62 Facts About South Africa

1.

South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life.

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2.

South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively.

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3.

South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures, languages, and religions.

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4.

South Africa is often referred to as the "rainbow nation" to describe the country's multicultural diversity, especially in the wake of apartheid.

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5.

South Africa is a middle power in international affairs; it maintains significant regional influence and is a member of both the Commonwealth of Nations and the G20.

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6.

South Africa has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa.

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7.

Name "South Africa" is derived from the country's geographic location at the southern tip of Africa.

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8.

South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human-fossil sites in the world.

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9.

British emigration to South Africa began around 1818, subsequently culminating in the arrival of the 1820 Settlers.

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10.

Eight years after the end of the Second Boer War and after four years of negotiation, the South Africa Act 1909 granted nominal independence while creating the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910.

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11.

South Africa held its first universal elections in 1994, which the ANC won by an overwhelming majority.

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12.

Nevertheless, as South Africa continues to grapple with racial issues, one of the proposed solutions has been to pass legislation, such as the pending Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill, to uphold South Africa's ban on racism and commitment to equality.

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13.

South Africa is a parliamentary republic, but unlike most such republics, the president is both head of state and head of government and depends for his tenure on the confidence of Parliament.

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14.

Since 2004, South Africa has had many thousands of popular protests, some violent, making it, according to one academic, the "most protest-rich country in the world".

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15.

In 2008, South Africa placed fifth out of 48 sub-Saharan African countries on the Ibrahim Index of African Governance.

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16.

South Africa scored well in the categories of Rule of Law, Transparency and Corruption, and Participation and Human Rights, but score low in Safety and Security.

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17.

In 2006, South Africa became the first and only African country to legalise same-sex marriage.

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18.

The first European-based law in South Africa was brought by the Dutch East India Company and is called Roman-Dutch law.

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19.

South Africa is one of the founding members of the African Union and has the third largest economy of all the members.

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20.

South Africa is a member of the Southern African Development Community, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, Southern African Customs Union, Antarctic Treaty System, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, G20, G8+5, and the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa.

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21.

South Africa has played a key role as a mediator in African conflicts over the last decade, such as in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Comoros, and Zimbabwe.

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22.

In 2011, South Africa joined the Brazil-Russia-India-China grouping of countries, identified by Zuma as the country's largest trading partners and the largest trading partners with Africa as a whole.

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23.

In recent years, the SANDF has become a major peacekeeping force in South Africa, and has been involved in operations in Lesotho, the DRC, and Burundi, amongst others.

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24.

South Africa is the only African country to have successfully developed nuclear weapons.

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25.

In 2017, South Africa signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

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26.

Many emigrants from South Africa state that crime was a major factor in their decision to leave.

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27.

South Africa has a generally temperate climate because it is surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans on three sides, because it is located in the climatically milder Southern Hemisphere, and because its average elevation rises steadily toward the north and further inland.

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28.

Coldest place on mainland South Africa is Buffelsfontein in the Eastern Cape, where a temperature of -20.

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29.

Climate change in South Africa is leading to increased temperatures and rainfall variability.

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30.

South Africa contributes considerable carbon dioxide emissions, being the 14th largest emitter of carbon dioxide, primarily from its heavy reliance on coal and oil for energy production.

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31.

South Africa signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on 4 June 1994 and became a party to the convention on 2 November 1995.

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32.

Ecotourism in South Africa has become more prevalent in recent years, as a possible method of maintaining and improving biodiversity.

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33.

In 2006, the number of fungi in South Africa was estimated at 200, 000 species but did not take into account fungi associated with insects.

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34.

South Africa has lost a large area of natural habitat in the last four decades, primarily because of overpopulation, sprawling development patterns, and deforestation during the 19th century.

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35.

South Africa is home to a third of all succulent species, many endemic to the Karoo, it makes it a hotspot for plant poaching, leading to many species to be threatened with extinction.

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36.

South Africa has published two national climate change reports in 2011 and 2016.

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37.

South Africa has a mixed economy, the second largest in Africa after Nigeria.

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38.

World Bank research shows that South Africa has one of the widest gaps between per capita GDP versus its Human Development Index ranking, with only Botswana showing a larger gap.

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39.

South Africa has a very large energy sector and is currently the only country on the African continent that possesses a Nuclear power plant.

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40.

South Africa produces in excess of 248 million tonnes of coal and consumes almost three-quarters of that domestically.

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41.

South Africa is a popular tourist destination, and a substantial amount of revenue comes from tourism.

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42.

Diamond and gold production were in 2013 well down from their peaks, though South Africa is still number five in gold and remains a cornucopia of mineral riches.

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43.

Many immigrants to South Africa continue to live in poor conditions, and the immigration policy has become increasingly restrictive since 1994.

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44.

South Africa was ranked 61st in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, up from 63rd in 2019.

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45.

South Africa is currently building the Karoo Array Telescope as a pathfinder for the €1.

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46.

Eastern parts of South Africa suffer from periodic droughts linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon.

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47.

South Africa is a nation of about 60 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions.

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48.

Statistics South Africa asks people to describe themselves in the census in terms of five racial population groups.

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49.

South Africa has 11 official languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English, Pedi, Tswana, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Swazi, Venda, and Southern Ndebele.

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50.

These people, who are a physically distinct population from the Bantu people who make up most of the Black Africans in South Africa, have their own cultural identity based on their hunter-gatherer societies.

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51.

South Africa has a three-tier system of education starting with primary school, followed by high school, and tertiary education in the form of universities and universities of technology.

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52.

In 2004, South Africa started reforming its tertiary education system, merging and incorporating small universities into larger institutions, and renaming all tertiary education institutions "university".

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53.

Different methods of transport in South Africa include roads, railways, airports, water, and pipelines for petroleum oil.

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54.

South Africa has many major ports including Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth that allow ships and other boats to pass through, some carrying passengers and some carrying petroleum tankers.

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55.

South Africa has produced world-famous jazz musicians, notably Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa, Abdullah Ibrahim, Miriam Makeba, Jonathan Butler, Chris McGregor, and Sathima Bea Benjamin.

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56.

Cuisine of South Africa is immensely diverse, and foods from a many different cultures and backgrounds are enjoyed by all communities, and especially marketed to tourists who wish to sample the large variety available.

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57.

South Africa has developed into a major wine producer, with some of the best vineyards lying in valleys around Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl and Barrydale.

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58.

South Africa hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and FIFA president Sepp Blatter awarded South Africa a grade 9 out of 10 for successfully hosting the event.

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59.

South Africa produced Formula One motor racing's 1979 world champion Jody Scheckter.

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60.

South Africa has produced numerous world class rugby players, including Francois Pienaar, Joost van der Westhuizen, Danie Craven, Frik du Preez, Naas Botha, and Bryan Habana.

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61.

South Africa has won the Rugby World Cup three times, tying New Zealand for the most Rugby World Cup wins.

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62.

South Africa first won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which it hosted.

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