South Africa for Kids

Here are some interesting facts about South Africa for kids which were chosen and researched by kids especially for kids.

South Africa's famous Blyde River Canyon

South Africa Facts | Country Facts

Population: 63 million people live in South Africa (2024)
Capital city: Pretoria with 3 million inhabitants Pretoria's nickname is "The Jacaranda City" due to the many jacaranda trees. In South Africa, the city is referred to as 'Tshwane' as the municipality changed its name in 2007. However, South Africa has three capital cities: Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein
Name: Republic of South Africa

Nelson Mandela 1918-2013

Government: Democracy
Languages: 12 official languages: isiZulu, Afrikaans, English, isiXhosa, siSwati, Sesotho, Xitsonga, Sepedi, isiNdebele, Setswana, Tshivenda, sign language
Religion: mainly Christians (86%) and Muslims (2%), but also Jews and other faiths.
Currency: 1 South African rand (ZAR) = 100 cents
Economy: South Africa is the world's largest producer of platinum group metals, gold and chromium. South Africa is part of the African Union and the BRICS countries.

Listen to the Anthem

National Symbols: Protea (flower), Springbok (antelope) and others. Read more here.
National Day: 27 April (Freedom Day)
History: South Africa was colonised by the British and Dutch and the people suffered massively during Apartheid which came to an end when Nelson Mandela was releases from prison in 1990 and became the first democratically elected leader in South Africa in 1994.
President: Cyril Ramaphosa

South Africa for Kids
South Africa Geography

South Africa is the southernmost country on the African continent.

South Africa shares borders with six countries: Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe in the North, and Mozambique in the East, as well as with Eswatini and Lesotho.

South Africa encloses two landlocked African countries which are Lesotho and Eswatini (formerly called Swaziland) which borders also Mozambique. Both these African countries are kingdoms.

South Africa is about as big as the land area of France and Spain combined or twice the size of the state of Texas/ USA.

It takes a 12-hour flight from London/England to fly to reach Johannesburg or a 12-hour flight from Singapore and a flight from New York/ USA to Johannesburg is longer than 17 hours.

Cape Point/South Africa

In South Africa, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet off the Southern Cape coast.

The southernmost point in South Africa is at Cape Agulhas which is roughly 120 km/ 75 miles to the east of Cape Town. In the image to the right, however, you see Cape Point, the southernmost point of the Cape Peninsula.

South Africa for Kids
Geography

South Africa has various mountain ranges such as the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg, the Magaliesberg or the Cederberg mountains.

There is a narrow coastal stretch and in the interior of the country, you will find a high plateau.

The highest mountain in South Africa is Mafadi Peak, which is on the border to Lesotho. Mafadi Peak is 3,450 m/ 11,319 ft high.

Mafadi Peak

In the north of the country, you will find the Kalahari Desert which borders neighbouring countries Namibia and Botswana. The Kalahari is part of the 'highveld', the highlands of the country.

Johannesburg is the largest city of South Africa and lies on this plateau at 1,700 m/ 5,577 ft above sea level. However, most of the bigger cities such as Cape Town and Durban are located near the coast in low-lying areas.

The longest river in South Africa is the Orange River with 2,432 km/ 1,511 miles. The river runs through the northern parts of the country and passes through an 18 km/ 11 miles long gorge at Augrabies Falls in the Northern Cape.

Augrabies Falls in the 2022 floods of the Orange River

The Orange River also forms part of the border between Namibia and South Africa. The river rises in Lesotho and reaches the Atlantic Ocean in Oranjemund (Namibia). The river is also referred to as Oranje or Gariep by the Afrikaans people or !Garib by the local Nama people.

There are various climatic regions in South Africa which has mild to hot days in summer and very cold nights and rain (and snowfall in some regions) in winter. Read more.

Especially in the mountain ranges of the Drakensberg region, there is snow in winter and you even can go skiing in South Africa.

Tiffindell is the most popular winter resort town. Sometimes also the higher mountain tops in the Western Cape near Cape Town receive some snow in winter. But there is no snow in the city or in the towns along the coastline. Although the snow might be enough for a snowball fight, it certainly is not enough to go skiing.

Did you know, that the Tugela Falls in the Drakensberg are the second-highest waterfalls in the world? There are five falls with a combined total drop of 948 m/ 3,110 ft!

Famous "Amphitheatre" mountains in the Drakensberg with Tugela river

The country name is displayed as ZA which stands for Zuid Africa. The word zuid is Afrikaans and means "south".

