About South Africa

Some interesting facts about South Africa

Interesting South African Trivia

Coelocanth Discovery: Coelocanths (Paleozoic fish previously thought extinct) were discovered in the St Lucia marine Protected area

Great Waterfall: Tugela Falls is the second highest waterfall in the world (850 m drop)

Great Canyon: Blyde River Canyon is the third largest canyon in the world (57 km belt)

Biggest & Best:  South Africa is home to the largest succulent (The Baobab Tree), the longest wine route (R62), the largest land mammal (African Elephant), the smallest land mammal (Least Dwarf Shrew), the tallest creature (Giraffe), the largest reptile (Leatherback Turtle), the largest bird (Ostrich), the heaviest flying bird (Kori Bustard), the fastest mammal (Cheetah), the largest antelope (Eland) and the largest fish (Whale Shark)

Medical Pioneering: The world's first heart transplant was done by Dr Chris Barnard in 1967

Nobel Peace: Vilakazi street is the only street in the world where two nobel peace prize winners lived (Nelson Mandela & Archbishop Desmond Tutu)

Official Langauges of South Africa

Afrikaans
English
IsiZulu
IsiXhosa
SiSwati
Ndebele
Sotho
Pedi
Tsonga
SeTswana
Venda

South Afrcan Government

Type of Government: Parliamentary Democracy

President: Jacob Zuma

Ruling Party: ANC (African National congress)

South African Geography

Area: Total area: 1 221 037 km2 (almost twice the size of Texas)

Terrain: South Africa has a wide variety of terrain, including snow-capped mountains, savannah grasslands, subtropical coastal areas, forests and semi arid land.

Land Boundaries: Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe

Water Boundaries: Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean

South African People

Population: Estimated at around 47 million

Religion: 68% Christian, 2% Muslim, 1.5% Hindu, 28.5% have indigenous beliefs, and animist

Time & Money in South Africa

Time Zone: Time Zone: GMT+2

Currency: South African Rand (ZAR)

South African Climate

Summer Temperature: From 15 to 36 degrees Celsius depending on area

Winter Temperature: From -2 to 24 degrees Celsius depending on area

Rainfall: Average Annual of 464 mm, Western Cape receives rain in winter, while the rest of the country receives rain in summer

World Heritage Sites in SA

Cradle of Human Kind
Greater St Lucia Wetland Park
Robben Island
Ukhahlamba / Drakensberg Park
Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape
Cape Floral Region Protected Areas
Vredefort Dome