What every visitor should know about South Africa:

Money
The currency is the South African rand (ZAR). 1 ZAR is worth about US$0.13, or €0.09.
Crime
CrimeSafe Travel Score™: 1 out of 5 (High-risk)

Areas of concern:

  • Mugging
  • Pick-pocketing / bag-snatching
  • Armed robbery is frequent
  • Carjacking
  • Car theft
Capital
Pretoria (administrative capital)
Tap water
Not recommended. Water is usually drinkable in large cities, but quality is uneven.

South Africa facts and figures:

People

Population
49,052,489
Language
IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2%
Ethnicity
Black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5%

Economy

GDP
US$10,400 (per capita)
Income equality
Low
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