OVERVIEW

Located at the southern tip of the African continent, South Africa covers an area of 1 219 912 square kilometres, just under twice the size of Texas. Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa.

The climate is predominantly semi-arid and sub-tropical along the east coast.

Natural resources include gold, platinum, diamonds, uranium, copper, salt, natural gas, coal and manganese.

At the time of the last census, South Africa had a population of just over 40 million. The 11 official languages are Zulu, English, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana and Venda.

President Jacob Zuma is both Chief of State and Head of Government. Pretoria is the capital. Cape Town, in the Western Cape, is the legislative centre and Bloemfontein, in the Free State, is the judical centre. South Africa gained independance from Britain on the 31st May 1910.

Major tourist destinations include the coastal regions of Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban, inland destinations like Johannesburg and Sun City, as well as the Garden Route and Mpumalanga (known as "Paradise Country"). There are many South African timeshare resorts, hotels, lodges, B&Bs, holiday rentals and self catering accommodation in each of these regions.

Major harbours include Cape Town, East London, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Durban, Mossel Bay and Saldahna Bay.

Major airports include OR Tambo (Johannesburg), Cape Town International, Durban International, Port Elizabeth, East London, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Upington, George and Pilanesberg.