| 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 1969 km, Lesotho 1106 km, Mozambique 496 km, Namibia 1005 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 extremes | 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 |
| 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) |
| Total renewable water resources | 51.35 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| 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 |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
