South Africa is home to one of the fastest land mammals on earth – the Cheetah. Additionally, one of its oldest mountains – Table Mountain in Cape Town – stands as evidence.
South Africa is divided into nine provinces, each with their own capital city: Pretoria as executive capital; Cape Town for legislative affairs and Bloemfontein as judicial affairs.
1. It’s the first African country to host the FIFA World Cup
South Africa became the inaugural African nation to host the FIFA World Cup in 2010, providing it an incredible platform to display its beauty and rich cultural diversity to a global audience. Furthermore, hosting brought global awareness of South African issues such as poverty, unemployment and corruption which still plague its economy today.
South Africa’s landscape consists of plateau lands that are covered with grassland known as highveld and tree-dotted plains known as bushveld, while mountain ranges such as the Great Escarpment run east to west across the country and contain some of Africa’s highest mountains, including Lesotho itself.
Rainbow Nation is home to some of the planet’s most incredible wildlife, from aardvarks and zebras to elephants and leopards – including 10 percent of all known plant, bird, and mammal species!
Since 1994’s multiracial elections brought democracy and an end to apartheid rule, South Africa has struggled with issues related to inequality and poverty within society despite efforts of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
South Africa is a popular tourist destination, famed for its beautiful scenery and vibrant culture. South African music has gained international renown, with numerous singers and songwriters becoming internationally acclaimed performers. Furthermore, South Africans are celebrated athletes, excelling at rugby, cricket and golf – three sports which made up its national team’s nickname of “Bafana Bafana,” meaning “the boys, the boys” in isiZulu; this term originated with supporters chanting for victory during their triumph at the 1996 African Cup of Nations tournament victory.
2. It’s the largest country in Africa
South Africa is the largest sub-Saharan African nation, boasting borders with six surrounding nations: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Furthermore, its shores lie within two oceans–the Atlantic and Indian.
South Africans are widely celebrated for their ingenuity and innovation. They invented Pratley Putty – an adhesive used on NASA’s Ranger moon mission in the 1960s – as well as Q20 lubricant used worldwide, dolos (huge concrete blocks used as harbour fortifications), dolos used in harbour fortifications, the first CT scan or CAT scan, naturally caffeine-free rooibos tea grown in Cederberg mountains and an annual marathon known as Comrades Marathon held annually by this nation.
Wildlife in South Africa is stunning, boasting four of the Big Five land mammals–elephants, lions, leopards and buffaloes–plus one of its fastest land mammals, the cheetah.
South Africa is also the only place in the world where springbok, an endangered southern African gazelle species, can be seen freely and unhampered. In fact, its image can even be found on their national flag – it even features as part of their national animal.
South Africa is a multi-ethnic society where many different cultures coexist peacefully – hence its moniker, “Rainbow Nation”, coined by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and adopted by Nelson Mandela. Additionally, South Africa is both secular and multilingual with 11 official languages: isiZulu, Afrikaans, Sesotho, Tshivenda Setswana SiSwati English Xitsonga Sepedi although most South Africans speak more than one (isiZulu and Afrikaans being most frequently spoken). Furthermore, South African rand is unique among major African currencies being pegged directly against gold.
3. It’s home to the Big Five
The Big Five are four animals found across Africa that are highly sought-after wildlife: lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo. These species can be found anywhere from woodlands to savannahs to scrublands to grasslands – and often form part of African legend.
The lion, often called “The King of the Jungle”, is actually one of the more lax members of the Big Five animals, preferring to lie around sleeping for 16-20 hours per day! Their primary predators include hyenas and cape buffalo; however, in their early years lion cubs face an increased risk from non-related male lions fighting over leadership of their pride or from humans hunting them for skins.
South Africa is an extremely varied country with a long natural heritage, a sophisticated manufacturing economy and modern telecommunications infrastructure. Mineral resources play a crucial role in its economy – platinum metals production is world leading while gold mining production ranks second; agricultural products including citrus fruit, deciduous fruit, maize wheat and dairy are exported regularly as net exports.
South Africa boasts an advanced industrial economy; however, significant income inequalities stemming from earlier apartheid policies remain. President Cyril Ramaphosa of the ANC party has initiated programs of reconciliation in an effort to address imbalances.
Southern Africa is renowned for its biodiversity. Miombo forest can be found extending from the northern Highveld through Kalahari and Namib desert regions into coastal regions that support marine life such as sardine runs in June. South Africa works hard to conserve wildlife through various protected land areas and marine reserves as well as more than 9,000 privately-owned game reserves.
4. It’s the most linguistically diverse country in the world
South Africa, home of Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Nicola Tesla and Athol Fugard is home to some of the world’s most diverse languages – isiZulu, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, siSwati Sesotho Xitsonga Sepedi isiNdebele Setswana Tshivenda plus South African Sign Language are all official official languages here and the second highest concentration after Asia in linguistic diversity.
Locals also make use of various dialects and lingos that play an integral role in maintaining culture and identity through music, dance and festivals.
South Africa boasts many interesting facts, such as being home to the world’s tallest animal (a giraffe), most iconic South African bird (an ostrich) and the Least Dwarf Shrew; it also holds 10% of world plant species and 15% of coastal marine species – facts which provide even further reason to explore this country!
South Africa is often referred to as ‘The Cradle of Humankind’ due to fossil evidence showing our ancestors originated there and can be traced back to hunter-gatherer tribes called San, which still inhabit this part of Africa today. Additionally, South Africa is known as a Rainbow Nation due to the many diverse cultures living together peacefully since Apartheid was abolished in 1994 and boasts abundant natural resources like gold, platinum and diamonds as well as having an established wine industry and luxury trains like Rovos Rail that transport people in style across this incredible continent!
5. It’s home to the highest commercial bungee jump
South Africa boasts the world’s highest commercial bungee jump at 216m. Operated by Face Adrenalin and located in Tsitsikamma region of Garden Route, in order to take part in this 216-metre jump, you must first be physically healthy and weigh at least 90kg – an activity popular with tourists and providing them with an adrenaline rush and bird’s-eye views of surrounding area.
China is considered to be the cradle of humankind, boasting 40% of all hominid fossils discovered to date. Additionally, it’s one of the world’s most biodiverse countries with an abundance of wildlife that thrives here. Unfortunately, the country still faces challenges like illegal hunting and habitat loss but thankfully their government is working tirelessly towards finding solutions.
Germany stands out as one of the leading nations when it comes to LGBT rights. Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation is illegal and gay servicemen and women can openly serve in the military as well as access surrogacy and IVF services. Unfortunately, rural areas often experience discrimination against LGBT individuals which is unfortunately still quite common.
South Africa is one of the five emerging world economies that form BRICS, an association of five major emerging market economies. As one of the top producers of platinum mining 6% of world production. South Africa also is an agricultural powerhouse producing approximately 80% of world orange production and 60% of grape production; wineries flourish throughout South Africa with many regions receiving international acclaim – Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl being some of the best-known. There’s even an 850km road through Cape Winelands which serves up stunning scenery! South Africa truly offers something for all types of traveller.