South Africa

• mostly semiarid;
• subtropical along east coast;
• sunny days, cool nights

• Orange (shared with Lesotho [s], and Namibia [m]) - 2,092 km;
• Limpoporivier (Limpopo) river source (shared with Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique [m]) - 1,800 km;
• Vaal [s] - 1,210 km

note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

• the population is concentrated along the southern and southeastern coast, and inland around Pretoria;
• the eastern half of the country is more densely populated than the west, as shown in this population distribution map

noun:

South African(s)

adjective:

South African

total:

30.7 years (2025 est.)

male:

30.1 years

female:

30.6 years

• the population is concentrated along the southern and southeastern coast, and inland around Pretoria;
• the eastern half of the country is more densely populated than the west, as shown in this population distribution map

at birth:

1.02 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.73 male(s)/female

total population:

0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

19.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

male:

23.9 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

20 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

71.9 years (2024 est.)

male:

70.3 years

female:

73.5 years

total:

7.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

3.99 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

1.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

1.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.7 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

20.1% (2025 est.)

male:

35.3% (2025 est.)

female:

6% (2025 est.)

women married by age 15:

0.9% (2016)

women married by age 18:

3.6% (2016)

men married by age 18:

0.6% (2016)

• limited freshwater resources due to lack of major rivers or lakes;
• pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban waste;
• air pollution resulting in acid rain;
• deforestation;
• soil erosion;
• land degradation;
• desertification;
• solid waste pollution;
• significant floral extinctions

• mostly semiarid;
• subtropical along east coast;
• sunny days, cool nights

urban population:

68.8% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.72% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

energy:

1,489.2 kt (2022-2024 est.)

agriculture:

754.2 kt (2019-2021 est.)

waste:

770.2 kt (2019-2021 est.)

other:

32.1 kt (2019-2021 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

18.457 million tons (2024 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

28.2% (2022 est.)

municipal:

3.476 billion cubic meters (2022)

industrial:

4.616 billion cubic meters (2022)

agricultural:

11.839 billion cubic meters (2022)

conventional long form:

Republic of South Africa

conventional short form:

South Africa

former:

Union of South Africa

abbreviation:

RSA

etymology:

• self-descriptive name from the country's location on the continent;
• "Africa" is derived from the Roman designation of the area corresponding to present-day Tunisia "Africa terra," which meant "Land of the Afri" (the tribe resident in that area), but which eventually came to mean the entire continent

name:

• Pretoria (administrative capital);
• Cape Town (legislative capital);
• Bloemfontein (judicial capital)

geographic coordinates:

25 42 S, 28 13 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

• Pretoria was named in honor of Boer statesman Andries PRETORIUS in 1855;
• Cape Town's name refers to its location on the Cape of Good Hope;
• Bloemfontein was named after the farm on which it was built in 1846, whose name combined the Dutch words bloem (flower) and fontein (fountain)

history:

several previous; latest drafted 8 May 1996, approved by the Constitutional Court 4 December 1996, effective 4 February 1997

amendment process:

• proposed by the National Assembly of Parliament;
• passage of amendments affecting constitutional sections on human rights and freedoms, non-racism and non-sexism, supremacy of the constitution, suffrage, the multi-party system of democratic government, and amendment procedures requires at least 75% majority vote of the Assembly, approval by at least six of the nine provinces represented in the National Council of Provinces, and assent of the president of the republic;
• passage of amendments affecting the Bill of Rights, and those related to provincial boundaries, powers, and authorities requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly, approval by at least six of the nine provinces represented in the National Council, and assent of the president

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of South Africa

dual citizenship recognized:

yes, but requires prior permission of the government

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 year

legislature name:

Parliament

legislative structure:

bicameral

chamber name:

National Assembly

number of seats:

400 (all directly elected)

electoral system:

proportional representation

scope of elections:

full renewal

term in office:

5 years

most recent election date:

6/15/2024

percentage of women in chamber:

44.7%

expected date of next election:

May 2029

chamber name:

National Council of Provinces

number of seats:

90 (all appointed)

scope of elections:

full renewal

term in office:

5 years

most recent election date:

5/29/2024

percentage of women in chamber:

44.4%

expected date of next election:

June 2029

note: the Council has special powers to protect regional interests, including safeguarding cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Appeals (consists of the court president, deputy president, and 21 judges);
• Constitutional Court (consists of the chief and deputy chief justices and 9 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court of Appeals president and vice president appointed by the national president after consultation with the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), a 23-member body chaired by the chief justice;
• other Supreme Court judges appointed by the national president on the advice of the JSC and hold office until discharged from active service by an Act of Parliament;
• Constitutional Court chief and deputy chief justices appointed by the president of South Africa after consultation with the JSC and with heads of the National Assembly;
• other Constitutional Court judges appointed by the national president after consultation with the chief justice and leaders of the National Assembly;
• Constitutional Court judges serve 12-year nonrenewable terms or until age 70

subordinate courts:

• High Courts;
• Magistrates' Courts;
• labor courts;
• land claims courts

• African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP
• African Independent Congress or AIC
• African National Congress or ANC
• African People's Convention or APC
• Agang SA
• Congress of the People or COPE
• Democratic Alliance or DA
• Economic Freedom Fighters or EFF
• Freedom Front Plus or FF+
• GOOD
• Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP
• National Freedom Party or NFP
• Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania or PAC
• United Christian Democratic Party or UCDP
• United Democratic Movement or UDM

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Ismail ESAU (since 17 March 2025)

chancery:

