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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to South Africa:
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
– A
sovereign country A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined terri ...
located at the southern tip of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. South Africa's coast stretches 2,798 kilometres and borders both the Atlantic and
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wor ...
s. To the north of South Africa lie
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
,
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
,
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
,
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
and
Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
(formerly Swaziland), while the
Kingdom of Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a population ...
is an independent
enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
surrounded by South African territory.


General reference

*
Pronunciation Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific dialect ("correct pronunciation") or simply the way a particular ...
: * Common English country name:
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
* Official English country name: The
Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
* Common
endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...
(s): Aforika Borwa, Afrika Borwa, Afrika-Dzonga, Afurika Tshipembe, iNingizimu Afrika, iSewula Afrika, South Africa, Suid-Afrika, uMzantsi Afrika * Official endonym(s): Official names of South Africa, iRiphabhulikhi yeNingizimu Afrika, iRiphabhuliki yaseNingizimu Afrika, iRiphabliki yeSewula Afrika, iRiphabliki yomZantsi Afrika, Repabliki ya Afrika-Borwa, Rephaboliki ya Aforika Borwa, Rephaboliki ya Afrika Borwa, Republic of South Africa, Republiek van Suid-Afrika, Riphabliki ra Afrika Dzonga, Riphabuḽiki ya Afurika Tshipembe * List of adjectival and demonymic forms of place names#Countries and nations, Adjectival(s): South African (disambiguation), South African * List of adjectival and demonymic forms of place names#Countries and nations, Demonym(s):
South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics South ...
*
ISO country codes ISO 3166-1 (''Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions – Part 1: Country codes'') is a standard defining codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. It ...
: ZA, ZAF, 710 *
ISO region codes ISO 3166-2 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and defines codes for identifying the principal subdivisions (e.g., provinces or states) of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1. The of ...
: See ISO 3166-2:ZA *
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
country code top-level domain: .za


Geography of South Africa

Geography of South Africa South Africa occupies the southern tip of Africa, its coastline stretching more than from the desert border with Namibia on the Atlantic (western) coast southwards around the tip of Africa and then northeast to the border with Mozambique on ...
* South Africa is: a megadiverse country * Location: **
Eastern Hemisphere The Eastern Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth which is east of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and west of the antimeridian (which crosses the Pacific Ocean and relatively little land from pole to pol ...
and Southern Hemisphere **
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
***
Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
**
Time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude, because it is ...
:
South African Standard Time South African Standard Time (SAST) is the time zone used by all of South Africa as well as Eswatini and Lesotho. The zone is two hours ahead of UTC ( UTC+02:00) and is the same as Central Africa Time. Daylight saving time is not observed in eith ...
(
UTC+02 UTC+02:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2020-11-08T23:41:45+02:00. This time is used in: As standard time (year-round) ''Principal cities: Cairo, Pretoria, Cap ...
) ** Extreme points of South Africa *** High:
Mafadi Mafadi is a peak on the border of South Africa and Lesotho. At a height of , it is the highest mountain in the nation of South Africa, but is lower than Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest peak in Lesotho which is, at , the highest point in Southern ...
*** Low:
South Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
0 m ** Land boundaries: 4,862 km :: 1,840 km :: 967 km :: 909 km :: 491 km :: 430 km :: 225 km :* Coastline: 2,798 km * Population of South Africa: 57,725,600 (July 2018 estimate) - 26th most populous country * * Area of South Africa: 1 221 037 km2 * Atlas of South Africa


Environment of South Africa

* Climate of South Africa * Geology of South Africa **
Marine geology of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay Cape Town lies at the south-western corner of the continent of Africa. It is bounded to the south and west by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the north and east by various other municipalities in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The Cape ...
* Green building in South Africa * Ecoregions in South Africa * Renewable energy in South Africa *
Protected areas of South Africa The protected areas of South Africa include national parks and marine protected areas managed by the national government, public nature reserves managed by provincial and local governments, and private nature reserves managed by private lando ...
** Biosphere reserves in South Africa **
National parks of South Africa South African National Parks (SANParks) is the body responsible for managing South Africa's national parks. SANParks was formed in 1926, and currently manages 19 parks consisting of , over 3% of the total area of South Africa. Many parks offer ...
* Wildlife of South Africa ** Flora of South Africa ***
List of Southern African indigenous trees This is a list of Southern African trees, shrubs, suffrutices, geoxyles and lianes, and is intended to cover Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The notion of 'indigenous' is of ...
*** Fynbos ****
King protea ''Protea cynaroides'', also called the king protea, is a flowering plant. It is a distinctive member of '' Protea'', having the largest flower head in the genus. The species is also known as giant protea, honeypot or king sugar bush. It is wide ...
***
Veld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...
***
Clanwilliam cedar ''Widdringtonia wallichii'', Clanwilliam cedar or Clanwilliam cypress, previously ''Widdringtonia cedarbergensis'' is a species of ''Widdringtonia'' native to South Africa, where it is endemic to the Cederberg Mountains northeast of Cape Town in ...
***
Real yellowwood ''Podocarpus latifolius'' (broad-leaved yellowwood or real yellowwood, af, Opregte-geelhout, nso, Mogôbagôba, xh, Umcheya, zu, Umkhoba) is a large evergreen tree up to 35 m high and 3 m trunk diameter, in the conifer family Podoca ...
, the national tree ***
Rooibos Rooibos ( ; , meaning "red bush"), or ''Aspalathus linearis'', is a broom-like member of the plant family Fabaceae that grows in South Africa's fynbos biome. The leaves are used to make a herbal tea that is called rooibos (especially in Sout ...
** Fauna of South Africa *** Birds of South Africa ***
Mammals of South Africa The wildlife of South Africa consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southern Africa. The country has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife, vascular plants being particularly abundant, many ...


Natural geographic features of South Africa

* Glaciers in South Africa: none The only glaciers in Africa are on Mt Kenya (in Kenya), on Kilimanjaro (in Tanzania), and in the Ruwenzori Mountains (which are located in
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The souther ...
and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
). Se
Proceedings of the Riederalp Workshop, September 1978; Actes de l'Atelier de Riederalp, septembre 1978): IAHS-AISH Publ. no. 126, 1980.
/ref> *
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...
* Deserts of South Africa **
Kalahari Desert The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal ...
* Estuaries of South Africa * Islands of South Africa * Forests of South Africa *
Lakes of South Africa This is a list of lakes of South Africa. It includes lakes that were formed naturally, and a few wetlands. For artificial lakes such as reservoirs, refer to List of dams and reservoirs in South Africa. For estuaries (river mouths) see List of es ...
* Mountains of South Africa **
Mountain ranges of South Africa A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...
** Mountain passes of South Africa ** Specific mountains ***
Table Mountain Table Mountain ( naq, Huriǂoaxa, lit= sea-emerging; af, Tafelberg) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the ...
** Volcanoes in South Africa * Rivers of South Africa ** Fish River **
Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/ Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the n ...
**
Tugela River The Tugela River ( zu, Thukela; af, Tugelarivier) is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. With a total length of , it is one of the most important rivers of the country. The river originates in Mont-aux-Sources of the Dr ...
**
Waterfalls of South Africa A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...
***
Tugela Falls Tugela Falls is a complex of seasonal waterfalls located in the Drakensberg (''Dragon's Mountains'') of Royal Natal National Park in KwaZulu-Natal Province, Republic of South Africa. According to some measurements, it is the world's tallest wa ...
* World Heritage Sites in South Africa


Regions of South Africa


Administrative divisions of South Africa

Administrative divisions of South Africa *
Provinces of South Africa South Africa is 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 ...
**
Districts of South Africa The nine provinces of South Africa are divided into 52 districts (sing. district, tn, kgaolo; st, setereke; nso, selete; af, distrikte; zu, isifunda; nr, isiyingi; xh, isithili; ss, sigodzi; ve, tshiṱiriki; ts, xifundza), which are e ...
***
Municipalities of South Africa Local government in South Africa consists of municipalities ( tn, bommasepala; st, bomasepala; nso, bommasepala; af, munisipaliteite; zu, ngomasipala; Southern Ndebele: ''bomasipala''; xh, ngoomasipala; ss, bomasipala; ve, vhomasipala; ...


