South Africa

South Africa is a country in the most southern tip of the African continent. It is made up of a total of nine provinces on both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Although South Africa has been in the news many times over the past decades and was host to the world cup last summer, there are some simple facts that many people do not know.

5 Facts You Might Not Know

1
The Taung Child, a human fossil was found in South Africa in 1924. Other human fossils have been found in caves in Eastern Cape and Western Cape. These sites show that the human species lived in South Africa as long as 300 million years ago.
2
South Africa has a generally temperate climate. This is attributed to being surrounded by the ocean on three sides. The winter months are from June through August. The climate varies from the desert of southern Namib to the subtropical climate along the Mozambique border. There is considerable variation in the topography of the country.
3
Platinum is the world's most precious metal. It costs 1,5 per cent more than gold. South Africa produces 80 percent of all the world's platinum and therefore controls almost all platinum in the world.
4
There are wonderful train services in South Africa. The Blue Train runs between Cape Town and Pretoria. The journey, which is one way, takes 27 hours. The Rovos Rail offers trips that go throughout South Africa and up to Victoria Falls. On board passengers are served five star meals and can use full-sized tubs while travelling throughout the scenic countryside.
5
South Africa has 11 official languages. Some languages are spoken more than others. In 2008 the most used languages in the country were Zulu (23%), Xhosa (17%) and Afrinkaans (13%). About 8% of the population speaks English.

The capital of South Africa is Pretoria. The currency of South Africa is the Rand(ZAR) Flag of South Africa