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Here are 10 interesting facts about South Africa

Tourists take pictures on July 23, 2018 in the city centre of Cape Town, shows a view of the historical district of Bo-Kaap (Upper Cape), with the Table Mountain in the background. - Bo-Kaap was established in the 1760s to house Malay slaves in the then Dutch colony, with some current residents descended from the first slaves to live here. Bo-Kaap, known for it's brightly colored houses and cobble streets is also a big tourist attraction in the city. The community is mostly Muslim with several mosques in the area. Current residents are concerned with the changing character of the area, which they say is being gentrified. Because property values have increased dramatically, so have rates, which is making it very difficult for some of the traditional residents to afford to continue living in the area. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP) (Photo credit should read RODGER BOSCH/AFP/Getty Images)


1. About 80% of the country's population is ethnically black African. Roughly 9% are considered colored (a mix of white and African or white and Asian), nearly 8% are white and about 2% are ethnic Indian.

2. Reflecting the country's diversity, South Africa has 11 official languages: isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, Setswana, English, Sesotho, Xitsonga, siSwati, Tshivenda and isiNdebele. Other notable languages include Khoi, Nama and San.

3. South Africa has one of the world's younger populations by age, according to U.S. government estimates. The median age of a person in the country is 27, compared to 38 in the United States, 40 in the United Kingdom, and about 47 in both Germany and Japan.

4. South Africa has 10 UNESCO-designated World Heritage sites. They include Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape; Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape; Khomani Cultural Landscape; Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains; Cape Floral Region Protected Areas; iSimangaliso Wetland Park; Vredefort Dome; Maloti-Drakensberg Park; Robben Island, home to a now-closed prison that housed political prisoners during the apartheid era including Nelson Mandela; and the fossil hominid sites northwest of Johannesburg, home to some of the earliest human fossils found and the place that scientists label as the Cradle of Humankind.

5. South Africa has three capital cities: Pretoria hosts the executive branch, Cape Town is home to the legislative branch and Bloemfontein is home to the judicial branch.

6. The first human heart transplant was performed in Cape Town in 1967.

7. In a sign of the country's rich natural resources, the world's largest known diamond was discovered in 1905 at the Premier Mine near Pretoria. The size: 3,106 carats and roughly 1.3 pounds.


8. South Africa in 2019 has the world's highest level of income inequality, according to the World Bank.

9. South Africans have one of the highest rates of HIV in the world.

10. South Africa is the only country to voluntarily abandon its nuclear weapons program.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking

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