South Africa

The 'Rainbow Nation' — 12 languages and Mandela's home

South Africa has 12 official languages and 3 capitals! The 'big five' live here — lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and buffalo (Kruger Park). Near Cape Town two oceans meet — the Atlantic and the Indian — and penguins walk on the beach. Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison fighting for equal rights, then became president. Its 6-colour flag is one of the most colourful in the world.

Capital: Pretoria (3 capitals). Language: 12 official languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English….

The Republic of South Africa covers 1.22 million km² with 62 million people, 3 capitals (Pretoria — executive, Cape Town — parliament, Bloemfontein — judiciary) and 12 official languages (sign language added in 2023). Nature: the Drakensberg, the Kalahari, Table Mountain, the Cape of Good Hope, Kruger National Park (20,000 km²), the 'Cradle of Humankind' (Sterkfontein — 3-million-year-old hominids). History: the San and Khoisan, the Bantu, the Dutch in 1652 (Afrikaans), the Zulus (Shaka), Britain, diamonds (1867) and gold (1886 — Johannesburg), the Boer War, apartheid 1948–1994, Mandela (1994 — the first democratic election, Nobel Peace Prize), the 'Rainbow Nation' (Desmond Tutu). Economy: Africa's most developed, gold, platinum (70% of the world's), diamonds, wine, BRICS. The first heart transplant (Barnard, 1967). Rugby (world champions 1995, 2019, 2023), the 2010 football World Cup. With Uzbekistan: BRICS, cooperation in gold mining.

Fun facts

• South Africa has 3 capitals and 12 official languages.
• 70% of the world's platinum is mined in South Africa.
• The world's first heart transplant was performed in Cape Town in 1967.