= Provinces of South Africa

=
Provinces of South Africa South Africa is 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 ...
*
Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
*
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 the Kgalagadi T ...
*
Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 199 ...
*
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
* Free State *
North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
*
Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
*
Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...
*
Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature ...


= Districts of South Africa

=
Districts of South Africa The nine provinces of South Africa are divided into 52 districts (sing. district, tn, kgaolo; st, setereke; nso, selete; af, distrikte; zu, isifunda; nr, isiyingi; xh, isithili; ss, sigodzi; ve, tshiṱiriki; ts, xifundza), which are e ...
*
City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026. The remot ...
* West Coast *
Cape Winelands The Boland (Afrikaans for "top country" or "land above") is a region of the Western Cape province of South Africa, situated to the northeast of Cape Town in the middle and upper courses of the Berg and Breede Rivers, around the Boland Mountai ...
*
Overberg __NOTOC__ Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the ...
*
Garden Route The Garden Route (Afrikaans: ''Tuinroete'') is a stretch of the south-eastern coast of South Africa which extends from Witsand in the Western Cape to the border of Tsitsikamma Storms River in the Eastern Cape. The name comes from the verdant a ...
* Central Karoo *
Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality ( af, Nelson Mandelabaai Metropolitaanse Munisipaliteit; xh, uMasipala wase Nelson Mandela Bay or ''uMasipala waseBhayi'') is one of eight metropolitan municipalities (also called Category A municipalities) in So ...
* Cacadu * Amathole *
Chris Hani Chris Hani (28 June 1942 – 10 April 1993), born Martin Thembisile Hani , was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). He was a fierce ...
*
Joe Gqabi Joe Nzingo Gqabi (6 April 1929 – 31 July 1981) was a South African African National Congress activist, who was the ANC's chief representative in Zimbabwe at the time of his assassination by South African Defence Force in Ashdown Park, Harare (t ...
* OR Tambo *
Alfred Nzo Alfred Baphethuxolo Nzo (19 June 1925 – 13 January 2000) was a South African politician. He served as the longest-standing secretary-general of the African National Congress. He occupied this position (ANC) between 1969 and 1991. He was also ...
* Xhariep * Motheo * Lejweleputswa * Thabo Mofutsanyane * Northern Free State * Namakwa * Pixley ka Seme * Siyanda *
Frances Baard Frances Goitsemang Baard (1 October 1909 – 1997) was a South African (ethnic Tswana) trade unionist, organiser for the African National Congress Women's League and a Patron of the United Democratic Front, who was commemorated in the renaming ...
* Kgalagadi * Bojanala Platinum * Ngaka Modiri Molema * Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati * Dr Kenneth Kaunda *
West Rand The West Rand is the name of the urban western part of the Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation. This area became settled by Europeans after a gold-bearing reef discovered in 1886 and sparked the gold r ...
*
City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite services for the city. Z ...
* Sedibeng *
Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality The City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of the East Rand region of Gauteng. The municipality itself is a large suburban region east of Johannesburg. The name ''Ekurhuleni'' ...
* Metsweding *
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (also known as the City of Tshwane) () is the metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng Province, South Africa. The Metropolitan area is centred on the city of Pr ...
* Mopani * Vhembe * Capricorn * Waterberg * Sekhukhune * Gert Sibande * Nkangala * Ehlanzeni * Amajuba * Zululand * Umkhanyakude * uThungulu * Umzinyathi * Uthukela * Umgungundlovu * iLembe *
eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality created in 2000, that includes the city of Durban, South Africa and surrounding towns. eThekwini is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The majo ...
* Ugu * Sisonke


= Municipalities of South Africa

=
Municipalities of South Africa Local government in South Africa consists of municipalities ( tn, bommasepala; st, bomasepala; nso, bommasepala; af, munisipaliteite; zu, ngomasipala; Southern Ndebele: ''bomasipala''; xh, ngoomasipala; ss, bomasipala; ve, vhomasipala; ...
*
Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
of South Africa: Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial) and Cape Town (legislative) * Cities of South Africa * Populated places in South Africa


Demography of South Africa

Demographics of South Africa The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics South ...


Government and politics of South Africa

Politics of South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a unitary parliamentary democratic republic. The President of South Africa serves both as head of state and as head of government. The President is elected by the National Assembly (the lower house of the Sout ...
*
Form of government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
:
unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...
parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
representative democratic
republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
*
Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
of South Africa: Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial) and Cape Town (legislative) *
Elections in South Africa Elections in South Africa are held for the National Assembly, provincial legislatures and municipal councils. Elections follow a five-year cycle, with national and provincial elections held simultaneously and municipal elections held two years ...
*
Political parties in South Africa This is a list of political parties in South Africa. South Africa is a democratic but one-party dominant state with the African National Congress as the governing party. Other parties such as the Democratic Alliance govern provinces and munici ...
*
Social movements in South Africa Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...
*
Taxation in South Africa Taxation may involve payments to a minimum of two different levels of government: central government through SARS or to local government. Prior to 2001 the South African tax system was "source-based", where in income is taxed in the country w ...


Branches of the government of South Africa

Government of South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority ...


Executive branch of the government of South Africa

*
Head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
and
head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gr ...
:
President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nation ...
,
Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...
*
Cabinet of South Africa The Cabinet of South Africa is the most senior level of the executive branch of the Government of South Africa. It is made up of the President, the Deputy President, and the Ministers. Overview The President appoints the Deputy President and m ...


Legislative branch of the government of South Africa

*
Parliament of South Africa The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces. The current twenty-sev ...
( bicameral) **
Upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...
:
National Council of Provinces The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post-apartheid) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate, but is very similar to that body, and to ma ...
**
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 or oth ...
:
National Assembly of South Africa The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation syste ...


Judicial branch of the government of South Africa

*
Constitutional Court of South Africa The Constitutional Court of South Africa is a supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction. The Court was first establish ...
**
Chief Justice of South Africa The Chief Justice of South Africa is the most senior judge of the Constitutional Court and head of the judiciary of South Africa, who exercises final authority over the functioning and management of all the courts. The position of Chief Justice ...
*
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), formerly known as the Appellate Division, is an appellate court in South Africa. It is located in Bloemfontein, the "judicial capital" of South Africa. History On the creation of the Union of South Africa f ...
*
High Court of South Africa The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. It is divided into nine provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction over a defined geographical a ...
* Magistrates' Courts of South Africa


Foreign relations of South Africa

Foreign relations of South Africa The foreign relations of South Africa have spanned from the country's time as Dominion of the British Empire to its isolationist policies under Apartheid to its position as a responsible international actor taking a key role in Africa, particu ...
* Diplomatic missions in South Africa * Diplomatic missions of South Africa *
Immigration to South Africa The Southern Africa region experiences a relatively high influx of immigration into South Africa. As of 2019, the immigration rate is continuing to increase, and the role of the female population of migrants is significantly growing in this move ...


