For the first-time traveler to Africa, South Africa is not a bad place to start: the infrastructure is constantly improving, the climate is kind and there are few better places to see Africa’s wildlife. But if you want to understand the country, you’ll have to deal with the full spectrum. Poverty still exists alongside riches, the AIDS pandemic is devastating and violence remains a problem. It Is necessary to take some precautions: keep money and valuables out of sight; take care when using local public transport and around railway stations and note that car hijackings and armed robbery are risks in parts of the country. While the political violence that was threatening to engulf the country in the early 1990s has for the most part disappeared, racial and cultural divisions remain entrenched.
 
Full country name: The Republic of South Africa
Area: 1,221,037 sq km
Population: 43.1 million
Capitals: Pretoria (administrative); Bloemfontein (judicial) and Cape Town (legislative)
People: 77% black, 10% white (60% of whites are of Afrikaner descent, most of the rest are of British descent), 8% mixed race, 2.5% of Indian or Asian descent.
Languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Pedi, English, Tswana, Sotho, Tsonga, Swati, Venda, Ndebele.
Religion: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and traditional religions.
Government: Republic and independent member of the British Commonwealth
President: Jacob Zuma
GDP: US$146 billion
GDP per head: US$ 2,133
Annual growth: 0.9%
Inflation: 7.8%
Major industries: Mining, finance, insurance, food processing
Major trading partners: USA, UK, Germany, Japan, Italy 
Time: GMT/UTC + 2
Telephone: Country code 27; international access 09
Money Rand: US$1 = R7.4
Population: 46.9 million
Budget : $ 25 to US$ 50 a day