Following is the briefest of outlines to the country. It is not meant to be an exhaustive or comprehensive coverage of the country- but just a mere taster. Our VCIG covers more detail along with references, follow-up links and resources.

SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa has a coastline extending some 1,553 miles (2,500km) along two oceans (the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean). It ranks as 25th in physical size in the world.

 

Fauna and flora
With over 20,000 different plants, or about 10% of all the known species of plants on Earth, South Africa is ranked sixth out of the world’s seventeen megadiverse countries (along with: Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, Indonesia, India, Madagascar, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, USA and Venezuala).

South Africa has lost a large area of natural habitat in the last four decades, primarily due to overpopulation, sprawling development patterns and deforestation. Only 1% of the land is now forest.

It is a country famous for it's high-, low- and bushveld. With mammals such as lions, white rhinos, leopards, blue wildebeest, impalas, hyenas, hippopotamus and giraffes South Africa has a lot to look after and protect. With urban sprawl, poaching and Man taking over wild and rough land, wildlife is increasingly becoming endangered.

Geography
The interior of the country is a vast, flat, and sparsely populated scrubland. The northwest is the location of the famous Namib desert - hot dry and very arid. To the north of Johannesburg, the altitude drops and turns into the lower lying Bushveld, an area of mixed dry forest and an abundance of wildlife.

Sport
South Africa's most popular sports are Football (soccer) Rugby Union and Cricket. South Africa boasts truly international players. They won the Rugby World cup in 1995 and in 2007. 2004 saw four South Africans take the Gold medal in the Summer Olympics as well as breaking the world record in the 4x100 freestyle relay.