International organization membership

The Republic of South Africa is a member of: *
African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is a group of countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that was created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. Formerly known as African, Caribbean and Pacific Group o ...
(ACP) * African Development Bank Group (AfDB) *
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
(AU) * African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) *
Bank for International Settlements The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks". The BIS carries out its work thr ...
(BIS) * Commonwealth of Nations *
Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
(FAO) *
Group of 24 The Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development, or The Group of 24 (G-24) was established in 1971 as a chapter of the Group of 77 in order to help coordinate the positions of developing countries on ...
(G24) *
Group of 77 The Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations (UN) is a coalition of 134 developing countries, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 fou ...
(G77) * Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20) *
International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...
(IAEA) *
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an international financial institution, established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, that is the lending arm of World Bank Group. The IBRD offers ...
(IBRD) *
International Chamber of Commerce The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its over 45 million members in over 100 countries have interests spanning every s ...
(ICC) *
International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...
(ICAO) *
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...
(ICCt) *
International Criminal Police Organization The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
(Interpol) *
International Development Association The International Development Association (IDA) (french: link=no, Association internationale de développement) is an international financial institution which offers concessional loans and grants to the world's poorest developing countries. T ...
(IDA) * International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) *
International Finance Corporation The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of t ...
(IFC) *
International Fund for Agricultural Development The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD; french: link=no, Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA)) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to addres ...
(IFAD) *
International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...
(IHO) *
International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
(ILO) *
International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...
(IMO) *
International Mobile Satellite Organization The International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO) is the intergovernmental organization that oversees certain public satellite safety and security communication services provided via the Inmarsat satellites. Some of these services concern: ...
(IMSO) *
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glob ...
(IMF) *
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) *
International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM was ...
(IOM) *
International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Art ...
(ISO) *
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...
(ICRM) *
International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union ...
(ITU) *
International Telecommunications Satellite Organization The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) is an intergovernmental organization charged with overseeing the public service obligations of Intelsat, which was privatized in 2001. It incorporates the principle set forth i ...
(ITSO) *
International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation w ...
(ITUC) *
Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other ...
(IPU) * Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) *
Nonaligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath ...
(NAM) *
Nuclear Suppliers Group The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multilateral export control regime and a group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to m ...
(NSG) *
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 member s ...
(OPCW) *
Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that aris ...
(PCA) *
Southern African Customs Union The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is a customs union among five countries of Southern Africa: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. Its headquarters are in the Namibian capital, Windhoek. It was established in 1910. Hi ...
(SACU) *
Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...
(SADC) *
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
(UN) *
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...
(UNCTAD) * United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) *
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integratio ...
(UNHCR) *
United Nations Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in e ...
(UNIDO) *
United Nations Institute for Training and Research The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a dedicated training arm of the United Nations system. UNITAR provides training and capacity development activities to assist mainly developing countries with special attention ...
(UNITAR) *
United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was estab ...
(MONUC) *
Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to t ...
(UPU) *
World Confederation of Labour The World Confederation of Labour (WCL) 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 ...
(WCL) *
World Customs Organization The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The WCO works on customs-related matters including the development of international conventions, instruments, and tools on topics suc ...
(WCO) *
World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of ...
(WFTU) *
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) *
World Intellectual Property Organization The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishin ...
(WIPO) *
World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Internat ...
(WMO) *
World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...
*
World Tourism Organization The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. UNWTO is the leading internat ...
(UNWTO) *
World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
(WTO) *
World Veterans Federation The World Veterans Federation (WVF) is the world's largest international veteran organisation. The federation consists of 172 veterans organizations from 121 countries representing some 60 million veterans worldwide. It is a humanitarian organisa ...
*
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 (NPT) which entered into force on March 5, 1970. Under the terms of Article III.2 International ...
(ZC)


Law and order in South Africa

Law of South Africa South Africa has a 'hybrid' or 'mixed' legal system, formed by the interweaving of a number of distinct legal traditions: a civil law system inherited from the Dutch, a common law system inherited from the British, and a customary law syst ...
*
Cannabis in South Africa Cannabis in South Africa has been decriminalised by the country's Constitutional Court for personal consumption by adults in private. However, laws prohibiting use outside of one's private dwelling and buying and selling cannabis still remain. S ...
*
Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Govern ...
*
Crime in South Africa Crime in South Africa includes all violent and non-violent crimes that take place in the country of South Africa, or otherwise within its jurisdiction. When compared to other countries South Africa has notably high rates of violent crime and ha ...
**
Sexual violence in South Africa The rate of sexual violence in South Africa is among the highest recorded in the world. During 2015/16, there were 51,895 crimes of a sexual nature reported to the South African Police Service. Statistics Official police statistics South ...
*
Human rights in South Africa Human rights in South Africa are protected under the constitution. The 1998 Human Rights report by Myles Nadioo noted that the government generally respected the rights of the citizens; however, there were concerns over the use of force by law en ...
**
LGBT rights in South Africa Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in South Africa enjoy the same rights as non-LGBT people. South Africa has a complex and diverse history regarding the human rights of LGBT people. The legal and social status of between 4 ...
** Freedom of religion in South Africa *
South African nationality law South African nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of South Africa. The primary law governing nationality requirements is the South African Citizenship Act, 1995, which came into force on 6 October 1995. Any p ...


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 (SAPS), South Africa's national police force. SAPS is responsible for investigating crime and security throughout the country. The "national polic ...
* Department of Police *
South African Police Service The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in eac ...
** Crime Intelligence (SAPS) **
South African Police Service Special Task Force The Special Task Force (STF) is the elite police tactical unit of the South African Police Service (SAPS). The Special Task Force handles high risk operations that fall beyond the scope of classic policing which require specialised skills. H ...
** National Intervention Unit ** Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation ( SAPS ) ** National Forensic DNA Database of South Africa *
Municipal Police Municipal police, city police, or local police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive funding ...
* Provincial Traffic Department * Reaction Units South Africa * Independent Complaints Directorate * Department of Correctional Services **
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'', following a five-year and four-month moratorium since February 1990. History The standard method for ca ...
* Biometrics use by the South African government


Military of South Africa

Military of South Africa The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...
* Command ** Commander-in-chief:
President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nation ...
*** Minister of Defence of South Africa *** Department of Defence of South Africa *
South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Ministe ...
**
South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...
**
South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. T ...
**
South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prote ...
**
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. Though unusual, as most national mili ...
**
South African Special Forces Brigade The South African Special Forces Brigade, colloquially known as the Recces, is South Africa's principal special operations unit, specialising in various types of operations including; counter-insurgency, long-range-reconnaissance, unconventio ...
**
South African Commando System The Commando System was a mostly voluntary, part-time force of the South African Army, but in their role as local militia the units were often deployed in support of and under the authority of the South African Police. Mission South Africa's ...
**
South African National Defence Force Intelligence Division The Defence Intelligence Division of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF-ID also known as Defence Intelligence) is the primary military intelligence agency of South Africa which came into being on 27 April 1994. The other intelligence ...
*
Military history of South Africa The military 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-defence both within South Africa and against it. It in ...
*
Military ranks of South Africa The South African National Defence Force's rank system is largely based on the British system, with the Air Force (and later the Military Health Service) sharing the Army rank titles. Rank titles changed over time as did the insignia. Evolution ...


