South Africa
Republic of South Africa
Population
61.09M
Area
1,219,090 km²
GDP
$400.26B
GDP Per Capita
$13,600
Pop. Density
50/km²
Quick Facts
Currency
RSouth African rand(ZAR)
Calling Code
+27
Timezone
UTC+02:00
Languages
Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele +8
Driving Side
left
Demonym
South African
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.
Historical Trends
GDP (USD)
↑32.0% since 2006Population
↑28.0% since 2006Life Expectancy at Birth
Latest: 66.1 yearsData source: World Bank Open Data
Geography20
Location
Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Geographic coordinates
29 00 S, 24 00 E
Map references
Africa
Area
land: 1,214,470 sq km
water: 4,620 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries
border countries: Botswana 1,969 km; Lesotho 1,106 km; Mozambique 496 km; Namibia 1,005 km; Eswatini 438 km; Zimbabwe 230 km
Coastline
2,798 km
Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Climate
mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
Terrain
vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
Elevation
lowest point: Atlantic/Indian Oceans 0 m
mean elevation: 1,034 m
Natural resources
gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
Land use
agricultural land
agricultural land: arable land
agricultural land: permanent crops
agricultural land: permanent pasture
forest
other
Irrigated land
16,700 sq km (2012)
Major rivers (by length in km)
note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Major aquifers
Karoo Basin, Lower Kalahari-Stampriet Basin
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
Natural hazards
volcanism: the volcano that formed Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands is South Africa's only active volcano
Geography - note
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
People & Society34
Population
male: 29,989,969
female: 31,099,957
Nationality
adjective: South African
Ethnic groups
Black African 80.9%, Colored 8.8%, White 7.8%, Indian/Asian 2.6% (2021 est.)
Languages
major-language sample(s):
Die Wereld Feite Boek, n’ onontbeerlike bron vir basiese informasie. (Afrikaans)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English)
Religions
Christian 86%, ancestral, tribal, animist, or other traditional African religions 5.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other 1.5%, nothing in particular 5.2% (2015 est.)
Age structure
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 19,524,873/female 19,947,839)
65 years and over: 7.5% (2024 est.) (male 1,911,825/female 2,636,028)
Dependency ratios
youth dependency ratio: 41.1 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 11.8 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio: 8.4 (2025 est.)
Median age
male: 30.1 years
female: 30.6 years
Population growth rate
1.06% (2025 est.)
Birth rate
17.21 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6.56 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
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
Urbanization
rate of urbanization: 1.72% annual rate of change (2020-25 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)
Sex ratio
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.)
Maternal mortality ratio
118 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male: 23.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 20 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth
male: 70.3 years
female: 73.5 years
Total fertility rate
2.23 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.1 (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: urban
improved: rural
improved: total
unimproved: urban
unimproved: rural
unimproved: total
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of national budget): 16.9% of national budget (2022 est.)
Physician density
0.79 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban
improved: rural
improved: total
unimproved: urban
unimproved: rural
unimproved: total
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
28.3% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer: 3.99 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 1.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 1.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.7 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
male: 35.3% (2025 est.)
female: 6% (2025 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
4.9% (2017 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
33.6% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
women married by age 18: 3.6% (2016)
men married by age 18: 0.6% (2016)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% national budget): 19.1% national budget (2025 est.)
Literacy
male: 91.5% (2024 est.)
female: 90.8% (2024 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male: 14 years (2022 est.)
female: 14 years (2022 est.)
Government25
Country name
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
Government type
parliamentary republic
Capital
geographic coordinates: 25 42 S, 28 13 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
etymology: Pretoria was named in honor of Boer statesman Andries PRETORIUS in 1855; Cape Town's name refers to its location on the Cape of Good Hope; Bloemfontein was named after the farm on which it was built in 1846, whose name combined the Dutch words bloem (flower) and fontein (fountain)
Administrative divisions
9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape
Legal system
mixed system of Roman-Dutch civil law, English common law, and customary law
Constitution
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
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship
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
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state
head of government
cabinet
election/appointment process
most recent election date
election results
2024: Matamela Cyril RAMAPHOSA (ANC) elected president by the National Assembly unopposed
2019: Matamela Cyril RAMAPHOSA (ANC) elected president by the National Assembly unopposed
expected date of next election
Legislative branch
legislative structure: bicameral
Legislative branch - lower chamber
chamber name
number of seats
electoral system
scope of elections
term in office
most recent election date
percentage of women in chamber
expected date of next election
Legislative branch - upper chamber
chamber name
number of seats
scope of elections
term in office
most recent election date
percentage of women in chamber
expected date of next election
Judicial branch
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
Political parties
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
Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission
chancery
telephone
FAX
email address and website
consulate(s) general
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission
embassy
mailing address
telephone
FAX
email address and website
consulate(s) general
International organization participation
ACP, AfDB, AIIB, AU, BIS, BRICS, C, CD, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-24, G-5, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, NSG, OECD (enhanced engagement), OPCW, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNITAR, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Independence
31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 22 August 1934 (Status of the Union Act); 31 May 1961 (republic declared); 27 April 1994 (majority rule)
National holiday
Freedom Day, 27 April (1994)
Flag
meaning: the colors have no official meaning, but the Y stands for "the convergence of diverse elements within South African society, taking the road ahead in unity"
National symbol(s)
springbok (antelope), king protea flower
National color(s)
red, green, blue, yellow, black, white
National anthem(s)
lyrics/music: Enoch SONTONGA and Cornelius Jacob LANGENHOVEN/Enoch SONTONGA and Marthinus LOURENS de Villiers
history: adopted 1997; a combination of "N'kosi Sikelel' iAfrica" (God Bless Africa) and "Die Stem van Suid Afrika" (The Call of South Africa), which were respectively the anthems of the non-white and white communities under apartheid; official lyrics contain a mixture of Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English (the five most widely spoken of South Africa's 11 official languages)
National heritage
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)
Economy29
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
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023: $865.402 billion (2023 est.)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022: $859.399 billion (2022 est.)
