• Officially known as the Republic of South Africa (RSA)
• Located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline of approximately 2,798 kilometres
• Borders Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini, and encloses Lesotho
• Covers 1,221,037 square kilometres and has a population of over 63 million

• Established as a republic on May 31, 1961
• Pretoria is the administrative capital, Cape Town is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital
• Johannesburg is the largest city, followed by Cape Town and Durban
• Indigenous Khoisan and Bantu-speaking peoples were the first known inhabitants
• Colonization began with the Dutch in 1652; British occupation followed in the late 18th century
• Apartheid was instituted by the National Party in 1948; discriminatory laws began to be repealed in the mid-1980s
• Universal elections occurred in 1994, allowing political representation for all racial groups

• Recognized as a middle power; part of BRICS+, African Union, and other international organizations
• Largest economy in Africa, but faces high unemployment and poverty rates
• Noted for its cultural diversity, referred to as the "rainbow nation"
• High economic inequality with a Gini coefficient of 0.67

List of newspapers published in South Africa.