Home History 100 Interesting Facts about South Africa

100 Interesting Facts about South Africa


Here are more facts about South Africa, presented in bullet points:

South Africa is located in Southern Africa and is considered to be one of the developed countries in Africa.

It is our home and we have a great love for the nation. You might think you already know so much about this Great nation but listed below are some interesting facts about South Africa.

Interesting Facts About South Africa

Interesting Facts About South Africa

  2. with close to 56 million people, is the world’s 24th-most populous nation
  3. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry.
  4. South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa.
  5. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa.
  6. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world.
  8. In 1934, the South African Party and National Party merged to form the United Party.
  9. On 31 May 1961, the country became a republic.
  10. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world.
  13. Nearly 50 murders are committed each day in South Africa.
  14. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was created in 1994.
  15. South Africa is the only African country to have successfully developed nuclear weapons.
  16. South Africa has 11 official languages
  18. South Africa’s most popular sports are soccer, rugby, and cricket.
  19. There are 23 public universities in South Africa
  20. The life expectancy in 2009 was 71 years for a white South African and 48 years for a black South African.
  21. South Africa has an estimated 7 million people living with HIV.
  22. The Republic of South Africa was constituted on 31 May 1961
  23. The official legalized currency is the South African Rand(ZAR).
  24. The driving side of South Africa is left.
  25. The dialing code of South Africa is +27
  26. The internet TLD of South Africa is .za
  27. Cape Town was founded in 1652.
  28. Gauteng is SA’s smallest province but produces 34% of South Africa’s GDP.
  29. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is the oldest existing and largest stock exchange in Africa.
  30. The capital of South Africa, Pretoria was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius. It was named after his father, Andries Pretorius.
  31. South Africa is the only country in the world to have hosted the FIFA World Cup, Cricket and Rugby World Cup!
  33. With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $280 billion, South Africa has the 41st biggest economy in the world.
  34. Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto is the biggest hospital in the world.
  35. SA generates two-thirds of Africa’s electricity
  36. According to the UK’s National Physical Laboratory, Cape Town has the 5th best blue sky in the world.
  37. The 50 storey Carlton Centre in Johannesburg is the highest office building in Africa.
  38. South Africa has won 26 Gold, 31 Silver and 29 Bronze Medals at the Olympic Games to date.
  39. In 2002, South Africa was the world’s fastest growing tourist destination.
  40. South African brewery SABMiller is the largest brewing company in the world.
  41. The world’s largest themed resort hotel in the world – The Palace of the Lost City, is found in South Africa.
  42. South Africa became the first African country to host the FIFA World Cup.
  43. The world’s first heart transplant was performed by Dr. Chris Barnard in Cape Town on 3 December 1967.
  44. Port Elizabeth was founded in 1820 by Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin. He named the seaport town after his wife Elizabeth.
  46. According to SA Tourism, South Africa has the 3rd highest level of biodiversity.
  47. South African soldiers fought in the First and Second World Wars.
  48. Johannesburg is the second biggest city in Africa.
  49. Afrikaans is the youngest official language in the world. It’s one of the 11 official languages of South Africa.
  50. South Africa has the world’s largest deposits of gold, chromium, platinum, and manganese.
  51. The only street in the world to house two Nobel Peace Prize winners was in Soweto. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu both had houses in Vilakazi Street, Orlando West.
  52. SA is the only country in the world where right-hand-drive cars are produced by Mercedes Benz.
  53. South Africa is the largest meat producer in Africa.
  54. By 1896, 100,000 people were already living in Johannesburg.
  55. Dave Matthews (the famous American musician) was born in Johannesburg in 1967.
  56. Charlize Theron (the famous Hollywood actress) was born in Benoni, Gauteng in 1972. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2004.
  57. Elon Musk (the genius behind SpaceX and Tesla) was born in Pretoria, Gauteng in 1971.
  58. J.R.R. Tolkien (the author of the Lord of the Rings books) was born in Bloemfontein (in the Free State province) in 1892.
  59. SA’s official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) was founded in June 2000.
  60. SA’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) was founded in 1912 in Bloemfontein.
  61. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) was founded by Julius Malema in July 2013.
  62. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) was founded in 1985 in Durban.
  63. The South African Communist Party (SACP) was founded in 1921. The party was banned by the National Party government in 1950.
  65. On 31 May 1961, South Africa became a republic.
  66. Winters in South Africa occur between June and August.
  67. The country is ranked sixth out of the world’s seventeen megadiverse countries
  68. South Africa is a parliamentary republic.
  69. The National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, consists of 400 members.
  70. Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa.
  71. Pretoria is the administrative capital of South Africa.
  72. Bloemfontein is the judicial capital of South Africa.
  73. South Africa became the first African country to legalize same-s3x marriage.
  74. The private security industry in South Africa is the largest in the world.
  75. South Africa has a high rape rate, with 43 195 rapes reported in 2014/15.
  76. South Africa is one of the founding members of the African Union (AU).
  77. There are nine provinces in South Africa.
  78. Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa.
  79. South Africa ranks as the 36th safest tax haven in the world.
  80. The United Democratic Movement (UDM) was founded in 1997.
  83. SA houses one of the 3 largest telescopes in the world at Sutherland in the Karoo.
  84. The Current SA Unemployment Rate is at +/- 27%.
  87. The first census in South Africa was in 1911.
  88. English is recognized as the language of commerce and science.
  89. English is also the de facto lingua franca of the nation.
  90. There are an estimated 200,000 indigenous traditional healers in South Africa.
  91. The adult literacy rate in 2007 was 88.7%.
  92. Public expenditure on education was at 5.4% of the 2002–05 GDP.
  93. About 20% of the SA population uses private healthcare.
  94. It is estimated that there are 1,200,000 orphans in South Africa.
  95. English is fourth-ranked as a spoken first language.
  96. The oldest university in SA is the University of Cape Town.
  97. The Smartlock Safety Syringe was developed in South Africa.
  98. Over 17 million South Africans have access to social grants.
  99. The meandering 850 km road through Cape Winelands is the world’s longest wine route.
  100. It has been estimated that there are around 3,000 shipwrecks off the coast of South Africa. They are all protected by South African laws.
  List of Mayors of Johannesburg Till Date





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