State security in South Africa

* State Security Agency * Minister * National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (NICC) * National Intelligence Agency (NIA) * National Communications Centre (NCC) * Communications security (COMSEC) *
South African Secret Service The South African Secret Service (SASS) was the previous name of a South African intelligence agency. Currently, it is known as the Foreign Branch of the State Security Agency. It is responsible for all non-military foreign intelligence and fo ...
(SASS) *
South African National Academy of Intelligence The Intelligence Academy formerly known as the South African National Academy of Intelligence (SANAI) is responsible for training the members of the South African intelligence services and agencies. The South African National Academy of Intellige ...
(SANAI)


Local government in South Africa

Local government in South Africa Local government in South Africa consists of municipalities ( tn, bommasepala; st, bomasepala; nso, bommasepala; af, munisipaliteite; zu, ngomasipala; Southern Ndebele: ''bomasipala''; xh, ngoomasipala; ss, bomasipala; ve, vhomasipala; ...


History of South Africa

History of South Africa The first modern humans are believed to have inhabited South Africa more than 100,000 years ago. South Africa's prehistory has been divided into two phases based on broad patterns of technology namely the Stone Age and Iron Age. After the d ...
*
South African History Project The South African History Project (2001-2004) was established and initiated by Professor Kader Asmal, former Minister of Education in South Africa. This initiative followed after the publication of the Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy ...


Books on the history of South Africa

* ''
The Cambridge History of South Africa ''The Cambridge History of South Africa'' is a two volume history of South Africa The first modern humans are believed to have inhabited South Africa more than 100,000 years ago. South Africa's prehistory has been divided into two phases ...
'' * '' The Oxford History of South Africa''


History of South Africa, by period

*
List of years in South Africa This is a list of years in South Africa. Before European colonization * BCE in Southern Africa * Early CE in Southern Africa *13th century *14th century Colonization *15th century *16th century * * * * * * * * * * * * * Union of South ...
* Early history of South Africa *
Jan van Riebeeck Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck (21 April 1619 – 18 January 1677) was a Dutch navigator and colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company. Life Early life Jan van Riebeeck was born in Culemborg, as the son of a surgeon. H ...
*
Xhosa Wars The Xhosa Wars (also known as the Cape Frontier Wars or the Kaffir Wars) were a series of nine wars (from 1779 to 1879) between the Xhosa Kingdom and the British Empire as well as Trekboers in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa. The ...
*
Mfecane The Mfecane (isiZulu, Zulu pronunciation: ̩fɛˈkǀaːne, also known by the Sesotho names Difaqane or Lifaqane (all meaning "crushing, scattering, forced dispersal, forced migration") is a historical period of heightened military conflict a ...
*
Great Trek The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyo ...
*
Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coup ...
(see also
Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coup ...
) *
History of Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with th ...
**
History of Cape Colony before 1806 The written history of the Cape Colony in what is now South Africa began when Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias became the first modern European to round the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. In 1497, Vasco da Gama sailed along the whole coast of Sou ...
*
Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...
*
South African Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...
*
Boer Wars The military 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-defence both within South Africa and against it. It in ...
**
First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...
**
Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
**
Pretoria Convention The Pretoria Convention was the peace treaty that ended the First Boer War (16 December 1880 to 23 March 1881) between the Transvaal Boers and Great Britain. The treaty was signed in Pretoria on 3 August 1881, but was subject to ratification by t ...
* Great Depression in South Africa *
Military history of South Africa during World War II During World War II, many South Africans saw military service. The Union of South Africa participated with other British Empire forces in battles in North Africa against Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps, and many South African pilots joined ...
*
Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid wa ...
** History of apartheid ***
Sharpeville massacre The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of ...
***
Rivonia Trial The Rivonia Trial took place in South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, and led to the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and the others among the accused who were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life at the Palace of Justic ...
*** Crime of Apartheid Convention (1973) *** Other events related to apartheid *
South African Border War The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...
* History of South Africa since 1994


History of South Africa, by region

*
History of Johannesburg Johannesburg is a large city in Gauteng Province of South Africa. It was established as a small village controlled by a Health Committee in 1886 with the discovery of an outcrop of a gold reef on the farm Langlaagte. The population of the cit ...


History of South Africa, by subject

* History of the Cabinet of South Africa * Earthquakes in South Africa * Economic history of South Africa * South African hacker history *
History of the Jews in South Africa The history of the Jews in South Africa began during the period of Portuguese exploration in the early modern era, though a permanent presence was not established until the beginning of Dutch colonisation in the region. During the period of ...
* LGBT history in South Africa ** Timeline of LGBT history in South Africa * History of libraries in South Africa * South African locomotive history *
Military history of South Africa The military 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-defence both within South Africa and against it. It in ...
** History of the South African Air Force **
Military history of South Africa during World War II During World War II, many South Africans saw military service. The Union of South Africa participated with other British Empire forces in battles in North Africa against Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps, and many South African pilots joined ...
* History of South African nationality *
Postage stamps and postal history of South Africa This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of South Africa. The ''Republic of South Africa'', previously ''The Union of South Africa'', is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian ...
*
Social movements in South Africa Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...
*
History of South African wine The early history of the South African wine industry (also known as New World wine) can be traced to the founding of a supply station at the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch East India Company. Jan van Riebeeck was given the task of managing the ...
* History of women's rights in South Africa


Culture of South Africa

Culture of South Africa South Africa is known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. Amongst black South Africans, a substantial number of rural inhabitants lead largely impoverished lives. Almost all South Africans speak English to some degree of proficiency, in ad ...
*
Architecture of South Africa South Africa is known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. Amongst black South Africans, a substantial number of rural inhabitants lead largely impoverished lives. Almost all South Africans speak English to some degree of proficiency, in ad ...
**
Cape Dutch architecture Cape Dutch architecture is an architectural style found mostly in the Western Cape of South Africa, but modern examples of the style have also been exported as far afield as Western Australia and New Zealand, typically on wine estates. The styl ...
* Cuisine of South Africa **
South African wine South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 with the first bottle being produced in Cape Town by its founder and gouverner Jan van Riebeeck. Access to international markets led to new investment in the South African wine market. Produc ...
*
Feminism in South Africa Feminism in South Africa concerns the organised efforts to improve the rights of the girls and women of South Africa. These efforts are largely linked to issues of feminism and gender equality on one hand, and racial equality and the political fr ...
* Gambling in South Africa *
South African heraldry South African heraldry dates back to the 1650s, inheriting European (especially Dutch and British) heraldic traditions. Arms are borne by individuals, official bodies, local authorities, military units, and by a wide variety of organisations. ...
*
Media in South Africa The mass media in 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 i ...
*
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 * 1910 coat of arms – gra ...
** Coat of arms of South Africa **
Flag of South Africa The flag of South Africa was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, at the beginning of South Africa's 1994 general election, to replace the flag that had been used since 1928. The flag has horizontal bands of red (on the top) ...
**
National anthem of South Africa The National Anthem of South Africa was adopted in 1997 and is a hybrid song combining extracts of the 19th century Xhosa hymn " xh, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, label=none" ( en, "God Bless Africa", ) and the Afrikaans song which was used as the ...
**
National flower of South Africa ''Protea cynaroides'', also called the king protea, is a flowering plant. It is a distinctive member of '' Protea'', having the largest flower head in the genus. The species is also known as giant protea, honeypot or king sugar bush. It is wide ...
* Prostitution in South Africa *
Public holidays in South Africa A list of current public holidays in South Africa: :''In gold, the National Day'' The Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) states that whenever a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following it will be a public holiday. Once-of ...
*
Racism in South Africa Racism in South Africa can be traced back to the earliest historical accounts of European interactions with indigenous African peoples along the coast of Southern Africa. It has existed throughout several centuries in the history of South Afric ...
*
Scouts South Africa Scouts South Africa is the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) recognised Scout association in South Africa. Scouting began in the United Kingdom in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell and rapidly spread to South Africa, ...
* World Heritage Sites in South Africa *
Xenophobia in South Africa Prior to 1994, immigrants from elsewhere faced discrimination and even violence in South Africa. After majority rule in 1994, contrary to expectations, the incidence of xenophobia increased. Between 2000 and March 2008, at least 67 people died i ...
*
Afrikaner Calvinism Afrikaner Calvinism ( af, Calvinisme) is a cultural and religious development among Afrikaners that combined elements of seventeenth-century Calvinist doctrine with a "chosen people" ideology based in the Bible. It had origins in ideas espoused ...
*
Kwaito Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of ho ...
*
Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Graceland'', and have won m ...
*
Nguni stick fighting Nguni stick-fighting (also known as ''donga'', or ''dlala 'nduku'', which literally translates as 'playing sticks') is a martial art traditionally practiced by teenage Nguni herdboys in South Africa. Each combatant is armed with two long sticks, one ...
* Khoikhoi mythology


