LearnCountries › South Africa

South Africa

Country profile · Africa

South Africa occupies the southern tip of the continent, with coastlines on both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meeting near the Cape of Good Hope. It famously has three capital cities, splitting the branches of government between Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein.

Advertisement

Key facts

CapitalPretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein
ContinentAfrica
RegionSouthern Africa
Main language(s)11 official languages
Land bordersNamibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini, Lesotho

Geography

It completely surrounds the small mountain kingdom of Lesotho, and nearly surrounds Eswatini. Table Mountain above Cape Town is one of Africa's most recognisable landmarks.

Neighbours

South Africa shares land borders with 6 countries: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini, Lesotho. Knowing a country's neighbours is one of the best ways to fix its place on the map — try our Name a Neighbour game to practise.

Did you know? South Africa has three capital cities and completely encircles another country, Lesotho.

Find South Africa on the map

Think you can locate it in seconds? Put it to the test.

Play Name the Countries

Explore more

‹ All country profilesAfrica guide