22 interesting facts about South Africa

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We share the most interesting facts about South Africa, which we collected on our two -week trip to this fascinating country

South Africa is not least a country of contradictions. This "rainbow nation" allegedly celebrates multiculturalism, but has a long and dark history of racial segregation. It is part of the world's largest nature reserve and still remains a breeding site of the poaching. It has a high murder rate, but is the only country in the world that voluntarily dismantled its nuclear weapons.

unnecessary to mention that South Africa with all its quirks and moods is an absolutely fascinating country. We share the most interesting facts that we learned on our two -week trip from Cape Town to Jo’burg.

interesting facts about South Africa

  1. South Africa has three capitals: Pretoria is the official capital and the administrative center, Cape Town is the capital of legislation and Bloemfontein is the capital of the judiciary. (Source: Cia World Factbook)

  2. South Africa has 11 official languages: Isizulu, Isixhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, Setswana, English, Sesotho, Xitsonga, Siswati, Tshivenda and Isindebele. (Source: Cia World Factbook)

  3. from 1948 to 1991 (43 years) determined the political system of apartheid - rule of the white minority - every aspect of life in South Africa. As part of this policy, the government separated black and white, hundreds of thousands of people to relocate into black "home countries" and imprisoned, killed or banished opponents. (Source: BBC)

    4. alt = “The anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela was detained for 27 years”> Rnkadsgn/Shutterstock Nelson Mandela was the first black president of South Africa

    1. The anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela was detained by the government for 27 years. He was released in 1990 under growing national and international pressure and fear of a racist civil war. Four years later, in 1994, he was elected first black president in South Africa. (Source: BBC, Britannica)

    2. One of the more charming facts about South Africa is that the Vilakazi Street in Soweto is the only street in the world in which two Nobel Peace Prize winners were housed: Nelson Mandela, who won the 1993 award, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who won in 1984. (Source: Guardian, The Nobel Prize)

    3. South Africa comprises two internal countries; It completely surrounds Lesotho and Eswatini (Swasiland) almost completely. (Source: Cia World Factbook)

      4. alt = “South Africa is the home of the endangered African penguins”> Atlas & Boots South Africa is the home of the endangered African penguins

      1. South Africa and the neighboring Namibia are the home of the African penguins, which is threatened with extinction. The species has decreased by more than 60 % since the early 1980s. (Source: Britannica)

      2. In South Africa, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet along the southern and southwestern Cape coast between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point. (Source: The New York Times)

      3. It is possible to ski in the mountain ranges of the Drakensberg region in South Africa and in neighboring Lesotho. Tiffindell is a popular holiday resort and offers a variety of winter activities. (Source: BBC)

        4. alt = “Löwen drink from a pool in the manyeleti game reserve”> Atlas & Boots South Africa is one of the best places in the world to watch wildlife

        1. The Krüger National Park is one of the best places in the world to see wild animals, including the five large wild animals (elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos and buffalo). In 2002, Kruger joined the Limpopo Park in Mozambique and the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe to form the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which is approximately as large as the Netherlands and the largest nature reserve in the world. (Source: Britannica)

        2. In South Africa, almost 80 % of the world's rhinos live. Unfortunately, it was hit most than 1,000 rhinos every year. (Source: Save the Rhino)

        3. The iconic Table Mountain is one of the New7wonder of Nature. At 1,085 m it is not the height of the mountain, but its width, which is most impressive; The bare, scarred north wall extends over three kilometers. (Source: New7wonder)

          4. alt = "Table Berg Panorama Hiking"> Alexcpt_photography/Shutterstock Cape Stadt's famous Tafelberg

          1. JRR Tolkien, the famous author of the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, was born in Bloemfontein in South Africa in 1892. He left the country with his family at the age of four and then grew up in England. (Source: Britannica)

          2. The caroo region in South Africa contains the most complete and uninterrupted fossil inventory of life on earth, from about 260 million years ago to 180 million years ago. It houses some of the best fossils in the past and was significantly involved in convincing the scientific establishment that mammals from reptiles and not directly from amphibians have developed. (Source: New Scientist)

          3. About two billion years ago, a meteor plunged onto the size of a mountain (approximately 10 km in diameter) and formed a crater between 180 and 300 km wide; What is known today as a Vredefort Dome in South Africa. The impact remains the world's largest known individual energy -free event. (Source: NASA, UNESCO)

            4. alt = “The emergence of VredeFort is the largest known individual energy-hiring event“> GuSh Span> The origin of the VredeFort Dome is one of the most interesting facts about South Africa

            1. South Africa houses 10 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and the already mentioned Vredefort Dome. (Source: UNESCO)

            2. One of the most encouraging facts about South Africa is that in 2006 it recognized same -sex marriage as the fifth country in the world. (Source: The New York Times)

            3. The "Sardine Run" is one of the largest sea events in the world and takes place from May to July along the east coast of South Africa. The shallows are so large - 15 km long and 4 km wide - that they can even be seen from space. (Source: BBC, National Geographic)

              4. alt = “One of the most interesting facts about South Africa is that the Sardine Run is one of the biggest sea events in the world”> Greg Leceur/Fair Use The Sardine Run is one of the greatest sea events in the world

              1. The first human heart transplant was carried out in 1967 in the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. The heart of a 26-year-old traffic accident victim, Denise Darvall, was transplanted to a 54-year-old food dealer, Louis Washkansky. Unfortunately, Washkansky died 18 days after the operation. (Source: BBC)

              2. The famous activist Mahatma Gandhi lived in South Africa for 21 years. It is said that he has developed his political views, ethics and politics there, but he was also criticized for his views of black South Africans. (Source: BBC)

                3. alt = “Gandhi spent 21 years in South Africa; one of the least known facts about South Africa”> Violet/Shutterstock gandhi spent 21 years in South Africa

                1. One of the most interesting facts about South Africa is that it is the only country in the world that voluntarily dismantled and controlled nuclear weapons. (Source: The Atlantic)

                2. With 216 m, the Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa is one of the longest bungeous jumps in the world-a bit longer than Kias Nevis-BUNDEJUMP in New Zealand! (Source: CNN)

                  3. Lonely Planet South Africa, Lesotho & Swasiland is a comprehensive travel guide for South Africa, ideal for those who want to explore the most important sights and choose less busy roads.

                  Main picture: Toniflap/Shutterstock 
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