Fun FactsSouth Africa

South Africa Fun Facts

• South Africa has 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. 
• It is estimated that over 40% of all the gold yet to be discovered is in South Africa  
• In 2010 South Africa became the first country in Africa to host the Football World Cup 
• The world’s largest diamond, the Cullinan, was found in South Africa in 1905  
• South Africa is home to one of the highest bungee jumps in the world, at 710 ft  
• The first ever heart transplant was performed in South Africa in 1957 
• South Africa’s capital, Cape Town, is home to the famous Table Mountain. Clouds often roll over the flat-topped mount and locals have coined it the ‘table cloth’.
• Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Eswatini border South Africa, whereas Lesotho is surrounded by this great southern African nation
• South Africa is home to the Big Five, which consists of lions, leopards, black rhinos, African elephants and African buffalos
• Robben Island in Table Bay was the place where Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president of South Africa, was imprisoned for 18 of his 27 years in jail
• The springbok is the national animal of South Africa