Where is South Africa?

South Africa is located in the Southern Africa region at latitude -30.559482 and longitude 22.937506 and is part of the African continent continent.

The DMS coordinates for the center of the country are:

30° 33' 34.14'' S
22° 56' 15.02'' E

You can see the location of South Africa on the world map below:

South Africa on the World Map

Flag of South Africa on map
South Africa's location at the southern tip of the continent, marked by a pin of its national flag.

South Africa Neighboring Countries

The neighboring countries of South Africa (ZA) are:

  1. Botswana (BW)
  2. Lesotho (LS)
  3. Mozambique (MZ)
  4. Namibia (NA)
  5. Eswatini (SZ)
  6. Zimbabwe (ZW)

Maritime Borders

South Africa borders with the Atlantic Ocean.

South Africa Related Content

South Africa Key Facts

Country South Africa
Coordinates Latitude: -30.559482
Longitude: 22.937506
Country Codes Alpha 2: ZA
Alpha 3: ZAF
Country Flag Emoji 🇿🇦
Int. Phone Prefix +27
Capital city Pretoria
Continent / Subcontinent Africa
Southern Africa
Country Area 1,219,090 sq km
Population 2024 64,007,187
World Rank: 24
Median Age 27.1
Life expectancy 66.1
Major languages isiZulu (official) 24.7%, isiXhosa (official) 15.6%, Afrikaans (official) 12.1%, Sepedi (official) 9.8%, Setswana (official) 8.9%, English (official) 8.4%, Sesotho (official) 8%, Xitsonga (official) 4%, siSwati (official) 2.6%, Tshivenda (official) 2.5%, isiNdebele (official) 1.6%, other (includes Khoi, Nama, and San languages) 1.9% (2017 est.)
UTC/GMT Time Number of time zones: 2
  • UTC+02:00 (South African Standard Time) — main territory of South Africa
  • UTC+03:00 — Prince Edward Islands
Internet TLD .za
Biggest Airport Tambo International Airport Johannesburg (JNB)
Average temperature 17.75 °C
63.95 °F
Administrative Divisions 9 provinces
Political system Parliamentary democracy

South Africa Economy Facts

World Bank Income Group Upper middle income
World Bank Region Sub-Saharan Africa
Currency Rand (ZAR)
GDP in 2024 $401.1 (billions of USD)
World Rank: 40
GDP per capita in 2024 $6,267
World Rank: 128
Major Industries / Economic Sectors Manufacturing, services, agriculture, energy
Top 5 Import Countries China, United States, Germany, India, Saudi Arabia
Top 5 Export Countries China, United States, Germany, India, Japan

Biggest Cities in South Africa

Here are the largest cities in South Africa based on 2024 data:

City Population
Johannesburg 9,418,183
Cape Town 4,772,846
Durban 3,338,026
Pretoria 2,112,693
Soweto 1,695,047
Gqeberha 1,050,078
Soshanguve 872,309
Pietermaritzburg 839,327
Evaton 725,468
Benoni 605,344

Map of South Africa with the Largest Cities

Countries in Southern Africa

Image Sources and Copyright Information
  • South Africa Flag Pin on Map: © hyotographics/Shutterstock