South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. Its nine provinces are bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles) of coastline that stretches along the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini; and it encloses Lesotho. Covering an area of 1,221,037 square kilometres (471,445 square miles), the country has over 62 million people. Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town, as the seat of Parliament, is the legislative capital. Bloemfontein has traditionally been regarded as the judicial capital. The largest and most populous city is Johannesburg, followed by Cape Town and the busiest port city in sub-Saharan Africa, Durban.

The majority population of South Africa are those who identify themselves as ‘Black’ Africans or ‘Black’ people of South Africa, who are culturally and linguistically heterogeneous. They include Zulu, Xhosa, BaPedi (North Sotho), BaTswana, BaSotho (South Sotho), Tsonga, Swazi, Venda and South Ndebele people, all of whom are represented in the languages of South Africa. According to the 2022 census, the twelve official languages according to usage are: isiZulu 24,4%, isiXhosa 16,3%, Afrikaans 10,6%, English 8,7%, Sepedi 10,0%, Setswana 8,3%, Sesotho 7,8%, Xitsonga 4,7%, siSwati 2,8%, Tshivenda 2,5%, isiNdebele 1,7% and South African Sign Language.

These cultural groups are also found across southern Africa. The BaSotho are the majority ethnic group of Lesotho. The Tswana make up the majority of the population of Botswana. The Swazi are the majority in Swaziland. The Tsonga are also found in Southern Mozambique. Zulu people in KwaZulu-Natal.

South Africa’s population has now exceeded 63 million, according to the latest mid-year population estimates for 2024. The country’s population grew by approximately 835,513 individuals, marking a 1,33% increase from July 2023 to July 2024. The data reveals that over half of the population is female, totalling around 32 million people.

Provincial population estimates indicate that Gauteng remains the most populous province with nearly 16 million residents. KwaZulu-Natal follows with a population of 12,3 million. Together, these two provinces account for about 45% of South Africa’s total population. In contrast, Northern Cape is the least populated province, housing just under 1,4 million people.