Southern Africa, situated at the most southern tip of the African continent, Atlantic Ocean on the west coast, Indian Ocean on the east coast.
CLIMATE
Mostly semi-arid, sub-tropical along the east coast, Mediterranean climate along the south coast, sunny days, cool nights.
NEIGHBOURS
Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho.
TIME DIFFERENCE
GMT + 2
GOVERNMENT
The president, Mr. Jacob Zuma of the ANC (African National Congress), is also the chief of state.
CAPITAL
3 Capital Cities:
Pretoria - Administrative
Cape Town - Legislative
Bloemfontein - Judicial
PROVINCES
9 Provinces:
Western Cape
Northern Cape
Eastern Cape
Free State
Kwa-Zulu Natal
Mpumalanga
Gauteng
North West
Limpopo
PEOPLE
Population 49 million
ETHNIC GROUPS
Black African -79%, White - 9.6%, Coloured - 8.9%, Indian/ Asian - 2.5%
RELIGION
Predominantly Christian, small percentages Muslim, Jewish, Hindu
LANGUAGE
11 Official Languages including:
Zulu
Xhosa
Afrikaans
Pedi
English
Tswana
Sotho
Tsonga
other
ECONOMY
South Africa is a developing country and an emerging market. Industries include mining (platinum, gold, diamonds), communications, energy, automobile assembly, machinery, textiles, foodstuffs (fruit, wine etc.)