Art in South Africa

*
Architecture of South Africa South Africa is known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. Amongst black South Africans, a substantial number of rural inhabitants lead largely impoverished lives. Almost all South Africans speak English to some degree of proficiency, in ad ...
* Art of South Africa **
List of South African artists The following is a list of artists from South Africa. A * Bill Ainslie (1934-1989) * Jane Alexander (1959-) * Siemon Allen (1971-) * Nils Andersen (1897-1972) * Tyrone Appollis (1957-) * Dieter Aschenborn (1915-2002) * Hans Aschenborn ( ...
* Cinema of South Africa * Literature of South Africa **
List of South African poets This is a list of noted South African poets, poets born or raised in South Africa, whether living there or overseas, and writing in one of the South African languages. A-C * Lionel Abrahams * Tatamkulu Afrika * Mike Alfred * Ingrid Andersen * ...
** List of Afrikaans language poets *
Media in South Africa The mass media in 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 i ...
*
Music of South Africa South Africa is well known for its distinct musical styles which have played a huge role towards the country's society. The music of South Africa is very diverse with a wide variety of genres such as Marabi, Kwaito, house music, Isicathamiya, ...
*
Television in South Africa Television in South Africa was introduced in 1976. South Africa was relatively late in introducing television broadcasting to its population. History Opposition to introduction The first proposal to introduce television in South Africa was mad ...


Language in South Africa

*
Click consonant Click consonants, or clicks, are speech sounds that occur as consonants in many languages of Southern Africa and in three languages of East Africa. Examples familiar to English-speakers are the ''tut-tut'' (British spelling) or '' tsk! tsk!'' ( ...
*
Languages of South Africa Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
**
Afrikaans language Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans grad ...
** English language (
South African English South African English (SAfrE, SAfrEng, SAE, en-ZA) is the set of English language dialects native to South Africans. History British settlers first arrived in the South African region in 1795, when they established a military holding op ...
) **
Nguni languages The Nguni languages are a group of closely related Bantu languages spoken in southern Africa by the Nguni peoples. Nguni languages include Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele (sometimes referred to as "Northern Ndebele"), and Swazi. The appellation "Nguni" ...
***
Southern Ndebele language Southern Ndebele (), also known as Transvaal Ndebele or South Ndebele, is an African language belonging to the Nguni group of Bantu languages, spoken by the Ndebele people of South Africa. There is also a different language called Nort ...
(''isiNdebele'') ***
Swati language The Swazi or siSwati language is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Eswatini and South Africa by the Swati people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 2.4 million. The language is taught in Eswatini and ...
(''siSwati'') ***
Xhosa language Xhosa (, ) also isiXhosa as an endonym, is a Nguni language and one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Xhosa is spoken as a first language by approximately 8.2 million people and by another 11 million as a secon ...
(''isiXhosa'') ***
Zulu language Zulu (), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in Southern Africa. It is the language of the Zulu people, with about 12 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal ...
(''isiZulu'') **
Sotho languages Sotho may refer to: *Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana *Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an offi ...
***
Sotho language Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free St ...
(''Sesotho'') ***
Northern Sotho language Northern Sotho, or as an endonym, is a Sotho-Tswana language spoken in the northeastern provinces of South Africa. It is sometimes referred to as or , its main dialect, through synecdoche. According to the South African National Census of ...
(''Sesotho sa Leboa'') ***
Tswana language Tswana, also known by its native name , and previously spelled Sechuana in English, is a Bantu language spoken in Southern Africa by about 8.2 million people. It belongs to the Bantu language family within the Sotho-Tswana branch of Zone ...
(''Setswana'') **
Venda language Venda or Tshivenda is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa. It is mainly spoken by the Venda people in the northern part of South Africa's Limpopo province, as well as by some Lemba people in South Africa. The Venda la ...
(''Tshivenda'') **
Tsonga language Tsonga () or Xitsonga ( ''Xitsonga'') as an endonym, is a Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people of southern Africa. It is mutually intelligible with Tswa and Ronga and the name "Tsonga" is often used as a cover term for all three, al ...
(''Xitsonga'') ** !Xu language **
Bantu languages The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages. The ...
**
Khoisan languages The Khoisan languages (; also Khoesan or Khoesaan) are a group of African languages originally classified together by Joseph Greenberg. Khoisan languages share click consonants and do not belong to other African language families. For much of th ...
*
List of South African slang words This list of "Afrikanerisms" comprises slang words and phrases influenced primarily by Afrikaans. Typical users include people with Afrikaans as their first language but who speak living in areas where the population speaks both English and Af ...