South Africa for Kids:
South Africa Attractions

Muizenberg beach huts

Cape Town: Table Mountain, V&A Waterfront, Atlantic and Indian Ocean beaches such as the stunning surf beach in Muizenberg. More about Cape Town attractions here
Garden Route and the Eastern Cape for amazing pristine beaches and traditional lifestyle
Kruger National Park for safaris and great wildlife viewing
Sun City near Pretoria for fun and games galore with amazing wave pool and lots of things to do for the whole family

Elephants

Addo National Park near Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) for animal and especially famous for elephant-spotting
Durban for surfing and great beaches and the KwaZulu-Natal midlands for some insights into South African history
iSimangeliso (formerly called St Lucia Wetlands) for wildlife viewing and unspoilt nature
Drakensberg Mountains for hiking and nearby neighbouring country Lesotho for skiing in Africa

South Africa for Kids: Animals

Wildlife in South Africa is abundant. There are many species of antilope such as kudu, springbok, wildebeest, impala, oryx and gemsbok. When you go on safari you can see many other South African animals like lions, elephants, giraffes and monkeys. Or admire the fabulous Cape vultures or the cute African penguins at Boulders Beach or in Betty's Bay.

African Penguin

South Africa is home to the great white shark as well. This large predatory fish lives in the ocean waters here too. Sometimes beaches are closed for bathing due to the sharks in the bays. Many beaches have shark nets. Remember to only swim in the sea where there are lifeguards on duty.

Whale watching is very popular in South Africa too and you will encounter an enormous sea life in South Africa when you go on a boat trip.

South Africa for Kids
South Africa People

South Africa is often called the 'Rainbow Nation', because there are so many different languages are spoken and different cultural traditions are lived. Below you see people of the Ndebele tribe.

Women of the Ndebele people

South Africa is often called "The Cradle of Humankind", because archaeological artefacts, tools and human remains proof that people lived in the area more than 100,000 years ago.

The ancient San and the Khoi were the early African civilizations settling the Cape. There are only few descendants of the local San people living in remote areas in the Karoo desert and near the Cape West Coast.

Zulu woman showing a wire basket

The biggest South African population group, the Zulu, mainly live in rural settlements in KwaZulu-Natal, they even have a king.

Portuguese, Dutch, British, French and German explorers have traveled and populated southern Africa in the 17th and 18th century and therefore you can find many European influences in South Africa too.

South African kids and South African languages

Nowadays most of the people in South Africa live in or near the big cities: Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town. The rural areas are still very poor and also in the cities many people live in shantytowns or townships.

Johannesburg is the largest city and the main industrial and economic hub, while Cape Town and Durban are also large cities with more than 1 million inhabitants.

Did you know that in South Africa, cars drive on the left side of the road as they do in the UK and Australia? However, all distance and speed signs are in metres and kilometres and km/ hour and not as in England in yards and miles and miles/ hour!

South Africa for Kids
Food in South Africa

The food the people eat in South Africa is very diverse. The South African staple food for the locals is 'mealies', which is corn, and seasonal vegetables, like potatoes, beans, carrots and peas.

South Africans love their meat and game meat such as kudu and springbok are common. However, most people eat beef, chicken, lamb and ostrich with their meals. The people in South Africa love a BBQ (here called 'braai') and almost every house has got a fireplace which is called 'braai-place'.

Bobotie

Typical South African food:

bobotie: typica Cape Malay food containing rice, lamb and fragrant spices. Click to find a tasty easy-to-do bootie recipe.
koeksisters: taste like donuts soaked in sticky sweet sauce. Yummy!
mealie pap: corn porridge

Boerewors

biltong: a cured and dried meat that is a typical South African snack and similar to beef jerky. Kids love to take this as snack to school.
boerewors: Afrikaans for 'farmers sausage', is often put on the grill, formed in a curl (see image)

Food in South Africa for Kids by Kids World Travel Guide

Did you know that...?

… most people speak at least two or three languages, one of them usually English or Afrikaans.

… South Africa has really three capital cities. The powers are distributed between Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein. The parliament meets for six months in Pretoria and the other half of the year in Cape Town.

We hope you enjoyed our information on South Africa for Kids. Read also our top 15 South Africa facts even locals often do not know here.

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Resources: South Africa for Kids

Central Intelligence Agency. "South Africa". WorldFactBook. Last updated 4 November 2024. Last accessed 7 November 2024
Nelson Mandela Foundation. "Mandela Day." NelsonMandelaFoundation. Last accessed 7 November 2024
South African History Online. People and Culture of South Africa. SAHistory.org. Last accessed 7 November 2024
South African Government. "Geography and Climate" gov.za. Last accessed 7 November 2024

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