South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area, and with over 58 million people, it is the world’s 24th-most populous nation. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an upper-middle-income economy, and a newly industrialised country. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world. In terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed and living on less than US$1.25 a day.
South Africa is a multiparty parliamentary democracy in which the President of South Africa, as head of state and head of government, leads the executive branch. The President is elected by the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, from among its members and is usually the leader of the largest party in the Assembly. The Assembly is elected every five years by a system of proportional representation. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
South Africa is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, G20, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Southern African Development Community, the Brics group and the World Trade Organization.South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area, and with close to 56 million people, is the world’s 24th-most populous nation. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an upper-middle-income economy, and a newly industrialised country. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world. In terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed and living on less than US$1.25 a day.
A complex history and diverse demographics have given rise to 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. The last census in 2011 showed that over 79% of the population identify as black African, 9.6% as white, 2.5% coloured and 8.9% as Asian. South Africa is home to the largest communities of Dutch, German, French, Indian and Chinese origin in Africa. The country is also a member of the BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), and was named the world’s most transformed economy by the World Bank in 2009.
South Africa has a generally temperate climate, due in part to being surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian oceans on three sides, by its location in the climatically milder southern hemisphere and due to the average elevation rising steadily towards the north (towards the equator) and further inland. Due to this varied topography and oceanic influence, a great variety of climatic zones exist. The interior of the country is semi-arid with little rivers or streams. The coastal belt, below the Great Escarpment, is generally warmer and wetter.
