The 11 languages of South Africa
South Africa has 11 official languages, and a multilingual population. IsiZulu and isiXhosa are the largest languages. English is spoken at home by 10% of the population.
The nine provinces of South Africa
South Africa has nine provinces, each with its own history, landscape, population, languages, economy, cities and government.
Nelson Mandela 1918-2013: the timeline of a lifetime
A comprehensive timeline of the life of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela – revolutionary, soldier, political prisoner, president of South Africa, statesman and global icon of social justice.
Robert Sobukwe: ‘There is only one race. The human race.’
Robert Sobukwe was one of South Africa’s greatest but forgotten heroes of the struggle for human rights and nonracialism.
South Africa’s weather and climate
South Africa is a climate patchwork of warm coastal subtropics, hot deserts, humid highlands, snow-topped mountains and an enclave of Mediterranean weather in the southwest.
Mapping poverty in South Africa
Where are South Africa’s poorest places? Two maps find the patterns of poverty: one shows the share of households living in poverty in each municipality, the other the number of poor people living there. And an animation tries to make sense of the maps.
Gallery: Africa from space
Explore Africa’s cities, rivers, coasts and wild places with views from above, in a selection of gorgeous astronaut and satellite photography of the continent.
The 16 June 1976 Soweto students’ uprising – as it happened
It took one day for young South Africans to change the course of the country’s history. The day was 16 June 1976. Here is an hour-by-hour account of the 1976 Soweto students’ uprising.
Africanis, the original dog of Africa
They’ve been dismissed as mongrels, “township dogs”, and worse. But as a breed they are smart, tough, athletic, loyal – and ancient. They are the Africanis, the dog of Africa.
Nelson Mandela’s family tree
Nelson Mandela was born in 1918 and died, aged 95, in 2013. His family tree remains, growing from three wives and six children to 17 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren and on, into the next generation.
The online dictionary of South African English
Mixed with over a dozen African languages for over two centuries, spiced by imports from British, Dutch and Portuguese colonies, South African English has its own rich, varied and sometimes weird flavour.
Infographic: Life expectancy in South Africa from 1960 to 2015
Charting South Africans’ life expectancy is to track the country’s modern history. In 1960, when the state was grimly implementing apartheid laws, an average newborn child was expected to have a lifespan of only 52 years – 50 years for boys. In 2015, life expectancy was 62 years.
Map: Distribution of South Africa’s races
The distribution of South Africa’s population groups reveals the country’s history. Find out more with these maps of where black, coloured, Indian and white South Africans live today, according to the 2011 census.
The economies of South Africa’s nine provinces
Finance is the biggest industry in Gauteng and the Western Cape. Mining dominates in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and the Northern Cape. KwaZulu-Natal’s major industry is manufacturing. In the Eastern Cape and Free State, it’s government services.
What languages are spoken in South Africa’s nine provinces?
The home language of most people in KwaZulu-Natal is, unsurprisingly, isiZulu. In the Eastern Cape it’s isiXhosa. Around half the people of the Western Cape and Northern Cape speak Afrikaans. In Gauteng and Mpumalanga, no single language dominates.
Africa from A to Z: Fast facts on the 55 states
Africa is home to 55 countries, an ancient and complex history, modern cities, some 3,000 languages and over a billion people. From Algeria to Zimbabwe, here’s a snapshot of each country on a continent you need to know more about.
Moving to the city: Provincial migration in South Africa from 2002 to 2017
South Africans migrate to where the jobs are. They move from poorer provinces to the richer ones, and from rural areas to the cities.
Creative Commons images of South Africa
Creative Commons is a licensing system that frees creative works for others to publish and transform. The commons drives some of the best projects on the internet, including Wikipedia and South African History Online. Here’s a selection of free and open images of South Africa.
Infographic: The population of South Africa’s nine provinces
The population of each of South Africa’s nine provinces varies enormously. According to Statistics South Africa’s 2017 population estimates, the most populous provinces are Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, and the emptiest the Northern Cape and Free State.
Infographic: South Africa’s population and age structure from 1960 to 2016
There’s a lot of talk of South Africa’s population being dominated by the youth. But we’re less youthful than we have been for decades. The end of apartheid, better healthcare, widespread social welfare and greater economic opportunities all mean South Africans are now able to live longer lives.
Infographic: South Africa’s rural and urban population from 1960 to 2016
From 1960 to the late 1980s, apartheid laws kept families and communities in poor rural areas. Young men alone were allowed to move to the cities, where their labour was valuable. After the end of apartheid, from the mid-1990s, urbanisation increased rapidly.
Animation: How long do South Africans live?
This is an animation to break your heart. In any unequal society, the privileged live long lives and everyone else much shorter lives.
Infographic: HIV and Aids in South Africa 1990 to 2016
In the West the peak of the Aids epidemic was in 1985. But HIV and Aids hit South Africa only in the 1990s, just as we were starting to build a new society out of the ruins of apartheid. Here, the epidemic peaked in 2006.
Infographic: Population density in South Africa’s provinces
Gauteng, small but crowded, has an average of 785 people per square kilometre. The empty but enormous Northern Cape has a population density of only three people for each square kilometre.
The quick guide to South Africa
Key facts on South Africa’s currency, time, geography, population, languages, provinces, government and education.