People of South Africa

People of South Africa * Ethnic groups in South Africa **
Asian South African Indian South Africans are South Africans who descend from indentured labourers and free migrants who arrived from British India during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The majority live in and around the city of Durban, making it one of the l ...
***
Indian South African Indian South Africans are South Africans who descend from indentured labourers and free migrants who arrived from British India during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The majority live in and around the city of Durban, making it one of the l ...
***
Chinese South African Chinese South Africans () are Overseas Chinese who reside in South Africa, including those whose ancestors came to South Africa in the early 20th century until Chinese immigration was banned under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1904. Chinese indu ...
**
Bantu peoples The Bantu peoples, or Bantu, are an ethnolinguistic grouping of approximately 400 distinct ethnic groups who speak Bantu languages. They are native to 24 countries spread over a vast area from Central Africa to Southeast Africa and into Southern A ...
***
Basotho The Sotho () people, also known as the Basuto or Basotho (), are a Bantu people, Bantu nation native to Lesotho, southern Africa. They split into different ethnic groups over time, due to regional conflicts and colonialism, which resulted in t ...
****
Bakoena The Bakoena or Bakwena ("those who venerate the crocodile") are a large clan in Southern Africa. They form part of the Sotho-Tswana Bantu people and can be found in different countries such as Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini ...
****
Bataung Bataung is the most senior tribe of Bantu origin which descends from its ancestor Mohurutshe and which speaks the Sotho-Tswana group of languages, namely, Setswana, Sepedi, Sesotho and Lozi. The Bataung people are found in the escarpment regi ...
**** Batlokoa ***
South Ndebele people AmaNdebele are an Mbo ethnic group native to South Africa who speak isiNdebele language. AmaNdebele mainly inhabit the provinces of Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo, all of which are in the northeast of the country. Although both are part of the ...
***
Pedi people The Pedi or (also known as the Northern Sotho or and the Marota or ) – are a southern African ethnic group that speak Pedi or ''Sepedi'', a dialect belonging to the Sotho-Tswana enthnolinguistic group. Northern Sotho is a term used t ...
***
Sotho people The Sotho () people, also known as the Basuto or Basotho (), are a Bantu nation native to southern Africa. They split into different ethnic groups over time, due to regional conflicts and colonialism, which resulted in the modern Basotho, who ...
***
Swazi people The Swazi or Swati ( Swati: ''Emaswati'', singular ''Liswati'') are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, inhabiting Eswatini, a sovereign kingdom in Southern Africa. EmaSwati are part of the Nguni-language speaking peoples whose or ...
***
Tsonga people The Tsonga people ( ts, Vatsonga) are a Bantu ethnic group primarily native to Southern Mozambique and South Africa (Limpopo and Mpumalanga). They speak Xitsonga, a Southern Bantu language. A very small number of Tsonga people are also found ...
***
Tswana people The Tswana ( tn, Batswana, singular ''Motswana'') are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Tswana language is a principal member of the Sotho-Tswana language group. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the pop ...
***
Venda people The Venḓa (VhaVenḓa or Vhangona) are a Southern African Bantu people living mostly near the South African-Zimbabwean border. The history of the Venda starts from the Kingdom of Mapungubwe (9th Century) where King Shiriyadenga was the f ...
****
Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the ...
***
Xhosa people The Xhosa people, or Xhosa-speaking people (; ) are African people who are direct kinsmen of Tswana people, Sotho people and Twa people, yet are narrowly sub grouped by European as Nguni ethnic group whose traditional homeland is primarily the ...
***
Zulu people Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni people, Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest Ethnic groups in South Africa, ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, li ...
** Coloureds ***
Cape Coloured Cape Coloureds () are a South African ethnic group consisted primarily of persons of mixed race and Khoisan descent. Although Coloureds form a minority group within South Africa, they are the predominant population group in the Western Cape. ...
***
Cape Malay Cape Malays (, in Arabies script) also known as Cape Muslims or Malays, are a Muslim community or ethnic group in South Africa. They are the descendants of enslaved and free Muslims from different parts of the world who lived at the Cape duri ...
***
Griqua people The Griquas (; af, Griekwa, often confused with ''!Orana'', which is written as ''Korana'' or ''Koranna'') are a subgroup of heterogeneous former Khoe-speaking nations in Southern Africa with a unique origin in the early history of the Cap ...
** Khoisan **
White South African White South Africans generally refers to South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original settlers, ...
***
Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casti ...
*** British diaspora in South Africa *** Jewish South Africans * Homeless in South Africa


Specific persons

*
Neil Aggett Neil Aggett (6 October 1953 – 5 February 1982) was a doctor and trade union organiser who was killed, while in detention, by the Security Branch of the Apartheid South African Police Service after being held for 70 days without trial. Life a ...
* Tatamkulu Afrika *
Autshumao Autshumato (or Autshumao; ''Herry'' or ''Harry de Strandloper'') was a chief of the Khoikhoi Gorinhaikonas (or Goringhaicona) who worked as an interpreter for the Europeans in present-day, Cape Town, South Africa prior and during the establishm ...
*
Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known ...
* Arthur Blaxall *
Pieter Willem Botha Pieter Willem Botha, (; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006), commonly known as P. W. and af, Die Groot Krokodil (The Big Crocodile), was a South African politician. He served as the last prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and ...
*
J. M. Coetzee John Maxwell Coetzee OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African–Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, translator and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is one of the most critically acclaimed and decorated authors in ...
*
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
*
Frederik Willem de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk (, , 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996 in the democratic government. As South A ...
*
Krotoa The "!Oroǀõas" (" Ward-girl"), spelled in Dutch as Krotoa, otherwise known by her Christian name Eva (c. 1643 – 29 July 1674), was a !Uriǁ'aeǀona translator working for the officials of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) during ...
*
Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and President of the South African Republic (o ...
*
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (born Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela; 26 September 1936 – 2 April 2018), also known as Winnie Mandela, was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician, and the second wife of Nelson Mandela. She ser ...
*
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...
* Mark Mathabane *
Govan Mbeki Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa Mbeki (9 July 1910 – 30 August 2001) was a South African politician, military commander, Communist leader who served as the Secretary of Umkhonto we Sizwe, at its inception in 1961. He was also the son of Chief Sike ...
*
Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC) ...
*
Lilian Ngoyi Lilian Masediba Matabane Ngoyi, "Mma Ngoyi", (25 September 1911 – 13 March 1980) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. She was the first woman elected to the executive committee of the African National Congress, and helped launch ...
*
Raymond Mhlaba Raymond Mphakamisi Mhlaba (12 February 1920 – 20 February 2005) was an anti-apartheid activist, Communist and leader of the African National Congress (ANC) also as well the first premier of the Eastern Cape. Mhlaba spent 25 years of his life ...
*
Patrice Motsepe Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe (born 28 January 1962) is a South African mining billionaire businessman. Since 12 March 2021, he has been serving as the President of the Confederation of African Football. He is the founder and executive chairman of ...
*
Harry Oppenheimer Harry Frederick Oppenheimer (28 October 1908 – 19 August 2000) was a prominent South African businessman, industrialist and philanthropist. Oppenheimer was often ranked as one of the wealthiest people in the world, and was considered South A ...
*
Jan van Riebeeck Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck (21 April 1619 – 18 January 1677) was a Dutch navigator and colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company. Life Early life Jan van Riebeeck was born in Culemborg, as the son of a surgeon. H ...
*
Charles Robberts Swart Charles Robberts Swart (5 December 1894 – 16 July 1982), nicknamed ''Blackie'', was a South African politician who served as the last governor-general of the Union of South Africa from 1959 to 1961 and the first state president of the Republ ...
*
Shaka Zulu Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that ...
*
Walter Sisulu Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (18 May 1912 – 5 May 2003) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). Between terms as ANC Secretary-General (1949–1954) and ANC Deputy President (1991–1994), h ...
* J.G. Strijdom *
Charles Robberts Swart Charles Robberts Swart (5 December 1894 – 16 July 1982), nicknamed ''Blackie'', was a South African politician who served as the last governor-general of the Union of South Africa from 1959 to 1961 and the first state president of the Republ ...
*
Oliver Tambo Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo (27 October 191724 April 1993) was a South African anti-apartheid politician and revolutionary who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991. Biography Higher education Oliv ...
*
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic dis ...
*
B.J. Vorster Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; also known as John Vorster; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983) was a South African apartheid politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the fourth state preside ...
*
J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and '' The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawli ...
*
Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...