Real GDP growth rate
Real GDP growth rate 2023: 0.7% (2023 est.)
Real GDP growth rate 2022: 1.9% (2022 est.)
Real GDP per capita
Real GDP per capita 2023: $13,700 (2023 est.)
Real GDP per capita 2022: $13,800 (2022 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$400.261 billion (2024 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023: 6.1% (2023 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022: 7% (2022 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin
industry: 24.4% (2024 est.)
services: 62.7% (2024 est.)
GDP - composition, by end use
household consumption
government consumption
investment in fixed capital
investment in inventories
exports of goods and services
imports of goods and services
Agricultural products
sugarcane, maize, milk, soybeans, potatoes, wheat, grapes, chicken, oranges, apples (2023)
Industries
mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair
Industrial production growth rate
-0.4% (2024 est.)
Labor force
27.766 million (2024 est.)
Unemployment rate
Unemployment rate 2023: 32.1% (2023 est.)
Unemployment rate 2022: 33.3% (2022 est.)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
male: 57.1% (2024 est.)
female: 65.5% (2024 est.)
Average household expenditures
on alcohol and tobacco: 4.1% of household expenditures (2023 est.)
Remittances
Remittances 2023: 0.2% of GDP (2023 est.)
Remittances 2022: 0.2% of GDP (2022 est.)
Budget
expenditures: $137.593 billion (2022 est.)
Public debt
Taxes and other revenues
26% (of GDP) (2022 est.)
Current account balance
Current account balance 2023: -$6.143 billion (2023 est.)
Current account balance 2022: -$1.878 billion (2022 est.)
Exports
Exports 2023: $124.671 billion (2023 est.)
Exports 2022: $136.01 billion (2022 est.)
Exports - partners
China 19%, USA 8%, Germany 7%, India 7%, UK 6% (2023)
Exports - commodities
gold, platinum, coal, cars, iron ore (2023)
Imports
Imports 2023: $123.454 billion (2023 est.)
Imports 2022: $127.669 billion (2022 est.)
Imports - partners
China 21%, India 7%, USA 7%, Germany 6%, UAE 4% (2023)
Imports - commodities
refined petroleum, crude petroleum, gold, cars, broadcasting equipment (2023)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2023: $62.492 billion (2023 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2022: $60.553 billion (2022 est.)
Debt - external
Exchange rates
Currency
Exchange rates 2024
Exchange rates 2023
Exchange rates 2022
Exchange rates 2021
Exchange rates 2020
Energy8
Electricity access
electrification - urban areas: 87.1%
electrification - rural areas: 93.4%
Electricity
consumption: 194.978 billion kWh (2023 est.)
exports: 12.629 billion kWh (2023 est.)
imports: 10.837 billion kWh (2023 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 22.838 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Electricity generation sources
fossil fuels
nuclear
solar
wind
hydroelectricity
biomass and waste
Nuclear energy
Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 1.85GW (2025 est.)
Percent of total electricity production: 4.4% (2023 est.)
Coal
consumption: 176.095 million metric tons (2023 est.)
exports: 66.918 million metric tons (2023 est.)
imports: 3.301 million metric tons (2023 est.)
proven reserves: 9.893 billion metric tons (2023 est.)
Petroleum
refined petroleum consumption: 609,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 15 million barrels (2021 est.)
Natural gas
consumption: 3.834 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
imports: 3.768 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Energy consumption per capita
Communications6
Telephones - fixed lines
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2023 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 167 (2024 est.)
Broadcast media
the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) operates 6 free-to-air TV stations; 1 private TV station; multiple subscription TV services with mix of local and international channels; mix of public and private radio stations at the national, regional, and local levels; state-owned SABC radio network has 18 stations, including one for each of the 11 official languages, 4 community stations, and 3 commercial stations; over 100 community stations with rural coverage
Internet country code
.za
Internet users
Broadband - fixed subscriptions
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3 (2023 est.)
Transportation6
Civil aircraft registration country code prefix
ZS
Airports
573 (2025)
Heliports
49 (2025)
Railways
standard gauge: 80 km (2021) 1.435-m gauge (80 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 19,756 km (2014) 1.065-m gauge (8,271 km electrified)
Merchant marine
by type: bulk carrier 3, general cargo 1, oil tanker 7, other 99
Ports
total ports
large
medium
small
very small
ports with oil terminals
key ports
Military & Security7
Military and security forces
Ministry of Police: South African Police Service (SAPS) (2025)
Military expenditures
Military Expenditures 2023: 0.7% of GDP (2023 est.)
Military Expenditures 2022: 0.8% of GDP (2022 est.)
Military Expenditures 2021: 0.8% of GDP (2021 est.)
Military Expenditures 2020: 1.1% of GDP (2020 est.)
Military and security service personnel strengths
approximately 65-70,000 active-duty National Defense Forces (2025)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
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)
Military service age and obligation
18-22 (18-26 for college graduates) years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; initial 24-month service obligation (2025)
Military deployments
approximately 2,000 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO and Southern African Development Community) (2025)
Military - note
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)
Transnational Issues3
Refugees and internally displaced persons
IDPs: 7,385 (2024 est.)
Trafficking in persons
Illicit drugs
major precursor-chemical producer (2025)
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