Gallery: Eastern Cape province, South Africa
In the Eastern Cape you’ll find the Wild Coast, the Valley of Desolation, the coastal cities of Port Elizabeth and East London, the visionary art of the Owl House of Nieu-Bethesda, Nelson Mandela’s birthplace in the Transkei, and more.
Gallery: Free State province, South Africa
The Free State’s complicated history has played out across its varied landscape, which runs from the Maloti Mountains in the east through flat central farmlands to the Karoo desert regions in the west and south.
The provinces and ‘homelands’ of South Africa before 1996
Before South Africa’s 1996 constitution, the country was divided into four provinces set aside for white people, and 10 “homelands”, tiny states designated for black people.
Animations: South Africa’s 11 languages
Each of South Africa’s 11 languages has a fascinating vocabulary, with some words and phrases influenced by other languages, and many unique to that language. Learn a little South African with these animations.
South Africa’s population
South Africa has 56.5-million people, according to 2017 estimates. The 2011 census puts it at 51.5-million. Black South Africans make up around 81% of the total, coloured people 9%, whites 8% and Indians 3%.
Animation: Measuring the dimensions of poverty in South Africa
The South African Multidimensional Poverty Index looks at how poverty reveals itself in people’s health, their level of education, the dwelling they live in, how they cook their food, the water they drink …
How big is South Africa?
South Africa is twice the size of France and five times as big as the UK. With an area of 1.2-million square kilometres, it dwarfs the nations of Europe – except Russia – but doesn’t stand up to the giants of Asia and the Americas.
Mandela and Tambo: A lifetime as comrades
Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo were friends for six decades, from student days through their law firm, then imprisonment and exile until the final victory over apartheid.
What languages do black, coloured, Indian and white South Africans speak?
Nearly a third of black South Africans speak isiZulu as a first language, and 20% speak isiXhosa. Three-quarters of coloured people speak Afrikaans, and 86% of Indian South Africans speak English. Sixty percent of white people speak Afrikaans, and 30% speak English.
Infographic: Census counts of South Africa’s population
South Africa has held three official censuses in its recent democratic history: in 1996, 2001 and 2011. The censuses have revealed both a growing population – from 41 million to 52 million – and a significant shift in the country’s racial profile.
Infographic: Exploring poverty in South Africa’s provinces
The Eastern Cape is South Africa’s poorest province, both in its percentage of poor households and the number of its people who live in poverty. The province with the smallest share of households in poverty is the Western Cape.
The people of South Africa by age, sex and race
Black men have the shortest lives, and white women the longest. Find out more about the country’s population structure with this infographic charting the realities of age, race and sex in South Africa.
Infographic: Child mortality in South Africa from 1974 to 2016
The death rate of children is the starkest indicator of the health of a country’s society and economy. In 1974 South Africa’s mortality rate – deaths per 1,000 live births – was 88.1 for infants under a year and 125.5 for under-fives. By 2016 it had dropped to 34.2 for infants and 43.3 for under-fives.
Infographic: Local government in Gauteng
Local government in the city region of Gauteng is organised into five major municipalities. Three are metropolitan, and two are district municipalities. The districts are further divided into six local municipalities.
Infographic: The land area of South Africa’s nine provinces
South Africa has nine provinces, which vary in size from the small city region of Gauteng – home to more than a quarter of the population – to the great Northern Cape, by far the largest province but with the smallest population.
Infographic: Local government in the Western Cape
Local government in the Western Cape is organised into six major municipalities. One is metropolitan, and five are district municipalities. The province also has 24 smaller local municipalities, each falling under one of the five districts.
Infographic: South Africa’s population in 2017
In 2017 South Africa was home to 56.5-million people. Black South Africans were the majority at 45.7-million – 80.8% of the total. There were 5-million coloured people (8.7%), 4.5-million whites (7.9%) and 1.4-million Indian South Africans (2.6%).
Download: Nelson Mandela’s family tree
Download South Africa Gateway’s detailed infographic of the family and descendants of Nelson Mandela – wives, children, great-grandchildren and (so far) one great-great grandchild – in a range of sizes and formats.
Infographic: Local government in the Eastern Cape
Local government in the Eastern Cape is organised into eight major municipalities. Two are metropolitan, and the other six are district municipalities. The districts are further divided into 31 local municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in the Free State
Local government in the Free State is organised into five major municipalities. One is metropolitan, and the other four district municipalities. The districts are further divided into 19 local municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in KwaZulu-Natal
Local government in KwaZulu-Natal is organised into eight major municipalities. One is metropolitan, and the other 10 are district municipalities. The districts are further divided into 43 local municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in Limpopo
Local government in Limpopo is organised into five district municipalities. The province also has 22 smaller local municipalities, each falling under one of the five district municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in Mpumalanga
Local government in Mpumalanga is organised into three district municipalities. The province also has 17 smaller local municipalities, each falling under one of the district municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in the Northern Cape
Local government in the Northern Cape is organised into five district municipalities. The province also has 26 smaller local municipalities, each falling under one of the five district municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in North West
Local government in North West is organised into four district municipalities. The province also has 18 smaller local municipalities, each falling under one of the four district municipalities.
Giant bacteria shed light on life without oxygen
Life on earth needs oxygen, right? A South African scientist has discovered the remains of giant bacteria that flourished on our planet billions of years ago – breathing sulphur.
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