Religion in South Africa

Religion 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, ...
* Christianity in South Africa **
Roman Catholicism in South Africa The Catholic Church in South Africa is part of the worldwide Catholic Church composed of the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, of which the South African church is under the spiritual leadership of the Southern African Catholic Bis ...
**
Protestantism in South Africa Protestantism in South Africa accounted for 73.2% of the population in 2010. Its history dates back to the initial European settlement on the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. Since then, Protestantism has been the predominant religion of the European ...
*
Hinduism in South Africa Hinduism is practised throughout South Africa, but primarily in KwaZulu-Natal. Approximately 1.1% of the South African population professed to be Hindu, according to the 2011 census. This is down from the 1.4% based on the 1996 census. The 2016 ...
*
Islam in South Africa Islam in South Africa is a minority religion, practised by roughly 1.6% of the total population. Islam in South Africa has grown in three phases. The first phase brought the earliest Muslims as part of the involuntary migration of slaves, a ...
* Judaism in South Africa


Sports in South Africa

Sport in South Africa Sport in South Africa has a very significant role in South African culture. The three most popular mainstream sports in the country — football, rugby, and cricket — reflect the country's early British colonial influence. Association f ...
* Cape Unicorns Polocrosse Club *
Football in South Africa Association football, or soccer, as it is typically called in South Africa, is the nation's most popular sport and South Africa national soccer team (Bafana Bafana) is the nation's favourite sports team followed by rugby union and cricket. The ...
*
Cricket in South Africa Cricket is the third most popular sport in South Africa (behind football and rugby union). Traditionally played by English-speaking whites and the Indian community, the sport is now listed in the top two most popular among all race groups. Sin ...
** History of cricket in South Africa *** History of cricket in South Africa to 1918 *** History of cricket in South Africa from 1918–19 to 1945 *** History of cricket in South Africa from 1945–46 to 1970 *** History of cricket in South Africa from 1970–71 to 1990 *** History of cricket in South Africa from 1990–91 to 2000 *** History of cricket in South Africa from 2000–01 * South Africa at the Olympics * Weskus Marathon


Rugby in South Africa

* South Africa at the Rugby World Cup *
South African Rugby Board The South African Rugby Board was the rugby union governing body of white South Africans between 1889 and 1992. The governing of white and coloured rugby union was handled separately during South Africa under Apartheid. On the 23 March 1992 the no ...
* South African Rugby Legends Association *
South African Rugby Football Federation The South African Rugby Football Federation was an association formed by the majority of "Coloured" rugby union clubs that broke away from the South African Coloured Rugby Football Board (SACRFB) in the 1960s to affiliate with the whites-only Sout ...
* Rugby league in South Africa **
South African Rugby League The South African Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in South Africa. The Association was formed in 1998. See also * Rugby league in South Africa * South Africa national rugby league team References Ex ...
***
South Africa national rugby league team The South Africa national rugby league team to date have competed at two Rugby League World Cups in 1995 and 2000. Rugby league was originally introduced to South Africa in the 1950s with the staging of several series tournaments within the cou ...
** History of rugby league in South Africa *** History of the South Africa national rugby league team * Rugby sevens in South Africa **
South Africa national rugby sevens team The South African national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. Overall, the team has won the World Rugby Sevens Series 4 times, as well as ...
*** List of South Africa national rugby sevens players ** South Africa women's national rugby sevens team ** South Africa at the World Rugby Sevens Series * Rugby union in South Africa **
South African Rugby Union The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board ...
**
South African rugby union captains Every player to captain the South Africa national rugby union team (the Springboks) in a test match is listed here. Captains are listed in chronological order of their first match as captain. H.H. Castens captained South Africa on 30 July 1891 ...
**
List of South Africa national rugby union players South Africa national rugby union team players hold several international records. Several players from the South Africa national rugby union team have joined the IRB and International Hall of Fame. Individual records Career South Africa's '' ...
**
South African rugby union teams South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
***
South Africa national rugby union team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
**** South Africa national rugby union team players ****
List of South Africa national rugby union team records South Africa (known as the Springboks) are a Rugby Union National Team that played their first international match in 1891. The records listed below only include performances in Test matches. The top five are listed in each category (except whe ...
***
South Africa national under-18 rugby union team The South African national under-18 rugby union team – often referred to as the South African Schools rugby union team – is the under-18 side of the South Africa national rugby union team. The team is selected every year at the conclusion of t ...
***
South Africa national under-20 rugby union team The South Africa national under-20 rugby union team (nicknamed the Junior Boks or the Baby Boks) are South Africa's junior team at national level. They have been competing in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship (formerly the IRB Junior World Cham ...
**** List of South Africa national under-20 rugby union team players *** South Africa 'A' national rugby union team ***
South Africa amateur national rugby union team The South Africa Amateurs are the amateur national rugby union team of South Africa. They played in the Africa Cup The Rugby Africa Cup is a two-year men's rugby union tournament involving the top 16 African nations based on their World Rugby ra ...
*** South African Universities rugby union team ***
South Africa women's national rugby union team The South Africa women's national rugby union team represents South Africa in women's international rugby union and is governed by the South African Rugby Union. They have appeared in three World Cups since their debut in the 2006 Women's Rugby ...
** History of rugby union in South Africa *** History of the South Africa national rugby union team *** History of rugby union matches between Argentina and South Africa *** History of rugby union matches between Australia and South Africa *** History of rugby union matches between England and South Africa *** History of rugby union matches between France and South Africa *** History of rugby union matches between Ireland and South Africa *** History of rugby union matches between Italy and South Africa ***
History of rugby union matches between New Zealand and South Africa New Zealand (the All Blacks) and South Africa (the Springboks) have been playing Test Match Rugby against each other since 1921 when the All Blacks beat the Springboks in Dunedin 13-5. It is one of the biggest rivalries in World Rugby history. The ...
*** History of rugby union matches between Samoa and South Africa *** History of rugby union matches between Scotland and South Africa *** History of rugby union matches between South Africa and Wales *** History of rugby union matches between South Africa and the Barbarians *** History of rugby union matches between South Africa and the British & Irish Lions


