South Africa is one of the world’s most important regions for understanding human origins. The country contains major fossil sites associated with early hominins, particularly in the Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng. Indigenous peoples, including San and Khoekhoe communities, lived across the region for thousands of years before the arrival and expansion of European settlers. Over time, Bantu-speaking communities migrated and settled across much of southern Africa, developing diverse societies and kingdoms, including the powerful Zulu kingdom.

In 1652, the Dutch East India Company established a permanent refreshment station at the Cape under Jan van Riebeeck, laying the foundation for the later development of Cape Town. Dutch, German and French Huguenot settlers subsequently expanded into the interior, while the colonial frontier brought increasing conflict, dispossession and displacement of indigenous communities.

Britain seized control of the Cape during the Napoleonic Wars and ultimately established permanent British rule there in 1806. During the 19th century, many Dutch-speaking settlers, known as Boers or Voortrekkers, migrated away from the Cape in what became known as the Great Trek. They established the South African Republic (Transvaal) and the Orange Free State. At the same time, the expansion of the Zulu kingdom under King Shaka contributed to major political and military upheavals in southeastern Africa.

The discovery of diamonds near Kimberley in 1867 and gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886 transformed the region. Mining brought rapid economic growth, large-scale immigration and urbanisation, while also intensifying competition over land, labour and political power. Conflicts between the British, Boer republics and African kingdoms culminated in a series of wars, including the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and the Second South African War (Anglo-Boer War) of 1899–1902.

In 1910, the Union of South Africa was established by bringing together the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Orange Free State. Political power remained overwhelmingly in white hands, while discriminatory laws increasingly restricted the rights, land ownership and political participation of Black South Africans. The African National Congress (ANC) was founded in 1912 to oppose racial exclusion and discrimination.

In 1948, the National Party came to power and formally introduced apartheid, an extensive system of racial segregation and discrimination. Apartheid classified South Africans by race and imposed restrictions on residence, movement, employment, education, political rights and land ownership. Black South Africans were particularly affected, while Coloured and Indian South Africans were also subjected to extensive racial discrimination.

The ANC and other organisations led sustained resistance to apartheid. Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and many other activists became prominent figures in the struggle. Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, while international sanctions, internal resistance, economic pressures and growing political opposition increasingly isolated the apartheid government.

A process of political reform began in the late 1980s. In 1990, President F. W. de Klerk unbanned the ANC and other political organisations and announced Mandela’s release. Negotiations between political parties and other groups during the early 1990s paved the way for a democratic settlement.

South Africa held its first democratic, non-racial national election on 27 April 1994, in which citizens of all races were able to vote. The ANC won the election, and Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first democratically elected president on 10 May 1994.

The democratic transition established a new constitutional order and divided the country into nine provinces. The final Constitution was adopted in 1996 and signed into law by Mandela on 10 December 1996.

Since 1994, South Africa has held regular democratic elections and experienced peaceful transfers of political leadership. The ANC governed nationally for three decades, but the 2024 election resulted in the ANC losing its parliamentary majority and led to the establishment of the current multiparty Government of National Unity.

Area
Total: approximately 1,220,813 sq km of land surface area. South Africa is one of the largest countries in Africa by area. Official South African government sources give slightly different area figures depending on the geographic measurement used; the government currently lists the land surface area as approximately 1.22 million sq km.

South Africa also administers the Prince Edward Islands, consisting of Marion Island and Prince Edward Island, located in the southern Indian Ocean approximately 1,920 km southeast of Cape Town.

Land boundaries
South Africa shares land borders with six countries:

Namibia
Botswana
Zimbabwe
Mozambique
Eswatini
Lesotho

Lesotho is completely surrounded by South African territory, making it an enclave within South Africa.

Coastline
South Africa has a coastline of approximately 3,000 km, extending from the border with Namibia on the Atlantic coast to the border with Mozambique on the Indian Ocean. The country’s coastline is influenced by both the cold Benguela Current on the west coast and the warm Mozambique–Agulhas Current along the east and south coasts.

