South Africa Geography - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

Geographic coordinates

29 00 S, 24 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 1,219,090 sq km

land: 1,214,470 sq km

water: 4,620 sq km

note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)

Area - comparative

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries

total: 5,244 km

border countries (6): Botswana 1,969 km; Lesotho 1,106 km; Mozambique 496 km; Namibia 1,005 km; Eswatini 438 km; Zimbabwe 230 km

Coastline

2,798 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin

Climate

mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights

Terrain

vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain

Elevation

highest point: Ntheledi (Mafadi) 3,450 m

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 1,034 m

Natural resources

gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas

note: South Africa was the World's leading chromite ore producer in 2022 with an output of 18,000 mt

Land use

agricultural land: 79.4% (2018 est.)

arable land: 9.9% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 69.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 7.6% (2018 est.)

other: 13% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

16,700 sq km (2012)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Orange (shared with Lesotho [s], and Namibia [m]) - 2,092 km; Limpopo river source (shared with Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique [m]) - 1,800 km; Vaal [s] - 1,210 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Orange (941,351 sq km)

Major aquifers

Karoo Basin, Lower Kalahari-Stampriet Basin

Population distribution

the population concentrated along the southern and southeastern coast, and inland around Pretoria; the eastern half of the country is more densely populated than the west as shown in this population distribution map

Natural hazards

prolonged droughts

volcanism: the volcano forming Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands, which last erupted in 2004, is South Africa's only active volcano

Geography - note

South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Eswatini

NOTE: The information regarding South Africa on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of South Africa 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about South Africa 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.