geography
South Africa has three capital cities — Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial) — a split dating back to a compromise made at the country's 1910 unification.
South Africa
Republic of South Africa
Population, GDP, and key facts about South Africa — updated for 2026.
Capital · PRETORIAContinent · AFRICAISO · ZAF
South Africa quick facts
- Population
- 64,007,187
- Area
- 1,219,090 km²
- Population density
- 52 people/km²
- GDP
- US$ 401.1 Billion
- GDP per capita
- US$ 6.3K
- Capital
- Pretoria
- Currency
- South African rand (R, ZAR)
- Minimum wage
- US$ 260.6/month · R 4,777/month (2024)
- Languages
- Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
South Africa at human scale
Where does South Africa rank in the world?
Compare South Africa with other countries
🇿🇦 vs 🇹🇿Compare South Africa vs Tanzania1.1× difference in population🇿🇦 vs 🇳🇬Compare South Africa vs Nigeria3.6× difference in population🇿🇦 vs 🇫🇷Compare South Africa vs France1.1× difference in population
Compare South Africa with any country →South Africa's war history
- Government of South AfricavsSWAPO
Intrastate
Wars that reached at least 1,000 battle-related deaths in a year, since 1946 — not a full record of every armed conflict South Africa has had. Source: UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset.
See every war since 1946 on the War Timeline →South Africa's energy mix
Fossil fuels · 82%Nuclear · 4%Renewables · 14%
- Coal81%
- Solar8%
- Wind5%
- Nuclear4%
- Oil1%
- Hydropower1%
- Bioenergy0%
Share of South Africa's own electricity generation by source, 2025. Source: Our World in Data (Ember Yearly Electricity Data and the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy).
Everything we know about South Africa
Countries near South Africa
How many countries do you think South Africa could fit?
Pour other countries into South Africa's own outline, by real area, and see how many it takes to fill it up.
Fill the Country →Frequently asked questions about South Africa
What is the capital of South Africa?
The capital of South Africa is Pretoria.
What is South Africa's population?
South Africa has a population of 64,007,187.
What is South Africa's GDP per capita?
South Africa's GDP per capita is US$ 6.3K.
What is the currency of South Africa?
The currency of South Africa is the South African rand (ZAR).
What is the minimum wage in South Africa?
South Africa's statutory minimum wage is about US$ 260.6 per month (as of 2024) — R 4,777 per month in local currency.
Is South Africa bigger than Tanzania?
South Africa is about 1.3× the size of Tanzania by land area.
Think you can guess South Africa from its silhouette?
South Africa is one of the countries in our daily silhouette-guessing game.
Play Guess the Country →Data from the World Bank, updated November 2026.