South Africa is located at the southern tip of Africa. South Africa's coast stretches 2,798 kilometres and borders both the Atlantic and Indian oceans.To the north of South Africa lies Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland, while the Kingdom of Lesotho is an independent enclave surrounded by South African territory. Known for its diversity, South Africa has eleven official languages with english as the most commonly spoken language in official and commercial public life. South Africa is ethnically diverse, with Black, Caucasian, Indian, and racially mixed communities. In 2006, South Africa's population was estimated at 47.4 million people. South Africa has three capital cities with Cape Town as the legislative capital, Pretoria the administrative capital, and Bloemfontein the judicial capital.
South Africa is one of the founding members of the African Union, and has the largest economy of all its members. It is also a founding member of the United Nations and NEPAD. Besides these South Africa is a member of the ATS, Group of 77 ,South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, Southern African Customs Union, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, G20 and G8+5.
South Africa's 11 official languages are: Afrikaans, English, IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, SiSwati, Ndebele, Southern Sotho, Northern Sotho, Tsonga, SeTswana, Venda
South Africa's Currency: South African Rand (ZAR)
After apartheid ended in 1994, the South African abolished the four former provinces of South Africa and replaced them with nine fully integrated provinces. The nine provinces of South Africa are further subdivided into 52 districts with 6 metropolitan and 46 district municipalities. The 46 district municipalities are further subdivided into 231 local municipalities. The district municipalities also contain 20 district management areas that are directly governed by the district municipalities. The six metropolitan municipalities perform the functions of both district and local municipalities.
The nine new provinces of South Africa are: Western Cape, Gauteng, Kwazulu Natal, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Limpopo Province, North West Province, Mpumalanga and Free State.
