South Africa
Practical guide
South Africa is in Southern Africa. It has 64,747,319 inhabitants across 1,221,037 km². It borders 6 countries. Its capital is Pretoria. People speak Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu and the currency is the South African Rand (ZAR). Ezplora has pages for 22 of its cities, with month-by-month climate and the distances between them.
- Capital
- Pretoria
- Population
- 64,747,319
- Area
- 1,221,037 km²
- Currency
- South African Rand · ZAR
- Languages
- Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
- Time zone
- Africa/Johannesburg
- Dialling code
- +27
- Domain
- .za
When to go to South Africa
The best months to visit Pretoria are April, May and August. In Pretoria, daytime highs go from 20° in June to 29° in January. The wettest month is January (129 mm) and the driest is July (3 mm). The rainy season runs from November to January.
Weather in Pretoria month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| high | 29° | 28° | 27° | 25° | 23° | 20° | 20° | 23° | 26° | 27° | 28° | 28° |
| low | 17° | 17° | 15° | 12° | 7° | 4° | 4° | 7° | 11° | 13° | 15° | 16° |
| rain | 129 mm | 92 mm | 86 mm | 45 mm | 13 mm | 6 mm | 3 mm | 6 mm | 20 mm | 69 mm | 105 mm | 114 mm |
1970–2000 normals (WorldClim 2.1). Monthly rainfall total.
Cities in South Africa
- Pretoriacapital · 1,321 m
- Johannesburg1,749 m
- Cape Town29 m
- Durbansea level
- Soweto1,630 m
- Gqeberha54 m
- Soshanguve1,173 m
- Pietermaritzburg638 m
- Evaton1,508 m
- Benoni1,635 m
- Bloemfontein1,389 m
- Thembisa1,574 m
- East London45 m
- Vereeniging1,442 m
- Boksburg1,618 m
- Welkom1,368 m
- Newcastle1,190 m
- Krugersdorp1,719 m
- Rustenburg1,166 m
- Witbank1,624 m
- Randburg1,586 m
- Roodepoort1,735 m
Distances in South Africa
- Pretoria → Johannesburg58 km 49 min · 45 min
- Pretoria → Cape Town1,452 km 2 h 21 min · 15 h 48 min
- Pretoria → Durban617 km 1 h 24 min · 7 h 2 min
- Pretoria → Soweto83 km 50 min · 1 h 5 min
- Pretoria → Gqeberha1,116 km 1 h 54 min · 12 h 33 min
- Pretoria → Soshanguve40 km 47 min · 35 min
49 min · 
45 minNeighboring countries
- 🇧🇼 BotswanaGaborone
- 🇱🇸 LesothoMaseru
- 🇲🇿 MozambiqueMaputo
- 🇳🇦 NamibiaWindhoek
- 🇸🇿 EswatiniLobamba
- 🇿🇼 ZimbabweHarare
Frequently asked questions
What is the capital of South Africa?
The capital of South Africa is Pretoria.
What currency is used in South Africa?
South Africa uses the South African Rand (ZAR).
What language is spoken in South Africa?
In South Africa, people speak Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu.
When is the best time to visit South Africa?
The best months to visit Pretoria are April, May and August. In Pretoria, daytime highs go from 20° in June to 29° in January. The wettest month is January (129 mm) and the driest is July (3 mm). The rainy season runs from November to January.
Data from Banco Mundial, GeoNames and WorldClim. Photo from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).