2. Dutch settlers find the first settlement at the Table Mountains Settlers leave the Cape towards the Orange Free State The Xhosa people migrate east further into the country Zulu King Shaka starts the mightiest kingdom in South African history The British annex Zululand and bring more people to South Africa Nelson Mandela establishes a strong and prosperous government

3. Nelson Mandela Greatest political figure of all time Basil RathboneBasetsana Kumalo Miriam MakebaChirstiaan BarnardLyndon Ferns Fashion icon and Miss South Africa 1994 South African actor and the master of stage and screen South African singer and civil rights activist Performed the world’s first human-to-human heart transplant South African Olympic swimmer and world record holder

4. Kimberley Big Hole Old diamond mine over 1,097m deep Victoria Falls Thousands of years of erosion and twice the size of Niagara Falls Cederberg Mountains Huge landmarks lie all over these mountains in the western cape provinces

5. About 80 percent of all South Africans are Christians, and most are Protestants. More than 8 million South Africans are members of African Independent churches, which have at least 4,000 congregations. The earliest southern African religions, those of the Khoisan peoples, were more complex than early missionaries often recorded. Their beliefs and practices were substantially eroded by contacts with Europeans.

6. The black population consists of several groups: Khoi-San, Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele, Sotho, Shangaan and Venda, just to name a few. The biggest groups are Zulus, Xhosas, and the Sotho. Next smaller minorities are the Tswana, Venda, Ndebele, Swasi, and Pedi, among others.

7. FrikkadelsPear Salad Babotie

8. In South African culture, holidays are celebrated over the top. Festivals and parties in South Africa are some of the most overdone in the entire world. Everything in South Africa gets celebrated from birthdays to Christmas and President’s Day to Worker’s Day.

9. GDP: $287 billion. Real GDP growth rate: 3.7% (5-year average) GDP per capita: $5,787. Unemployment: 25.2%. Natural resources: It is the only country in the world that manufactures fuel from coal. Industry: Types--minerals, mining, motor vehicles and parts, machinery, textiles, chemicals, fertilizer, information technology, electronics, other manufacturing, and agro-processing. GDP composition: Agriculture, mining, industries, and services. South Africa is one of the largest producers of platinum, manganese, gold, and chrome in the world; also significant coal production. Currency in South Africa: rand (ZAR) 1 South African Rand = 0.14354 US Dollar 1 US Dollar (USD) = 6.96647 South African Rand (ZAR)