Geography
South Africa’s population of 44 million is spread across some 1,219,090 square kilometres or 472,150 square miles (roughly five times the size of the UK).
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The Atlantic Ocean washes up on the western shores, whilst the Indian Ocean laps the east coast. The oceans meet at Cape Agulhas which lies at South Africa’s most southerly tip. South Africa is also bordered by the countries of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and the independent states of Swaziland and Lesotho are contained within its own borders. South Africa has nine provinces all offering their own and unique landscapes for the visitor taking in mountains and vineyards, deserts and game reserves, temperate forests and dramatic coastlines.
South Africa is primarily a vast plateau averaging 1500 metres in height and this is known as the High veld. The Low veld is a narrow coastal plain that hugs the Eastern Coast of the country and to the west the northwest is home to the low lying Kalahari basin. One of South Africa’s most dramatic sights is the Drakensberg Escarpment within the famous world heritage site of the Drakensberg Mountains.
Owing to its diversity both in history and culture, South Africa has attracted a range of races, religions and creeds over time and this has resulted in a diverse cultural mix operating in a multitude of languages. As you would expect of a former colony, English is widely spoken and it is estimated that approximately 18% of the population speak Afrikaans (derived from Dutch and mixed with other tongues).
There are nine other official languages spoken outside of the two described which are made up wholly of various African languages. There are also many Indian and Asian communities within South Africa, whose languages again are respected and used within their communities.
