33 Facts About South Africa

South Africa, officially known as the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is Africa's southernmost country.

South Africa is a country on the African continent's southernmost tip, with several distinct ecosystems.

Big game can be found in Kruger National Park, an inland safari destination.

Beaches, lush winelands around Stellenbosch and Paarl, craggy cliffs at the Cape of Good Hope, forest and lagoons along the Garden Route, and the city of Cape Town, beneath flat-topped Table Mountain, are all available in the Western Cape.

With a height of 216m, the Bloukrans Bridge in the Western Cape is the world's highest commercial natural bungee jump.

In South Africa, Nelson Mandela is known by six different names.

Table Mountain, one of South Africa's most recognisable landmarks, is one of the world's oldest mountains and home to over 2,200 plant species, 70 percent of which are endemic.

South Africa has the world's largest visible crater. A meteor the size of a mountain (about 10km across) fell to earth in South Africa's Free State around 2,030 million years ago, creating a crater 300km across; it is the oldest crater from either a comet or meteorite and the site of the largest energy release in history.

The 850-kilometer-long road through the Cape Winelands is the world's longest wine route.

South African fish migration is so massive that it can be seen from space. Satellites can see the shoals, which are 15km long, 3.5km wide, and up to 40m deep.

There are three capital cities in South Africa. Pretoria (Administrative), Cape Town (Legislative), and Bloemfontein (Judicial).

Bones discovered in South Africa lend credence to the theory that modern humans originated in Africa.

The San and Khoi are South Africa's indigenous people.

Off the coast of South Africa, there are approximately 3,000 shipwrecks.

South Africa was fought over by the Dutch and the British.

South Africa was under apartheid - white minority rule - for nearly 50 years.

On Freedom Day 1994, the South African flag was raised for the first time.

The Springbok, the only southern African gazelle, is South Africa's national animal.

South Africa has 11 official languages, each with equal status.

Almost 80% of South Africans are Christian.

South Africa became the first African country and the fifth in the world to recognise same-sex marriage in 2006.

South Africa has hosted the world cups in football (2010), cricket (2003), and rugby (1995). Other than England, it is the only country in the world to have done so.

The world's largest bicycle race is held in South Africa. The 35,000 riders competing in the 109-kilometer Cape Town Cycle Tour race across Cape Town's south peninsula and along Chapman's Peak Drive, a spectacular mountainous coastal road.

South Africa is the world's largest producer of platinum.

On January 25, 1905, the world's largest diamond was discovered in the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa.

South Africa is home to the world's second largest brewing company.

Dr Christiaan Barnard performed the first successful heart transplant on 3 December 1967 in a Cape Town hospital.

The swimming pool vacuum cleaner was invented in South Africa.

South Africa is a member of the BRICS group. BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) accounts for 42% of the world's population. South Africa is also a member of the G-20, a global forum of the world's top 20 economies.

South Africa was once the world's leading gold producer.

South Africa is teeming with world-record-breaking animals. It is home to the world's largest land mammal (elephant), largest bird (ostrich), tallest animal (giraffe), largest fish (whale shark), largest reptile (leatherback turtle), fastest land mammal (cheetah), and largest antelope (giraffe) (eland).

South Africa is the only country in the world to build and then abandon its entire nuclear weapons programme.

South Africa has one of the most luxurious trains in the world. The luxurious wood-paneled Rovos trains can carry up to 72 passengers; the Royal Suites occupy half a carriage and have full-sized bathrooms, a separate shower, a permanent double bed, and two armchairs.