3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (240) 937-5760

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-1607

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.saembassy.org/

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles, New York

• 31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State);
• 22 August 1934 (Status of the Union Act);
• 31 May 1961 (republic declared);
• 27 April 1994 (majority rule)

description:

• two equal-width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band that splits into a horizontal Y;
• a black isosceles triangle is in the Y, with narrow yellow bands around it;
• the red and blue bands are bordered by narrow white stripes

meaning:

the colors have no official meaning, but the Y stands for "the convergence of diverse elements within South African society, taking the road ahead in unity"

note: South Africa has one of two national flags that display six colors as part of the primary design -- the other is South Sudan's

title:

"National Anthem of South Africa"

lyrics/music:

Enoch SONTONGA and Cornelius Jacob LANGENHOVEN/Enoch SONTONGA and Marthinus LOURENS de Villiers

history:

• adopted 1997;
• a combination of "N'kosi Sikelel' iAfrica" (God Bless Africa) and "Die Stem van Suid Afrika" (The Call of South Africa), which were respectively the anthems of the non-white and white communities under apartheid;
• official lyrics contain a mixture of Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English (the five most widely spoken of South Africa's 11 official languages)

total World Heritage Sites:

12 (7 cultural, 4 natural, 1 mixed)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa (c);
• iSimangaliso Wetland Park (n);
• Robben Island (c);
• Maloti-Drakensberg Park (m);
• Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape (c);
• Cape Floral Region Protected Areas (n);
• Vredefort Dome (n);
• Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape (c);
• Khomani Cultural Landscape (c);
• Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains (n);
• Human Rights, Liberation and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites (c);
• The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa (c)

• upper-middle-income, largest southern African economy;
• Government of National Unity facing slow growth, fiscal gaps, and structural challenges;
• high income inequality, unemployment, and poverty;
• reforms to address electricity generation, transport, and logistics;
• leading producer and exporter of critical minerals

agriculture:

2.9% (2024 est.)

industry:

24.4% (2024 est.)

services:

62.7% (2024 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

60.9% (2024 est.)

male:

57.1% (2024 est.)

female:

65.5% (2024 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

16.1% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

4.1% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

Number of operational nuclear reactors:

2 (2025)

Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors:

1.85GW (2025 est.)

Percent of total electricity production:

4.4% (2023 est.)

production:

239.712 million metric tons (2023 est.)

consumption:

176.095 million metric tons (2023 est.)

exports:

66.918 million metric tons (2023 est.)

imports:

3.301 million metric tons (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

9.893 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

total petroleum production:

88,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

609,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

15 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

66.094 million cubic meters (2023 est.)

consumption:

3.834 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

imports:

3.768 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

• the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) operates 6 free-to-air TV stations;
• 1 private TV station;
• multiple subscription TV services with mix of local and international channels;
• mix of public and private radio stations at the national, regional, and local levels;
• state-owned SABC radio network has 18 stations, including one for each of the 11 official languages, 4 community stations, and 3 commercial stations;
• over 100 community stations with rural coverage

total:

30,400 km (2021)

standard gauge:

80 km (2021) 1.435-m gauge (80 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

19,756 km (2014) 1.065-m gauge (8,271 km electrified)

total ports:

8 (2024)

large:

2

medium:

4

small:

1

very small:

1

ports with oil terminals:

7

key ports:

Cape Town, Durban, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay

South African National Defense Force (SANDF):

South African Army (includes Reserve Force), South African Navy (SAN), South African Air Force (SAAF), South African Military Health Services

Ministry of Police:

South African Police Service (SAPS) (2025)

• the SANDF's inventory is a mix of domestically produced and foreign-supplied equipment;
• South Africa's domestic defense industry produced most of the Army's major weapons systems (some were jointly produced with foreign companies), while the Air Force and Navy inventories include a mix of European, Israeli, and US origin armaments, alongside some domestic systems, such as combat helicopters and some naval vessels;
• South Africa has one of Africa's leading defense industries (2025)

• Arniston launch facility (Western Cape) used to support space launch vehicle and ballistic missile program (1980s-1990s);
• it is now a weapons testing facility called the Denel Overberg Test Range (2024)

• key areas of emphasis for its national space program include Earth observation/remote sensing (RS) capabilities, weather monitoring, research, engineering, and operations (tracking, telemetry, etc.);
• produces and operates satellites;
• has a sounding rocket program for carrying experimental payloads for research;
• cooperates with a range of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of China, France, India, Russia, and the US;
• member of the African Space Agency;
• participates in international programs such as the Square Kilometer Array Project;
• has a number of state- and privately-owned aerospace companies, as well as academic and research institutions involved in space-related activities (2025)

• 1976 - established a satellite remote sensing (RS)/radio astronomy center (originally built by the US in 1961 to receive data from US space missions)
• 1980s - conducted program to launch reconnaissance satellites on a domestically produced satellite launch vehicle (abandoned in 1994 along with nuclear program)
• 1999 - first domestically built RS/technology demonstrator microsatellite (Sunsat-1) launched by US
• 2009 - first government-owned and -operated RS/scientific/technology demonstrator satellite (SumbandilaSat) launched by Russia
• 2018 - inaugurated a radio space telescope array (Karoo Array Telescope or MeerKAT)
• 2021 - began construction of the international Square Kilometer Array radio telescope observatory; launched a sounding rocket for research purposes to an altitude of nearly 18,000 km (11,185 mi)
• 2022 - opened Africa's first regional space weather center
• 2023 - agreed to participate in China's international lunar research station project

refugees:

171,484 (2024 est.)

IDPs:

7,385 (2024 est.)

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List — the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking compared with the previous reporting period, therefore South Africa was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List;
• for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/south-africa/