Economy and infrastructure of South Africa

Economy of South Africa The Economy of South Africa is the third largest in Africa and the most industrialized, technologically advanced, and diversified economy in Africa overall. South Africa is an upper-middle-income economy, one of only eight such countries in Africa ...
* Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 30th (thirtieth) *
Agriculture in South Africa Agriculture in South Africa contributes around 5% of formal employment, relatively low compared to other parts of Africa and the number is still decreasing, as well as providing work for casual laborers and contributing around 2.6 percent of GD ...
* Banking in South Africa **
South African Reserve Bank The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) 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 condit ...
* Communications in South Africa **
Media in South Africa The mass media in 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 i ...
**
Telecommunications in South Africa Telecommunications infrastructure in South Africa provides modern and efficient service to urban areas, including cellular and internet services. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is the watchdog of the telecomm ...
***
Internet in South Africa The Internet in South Africa, one of the most technologically resourced countries on the African continent, is expanding. The Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) .za is managed and regulated by the .za Domain Name Authority (.ZAD ...
***
Television in South Africa Television in South Africa was introduced in 1976. South Africa was relatively late in introducing television broadcasting to its population. History Opposition to introduction The first proposal to introduce television in South Africa was mad ...
*** List of radio stations in South Africa ***
South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is o ...
(SABC) * Companies of South Africa * Currency of South Africa:
Rand The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
**
Financial rand The South African financial rand was the most visible part of a system of capital controls. Although the financial rand was abolished in March 1995, some capital controls remain in place. These capital controls are locally referred to as "exchang ...
(abolished) **
ISO 4217 ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individual cu ...
: ZAR * Economic history of South Africa *
Energy in South Africa South Africa has a large energy sector, being the third-largest economy in Africa. The country consumed 227 TWh of electricity in 2018. The vast majority of South Africa's electricity was produced from coal, with the fuel responsible for 88% o ...
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Foreign trade of South Africa Since the end of apartheid, foreign trade in South Africa has increased, following the lifting of several sanctions and boycotts which were imposed as a means of ending apartheid. South Africa is the second largest producer of gold in Africa and ...
* Gambling in South Africa * Housing in South Africa **
Homelessness in South Africa Homelessness in South Africa dates back to the apartheid period. Increasing unemployment, lack of affordable housing, social disintegration, and social and economic policies have all been identified as contributing factors to the issue. Some schol ...
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Mining in South Africa Mining in South Africa was once 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 i ...
** Iron ore in South Africa ** Platinum in South Africa ** Titanium in South Africa *
Johannesburg Stock Exchange JSE Limited (previously the JSE Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, after it moved from downtown Johannesburg in 2000. In 2003 ...
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Taxation in South Africa Taxation may involve payments to a minimum of two different levels of government: central government through SARS or to local government. Prior to 2001 the South African tax system was "source-based", where in income is taxed in the country w ...
* Tourism in South Africa *
Trade unions in South Africa Trade unions in South Africa has a history dating back to the 1880s. From the beginning unions could be viewed as a reflection of the racial disunity of the country, with the earliest unions being predominantly for white workers. Through the tu ...
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Transport in South Africa Different methods of transportation in South Africa include roads, railways, airports, water, and pipelines for petroleum oil. The majority of people in South Africa use informal minibus taxis as their main mode of transport. BRT has been im ...
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Airports in South Africa This is a list of airports in South Africa, grouped by type and sorted by location. Most of the largest airports are owned by the Airports Company of South Africa these include all the international airports except for Lanseria International A ...
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Rail transport in South Africa Rail transport in South Africa is an 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. The South African rail industry i ...
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Water supply and sanitation in South Africa Water supply and sanitation in South Africa is characterised by both achievements and challenges. After the end of Apartheid South Africa's newly elected government struggled with the then growing service and backlogs with respect to access to ...


Companies in South Africa

* Anglo American *
BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
* Eskom *
Etruscan Resources Endeavour Mining is a multinational mining company that owns and operates gold mines in Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Senegal. The company is headquartered in London, England, and has cross listed on the London Stock Exchange in the United ...
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Kumba Resources Kumba Iron Ore is an iron-ore mining company in South Africa. It is the fourth largest iron-ore producer in the world and the largest in Africa. History Kumba Iron Ore is a successor of Kumba Resources, which was listed on the Johannesburg Sec ...
* List of radio stations in South Africa *
Murray & Roberts Murray & Roberts Holdings Ltd. is a South African-based engineering and mining contractor. It is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange. The Group delivers its capabilities into three global primary market sectors the resources, industrial, ene ...
* Mvelaphanda Group * Richards Bay Minerals RBM *
Sasol Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Sandton, South Africa. The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa and built on processes that were first developed by German chemists and engineers in the early ...
* South African Airways (SAA) *
Standard Bank of South Africa Standard Bank Group Limited is a major South African bank and financial services group. It is Africa's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is situated in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg. History ...
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Telkom (South Africa) Telkom SA SOC Limited is a South African wireline and wireless telecommunications provider, operating in more than 38 countries across the African continent. Telkom is majority state-owned (55.3%) with the South African government owning 40.5 ...
* Transnet **
Blue Train (South Africa) The ''Blue Train'' travels an approximately journey in South Africa between Pretoria and Cape Town. It is one of the most luxurious train journeys in the world. It boasts butler service, two lounge cars (smoking and non-smoking), an observatio ...
** Freightdynamics ** Petronet ** Protekon **
Shosholoza Meyl Shosholoza Meyl is a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) that operates long-distance (intercity) passenger rail services. It operates various train routes across South Africa, carrying approximately 4 million passengers ...
** South African Port Operations SAPO **
Transnet Engineering Transnet Engineering is a rolling stock manufacturer and maintenance company. It was established when the engineering workshops of Transnet Transnet SOC Ltd is a large South African rail, port and pipeline company, headquartered in the ...
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Transnet Freight Rail Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...


Education in South Africa

Education in South Africa Education in South Africa is governed by two national departments, namely the Department of Basic Education (DBE), which is responsible for primary and secondary schools, and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), which is r ...
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List of universities in South Africa This is a list of universities in South Africa. For the purposes of this list, colleges and universities are defined as accredited, degree-granting, tertiary institutions. As at September 2022, only South African public degree-granting instituti ...
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University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...
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University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other u ...
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University of KwaZulu-Natal The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is a university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville. ...
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University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the Te ...
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University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to students from across ...
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University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university sta ...
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University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...
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University of Zululand The University of Zululand or UniZulu is the only comprehensive tertiary educational institution north of the Tugela River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its new status is in accordance with South Africa's National Plan for Higher Education a ...
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University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...
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University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...
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Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public research university located in Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the province's oldes ...
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North-West University af , Noordwes-Universiteit , image = https://www.nwu.ac.za/sites/www.nwu.ac.za/files/NWU-Logo-SW.png , motto = ''Dit Begin Alles Hier (Afrikaans)'' ''Gotlhe Go Simolola Fano (Setswana)'' , mottoeng ...
National Qualifications Framework A national qualifications framework is a formal system describing qualifications. 47 countries participating in the Bologna Process are committed to producing a national qualifications framework. Other countries not part of this process also hav ...
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South African Qualifications Authority The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) is a statutory body, regulated in terms of the ''National Qualifications Framework Act'' No. 67 of 2008. It is made up of 29 members appointed by the Minister of Education in consultation with ...


Health in South Africa

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Health in South Africa Health in South Africa touches on various aspects of health including the infectious diseases (such as HIV/AIDS), Nutrition, Mental Health and Maternal care. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that South Africa is fulfilling 73.4% of w ...
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Healthcare in South Africa In South Africa, private and public health systems exist in parallel. The public system serves the vast majority of the population. Authority and service delivery are divided between the national Department of Health, provincial health department ...
** Midwives in South Africa *
HIV/AIDS in South Africa HIV/AIDS is one of the most serious health concerns in South Africa. The country has the highest number of people afflicted with HIV of any country, and the fourth-highest adult HIV prevalence rate, according to the 2019 United Nations statis ...


See also

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
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List of international rankings This is a list of international rankings. By category Agriculture *List of largest producing countries of agricultural commodities * List of countries by apple production *List of countries by apricot production * List of countries by artichoke p ...
* 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 The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest intergovernmental organization. The criteria ...
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Outline of Africa The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the continent Africa: Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. It is famous for its savanna, its jungles, and the Sahara (dese ...
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Outline of geography The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to geography: Geography – study of earth and its people. Nature of geography Geography as * an academic discipline – a body of knowledge given to − ...


References


External links


Government of South AfricaSouthAfrica.info
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South Africa
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The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...
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Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
. * {{DEFAULTSORT:South Africa
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
South Africa