Ndebele language Southern Ndebele language The Southern Ndebele language is an African language belonging to the Nguni group of Bantu languages, and spoken by the amaNdebele . There are two dialects of Southern Ndebele in South Africa:* the Northern Transvaal Ndebele or Nrebele...

External links

• Government of South Africa
• SouthAfrica.info