South Africa is one of the top African countries driving development on the continent. The country that was recently an apartheid country hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but there are other fascinating facts about South Africa that you’ve probably never heard of before.
In this article, we bring to light the top 10 amazing and fun facts about South Africa, also popularly known as the Rainbow Nation.
Interesting facts about South Africa
10. Nobel Peace Prize Winners on the same street?
South Africa is the only country where one road has produced two Nobel Prize winners in history. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu had homes on Vilakazi Street in Soweto.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s former President Frederik Willem de Klerk in 1993.
While Mandela received the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize “for his work to peacefully end the apartheid regime and to lay the foundations for a new democratic South Africa”, Frederik Willem de Klerk was honored for his participation in the country’s peace process when rescuing Nelson Mandela in 1990 prison released.
Tutu, who was bishop at the time, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 16, 1984 for his “role as a unified leader in the campaign to resolve the apartheid problem in South Africa.”
Archbishop Emeritus is the first Black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, first Black Archbishop of the Anglican Church in South Africa, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town and Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu first met Mandela as a debate judge when he [Tutu] was a student at a teacher training college. The icons next spoke on the night after his release from prison in 1990. The meeting reportedly took place at Bishop’s Court in Cape Town.
Shortly after his release from prison, NelsonTutu was appointed by the Mandela administration to head the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, charged with investigating past human rights abuses.
Madiba and Tutu were close lifelong friends who shared a special kind of bond. Their closeness was so strong that Tutu suffered severe heartbreak upon learning of Mandela’s death.
9. The most diverse fossils of the early dinosaurs
The Karoo region in the Western Cape of South Africa is a very important area in the South African country as it contains some of the best fossils of early dinosaurs. In fact, an estimated 80% of the mammalian fossils found to date have been found in the Karoo.
In southern Africa, rocks of the Karoo Supergroup cover almost two-thirds of the present land area (400,000 km²), including the central Cape Province, almost all of the Orange Free State, western Natal, much of the south-eastern Transvaal, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. A group of terrestrial vertebrates found in Karoo supergroups include dinosaurs, mammals, and turtles.
8. Second largest fruit producer
South Africa is the second largest fruit producer in the world – many thanks to the country’s optimal climatic conditions made it possible to support a fairly wide range and types of fruits.
The country is known as the world’s fourth largest apple producer, second largest pear producer, tenth largest sugar producer and world largest producer of macadamia nuts.
South Africa appears to have a balanced climate and apart from the world’s fruit depot, SA is a world leader for its floral kingdom, being home to the smallest succulent plants (less than 10mm) and the largest (the baobab) in the world.
7. Coal-Oil Technology
South Africa is the first country to have an incredibly rare coal-oil technology. Due to the aftermath of World War II, South Africa had economic problems and access to oil was difficult. Due to the country’s vast coal reserves, they decided to investigate how coal could be turned into oil.
Although the South African country initially thought that the conversion of coal into liquid was absolutely impossible, it turned out to be easier than expected. Today, the country is one of the largest companies in South Africa Synthetic Oil Liquid (SASOL).
China and the United States of America also appear to have followed suit. While China is said to have started building a coal-oil plant, the US has adopted the study of coal-oil technology as part of its academic curriculum.
6. Sailor’s Bump
The South African coast is said to be around 2500km long and has committed over 2000 shipwrecks, most of them dating back at least 500 years.
The dangerous coast has claimed thousands of vessels and lives over the centuries. Some popular shipwrecks off the South African coast are the SS Thomas T Tucker, Grosvenor, Waratah, Arniston, Oceanos, Birkenhead and Sacramento. This incredible number of wrecks may be the reason why the coast has been nicknamed the “Graveyard of Ships” and “Cape of the Storm”.
5. Land of Mines
Extremely rich in mining and minerals, South Africa is considered a world leader with nearly 90% of all platinum group metals on earth and the highest gold producing country producing around 41% of all gold in the world.
In 1996 it was revealed that South Africa had 261,423 anti-personnel mines in its stockpile, along with 49,756 anti-tank mines. This was revealed by the then Secretary of Defense. Nonetheless, the country reportedly has stockpiles of more than 20 other mine types from six other nations.
4. Well recognized monarchy
The country’s status is considered a democratic republic, but the province of KwaZulu-Natal has a monarchy system of government specifically provided for in the constitution.
Since September 17, 1968, the Zulu Kingdom has been producing kings in South Africa. The reigning king of the Zulus is Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu. He ascended the throne as the eighth monarch on December 3, 1971 in a lavish ceremony attended by over 20,000 people from all walks of life.
King Goodwill is the father of twenty seven (27) children and husband to six beautiful wives. Zulu queens are named Nompumelelo Mchiza, Zola Zelusiwe and Buthle MaMathe
Thandekile Jane Ndlovu, Mafu Mantfombi Dlamini (Head Queen) and Sibongile Winifred Dlamini.
3. The Palace of the Lost City
The Palace of the Lost City Belongs to the WorldThe world’s largest themed resort is located in Sun City, Rustenburg, South Africa. The five-star hotel is surrounded by 25 hectares of man-made botanical jungle with almost 2 million plants, trees and shrubs.
Since its inception in 1992, the legendary palace has hosted millions of fun lovers from all over the world. The Palace of the Lost City is a must-see for anyone visiting South Africa.
2. Mind your business while sitting
In South Africa it is against the law to sit closer than 2 meters to a person of the opposite sex when they are only wearing a swim suit. (Whoever sets the reference point is the one I really don’t know.)
1. Important Medical Record
It should be noted that the very first world heart transplant was performed in South Africa, and it was on December 3, 1967. It was performed on Louis Washkansky, a Lithuanian Jewish migrant, at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
The operation lasted six hours. However, Washkansky succumbed to pneumonia eighteen days after the known transplant.