South Africa
South Africa is located at the southern tip of the African continent. South Africa shares borders with Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to the north. Swaziland, which is found in the east side of South Africa, is encircled by South Africa and Mozambique. Lesotho is small country which is located inside South Africa. Two small islands, Prince Edward and Marion, lie about 1,920 kilometres southeast of Cape Town and are controlled by South Africa.
Quick Facts
Population: 55.380 million
Ethnic Groups: Black African (80.9%), Coloured (8.8%), White (7.8%), Indian/Asian (2.5%)
Languages: South Africa has 11 official languages as follows: IsiZulu (24.7%), IsiXhosa (15.6%), Afrikaans (12.1%), Sepedi (9.8%), Setswana (8.9%), English (8.4%), Sesotho (8.0%), Xitsonga (4.0%), siSwati (2.6%), Tshivenda (2.5%), isiNdebele (1.6%), Other (1.9%)
Religions: Christian (86%), Ancestral, Tribal, Other Traditional African religions (5.4%), Muslim (1.9%), Other (1.5%), None (5.2%)
Capital: Pretoria
CIA: The World Factbook — Last Updated December 27, 2019
South Africans in Canada
South African Population in Canada
41,380
Useful Links
South Africa’s apartheid system (a discriminatory system of racial segregation) was finally repealed in 1991, largely due to international pressure. The country’s first free national democratic elections took place in 1994. Although South Africa today faces problems such as economic inequality and the legacy of apartheid, its functioning democracy, and relative prosperity are a positive example for the rest of Africa to look to. Most South Africans identify as Christians, but there is an emphasis on pluralism in South America, so religious minorities are not marginalized. There is freedom of religion.
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