South Africa - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of South Africa. note 1: South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Eswatini

note 2: though sometimes mistaken for the southernmost point of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope is more accurately described as the southwestern-most point of the African continent; Cape Agulhas, the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, is the southernmost point of the African continent. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 127 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of South Africa
Location Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Geographic coordinates 29 00 S, 24 00 E
Map references Africa
Tarrain vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
Natural Resources gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
Natural Hazards

prolonged droughts

volcanism: the volcano forming Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands, which last erupted in 2004, is South Africa's only active volcano
Irrigated Land 16,700 sq km (2012)
Major rivers (by length in km) 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
Major aquifers Karoo Basin, Lower Kalahari-Stampriet Basin
Land Boundaries 5,244 km
Border Countries Botswana 1,969 km; Lesotho 1,106 km; Mozambique 496 km; Namibia 1,005 km; Eswatini 438 km; Zimbabwe 230 km
Coastline 2,798 km
Climate mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
Area
Total Area
Land Area 1,214,470 sq km
Water Area 4,620 sq km
comparative Area slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Contiguous zone 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Elevations
Highest point Ntheledi (Mafadi) 3,450 m
Lowest point Atlantic/Indian Oceans 0 m
Mean elevation 1,034 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 79.4% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 9.9% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0.3% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 69.2% (2022 est.)
Forest 14% (2022 est.)
Other 6.6% (2022 est.)
Population Distribution

The population 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

People and Society

In South Africa, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Black African 80.9%, Colored 8.8%, White 7.8%, Indian/Asian 2.6%  (2021 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 1.07% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 17.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 6.9 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 8.3% of GDP (2021)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density
Total fertility rate 2.27 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.12 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 54.6% (2016)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 36.9% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures 6.6% of GDP (2021 est.)
Net Migration rate -0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality South African | South African(s)
Languages
Religions Christian 86%, ancestral, tribal, animist, or other traditional African religions 5.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other 1.5%, nothing in particular 5.2% (2015 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 27.2% (male 8,227,690/female 8,194,392)
15-64 years 65.3% (male 19,524,873/female 19,947,839)
65 years and over 7.5% (2024 est.) (male 1,911,825/female 2,636,028)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 52.2
Youth dependency ratio 43.9
Elderly dependency ratio 8.4
Potential support ratio 10.9 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 30.4 years (2024 est.)
Male 30.1 years
Female 30.6 years
Urbanization
Urban population 68.8% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 1.72% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 10.316 million Johannesburg (includes Ekurhuleni), 4.890 million Cape Town (legislative capital), 3.228 million Durban, 2.818 million PRETORIA (administrative capital), 1.296 million Port Elizabeth, 934,000 West Rand (2023).
Sex Ratio
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.)
Infant Motality
Total 21.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 23.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 20 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 71.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 70.3 years
Female 73.5 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 99.7% of population
Improved: rural rural: 90.3% of population
Improved: total total: 96.7% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0.3% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 9.7% of population
Unimproved: total total: 3.3% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 96.6% of population
Improved: rural rural: 86.4% of population
Improved: total total: 93.2% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 3.4% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 13.6% of population
Unimproved: total total: 6.8% of population (2020 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
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.)
Tobacco use
Total 20.3% (2020 est.)
Male 34% (2020 est.)
Female 6.5% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 0.9%
Women married by age 18 3.6%
Men married by age 18 0.6% (2016 est.)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about South Africa

Want to know more about South Africa? Check all different factbooks for South Africa below.

South Africa is found in Southern Africa