South Africa
South Africa is three countries wearing one flag: a wine-and-surf Cape with a flat-topped mountain for a skyline, Big Five bushveld in the northeast, and the Drakensberg’s green ramparts in between.
Best time: May–September for safari; November–March for Cape Town18°C · Mainly clear in Pretoria (executive)
CapitalPretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial)
Population62 million
CurrencySouth African rand (ZAR)
Languages11 official, incl. Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English
TimezoneUTC+2
South Africa is three countries wearing one flag: a wine-and-surf Cape with a flat-topped mountain for a skyline, Big Five bushveld in the northeast, and the Drakensberg’s green ramparts in between.
Fun fact
South Africa has 11 official languages — and Table Mountain is home to more plant species than the entire United Kingdom.
