South Africa
Republic of South Africa · Southern Africa
South Africa is a country in Southern Africa, with Pretoria as its capital, home to about 64,747,319 people. South Africa shares land borders with 6 countries, listed below alongside its flag, currency, calling code and ISO codes.
| Capital | Pretoria |
|---|---|
| Region | Southern Africa |
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR R) |
| Calling code | +27 |
| ISO codes | ZA / ZAF / 710 ISO 3166-1 |
| Flag emoji | 🇿🇦 |
| Population | 64,747,319 (2025) World Bank |
| Area | 1,221,037 km² |
| Languages | Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu |
| Internet domain | .za |
| Demonym | South African |
Bordering countries
What does the flag of South Africa mean?
South Africa's post-apartheid flag, designed by state herald Frederick Brownell and adopted just weeks before the 1994 election, is officially described as having only one deliberate piece of symbolism: the converging Y-shape, representing, in the government's own words, 'the convergence of diverse elements within South African society, taking the road ahead in unity.' The flag's six colors, which have earned it the Afrikaans nickname Seskleur ('six-colour'), are explicitly stated to carry no official individual meaning; black, green and gold come from the flag of the African National Congress, while red, white and blue echo the historic flags of the Netherlands and Britain.
Source: Wikipedia: Flag of South Africa
About South Africa
South Africa, officially Republic of South Africa, is a United Nations member state in Southern Africa. Its capital and seat of government is Pretoria. It shares land borders with 6 countries. The official currency is the South African rand (R), using the code ZAR.
Curious about the city itself? See what is the capital of South Africa for Pretoria’s own facts and history.
To call South Africa from abroad, dial the country code +27. In international standards it is identified by the ISO 3166-1 codes ZA (alpha-2) and ZAF (alpha-3), which appear in everything from web addresses to shipping labels. As of 2025, its population is around 64,747,319.
Frequently asked questions
What is the capital of South Africa?
What currency does South Africa use?
What is the country calling code for South Africa?
What are the ISO codes for South Africa?
What is the flag emoji for South Africa?
What do the colors on the flag of South Africa mean?
How South Africa compares
- Area: 1,221,037 km², ranking 24 of 194 sovereign states by land area.
- Population: 64,747,319, ranking 24 of 193 sovereign states.
- Density: about 53 people per square kilometre.
- Land borders: 6, against an average of 4.1 across the sovereign states that have any.
- Currency reach: 4 other countries and territories use the South African rand (see the full list).
Flags with the same colours as South Africa
One other national flag uses exactly the same set of colour families (red, green, blue, white, black). Similar colours are the most common reason flags get mistaken for one another, though colour alone says nothing about layout.
South Africa appears in these lists
Population from the World Bank (SP.POP.TOTL); flag, capital, currency, calling code and ISO data from open datasets. Rankings, density and flag colour matches are computed from that same dataset. Full sources and vintage on the data page. Last updated . Report a correction.