South Africa
A country where two oceans meet below a flat-topped mountain and eleven languages share one national anthem. South Africa is the rainbow nation: a place of wildlife parks and wine valleys, painful history and remarkable reconciliation, where the long walk to freedom turned a prisoner into a president.
- Region
- Southern Africa
- Capitals
- Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein
- Major languages
- 11 official languages
- Quiz questions
- 60 across three rounds
What is South Africa?
Its full name is the Republic of South Africa, which held its first fully democratic elections in 1994 after the end of apartheid. Around 60 million people live in nine provinces, and the country is unusual in having three capitals, one each for the executive, legislature and judiciary, while the currency is the rand.
South Africa is the most industrialized economy on the continent, rich in gold, platinum, coal and diamonds, with sophisticated cities, deep-water ports and a strong financial system. It is also a cultural giant, whose music, literature and anti-apartheid struggle influenced the world, and a member of the BRICS group of major emerging economies.
Two oceans, one dramatic coastline
The southwestern Cape is watched over by Table Mountain, whose flat summit is sometimes covered by a thin "tablecloth" of cloud, and the Cape of Good Hope marks the meeting of Atlantic and Indian ocean currents. Behind the coast lie fertile wine valleys, old Dutch-style estates and the dry, wide Karoo semi-desert.
To the east the Drakensberg mountains rise in basalt cliffs covered in ancient rock art, and the northeast holds the Kruger park, one of the greatest wildlife reserves in Africa, where the big five roam. Subtropical beaches, golden grasslands and high-altitude cities give the country an unusually varied map.
From the first herders to the long walk
The San hunter-gatherers and Khoikhoi herders were the earliest inhabitants, and Bantu-speaking farming peoples settled the east over many centuries. The Dutch founded a Cape supply station in 1652, British rule followed, and the conflicts, gold rushes and migrations of the colonial era shaped a deeply divided society.
After 1948 the apartheid system enforced racial separation by law, resisted for decades by the African National Congress and leaders such as Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison before his release in 1990 and election as president in 1994. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission then chose testimony over revenge. The Atlas questions trace the full arc from precolonial rock art to the democratic constitution.
Braais, biltong and the sound of freedom songs
South African culture is built on voices: choral hymns, jazz, township dance music and the powerful harmonies of protest songs. The country has produced world-class writers, photographers and theater makers, and its vibrant cities host festivals that celebrate every community of the rainbow nation.
Sport is a shared language, especially rugby and football, and the braai, the open-air barbecue, is a national pastime across all backgrounds. The kitchen offers biltong dried meat, boerewors sausages, Cape Malay curries, bunny chow, the bread-bowl curry, and wines from the Stellenbosch vineyards, all enjoyed under some of the clearest night skies in the world.
South Africa in the Atlas quiz
Sixty questions wait in three rounds. First Steps is a gentle ten-question warm-up; Finding Your Way stretches to twenty; Well Versed offers thirty that roam from the gold mines to the first democratic vote. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so even a wrong guess leaves you with a story worth keeping.
Pass a round with enough correct answers and South Africa changes color on your learning map, saved right in your browser. Replay any round whenever you like.