The meeting area of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean systems around the southern Cape is associated with significant differences in marine ecosystems and climate. Cape Agulhas, rather than Cape Point, is generally recognised as the geographic meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

Climate
South Africa has a generally warm and relatively dry climate, although conditions vary considerably by region and altitude. The western interior and northwest are predominantly semi-arid to arid, while the eastern and southeastern coastal areas are generally more humid and subtropical.

The southwest, including Cape Town and much of the Western Cape, has a Mediterranean-type climate, characterised by dry summers and wetter winters. Higher elevations, particularly in the Drakensberg, experience cooler conditions and occasional snowfall.

Physical geography
South Africa has a highly varied landscape, including grasslands, savanna and bushveld, deserts and semi-deserts, forests, wetlands, mountains and coastal plains. The country is broadly divided into an extensive interior plateau and lower-lying areas between the plateau and the coast. The Great Escarpment, including the Drakensberg Mountains, forms a major physical feature separating these regions.

The country has no large system of naturally navigable rivers. The Orange River is the longest major river associated with South Africa, while other important rivers include the Vaal, Limpopo, Gariep, Tugela and Breede rivers. South Africa also has numerous artificial reservoirs that are important for water supply and agriculture.

Administration
9 provinces: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, Northwest, Western Cape.

Note: Pretoria is the national administrative capital, Cape Town is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital. Johannesburg is not a national capital, although it is South Africa’s largest city and the location of the Constitutional Court.

Population: Approximately 64.7 million (mid-2025 estimate; latest official estimate available at the time of compilation).

Source: Statistics South Africa

Official languages: isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, English, Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga, siSwati, Tshivenda, isiNdebele and South African Sign Language (recognised as the 12th official language in 2023).

Note: Statistics South Africa had not yet published a mid-2026 population estimate when compiling; the latest official mid-year estimate has been used.

2025 

Transparency: 82

Public Participation: 28

Oversight: 78

Source: International Budget Partnership

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (2025):
• Score: 43/100.
• Global ranking: 82nd globally.
South Africa remains below the global average and continues to face challenges relating to corruption, governance and state integrity despite ongoing institutional reforms following the State Capture Commission.

Source: Transparency International

Ranked 1st in 2025. Source: Open Parliament Index

• Open Government Partnership member: South Africa is a founding member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and has developed several National Action Plans promoting transparency, accountability and citizen participation.

• Access to Information legislation: The Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000) (PAIA) gives effect to the constitutional right of access to information held by the State and, in certain circumstances, by private bodies.

• Constitutional Right to Information: Section 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 guarantees everyone the right of access to information held by the State and information held by another person where required for the exercise or protection of any rights.

• Public Sector Transparency: Public procurement is primarily governed by Section 217 of the Constitution, the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (PFMA), the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (MFMA) and, from 2024 onwards, the Public Procurement Act, 2024, which establishes a new national procurement framework. Note: Implementation of the Public Procurement Act is being phased in, and not all provisions had commenced at the time of compilation.

• Public financing / political party financing: Political party funding is regulated through the Political Party Funding Act, 2018 (Act No. 6 of 2018), administered by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). The Act provides for disclosure of donations above prescribed thresholds and regulates public and private funding.

• Asset disclosure: Members of Parliament are required to disclose registrable financial interests under the Joint Rules of Parliament and the Code of Ethical Conduct and Disclosure of Members’ Interests. Executive members are also subject to disclosure requirements under the Executive Members’ Ethics Act, 1998, administered by the Public Protector.

Government type
Parliamentary Republic

Capitals
Pretoria (administrative capital); Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital)

Independence
31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 22 August 1934 (Status of the Union Act); 31 May 1961 (republic declared); 27 April 1994 (majority rule)

Transparency
TPI Rank: 83/180 | Score: 41/100. Highest Score: 45 (2016); Lowest Score: 41 (2023).

Civil society
South Africa has a vibrant civil society, with guides to civil society accountability produced by the Commonwealth Foundation, an NDA audit of civil society organisations, and CIVICUS reporting on civil society–government relations.