NOV20
All country briefings

Africa · Country briefing

South Africa

A child-friendly mission briefing for 20 November — capital, climate, school day, languages, fun facts, native animals, and five questions to ask the class on the other side of the world.

  • Capital
    Pretoria / Cape Town / Bloemfontein
  • Population
    ~60 million
  • Time zone
    Africa/Johannesburg (UTC +2)
  • Currency
    South African rand (ZAR)
South Africa, with Pretoria / Cape Town / Bloemfontein marked
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Climate in November: Spring/early summer; warm and often sunny across many regions.

Pretoria / Cape Town / Bloemfontein, the capital of South Africa

The capital

Pretoria / Cape Town / Bloemfontein

Photo · Unsplash

Fun facts

What makes South Africa a bit special.

  • Table Mountain

    A flat-topped giant by the sea

  • Languages

    11 official ones

  • Big Five

    Lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, buffalo

  • Rugby

    Springboks: four-time World Cup winners

  • Diamonds

    Discovered here in the 1860s

  • Three capitals

    Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein

Native animals

Wildlife your partner class might know best.

  • 🦁

    Lion

    Lives in prides on the savannah

  • 🐧

    African penguin

    Yes — penguins in Africa!

  • 🦌

    Springbok

    Can leap 2 metres in the air ('pronking')

  • 🦏

    White rhino

    Second-largest land animal after the elephant

  • 🐿

    Meerkat

    Lives in 'mobs' and takes turns on lookout

School life

In a South Africa classroom

Many schools teach in multiple languages. Singing in assembly is widespread.

Typical school day: Often 07:45–14:30 in primary.

School year: January to December.

Greetings to learn

Say hello like a local

  • Sawubona!
    Zulu · saw-BOH-na
  • Molo!
    Xhosa · MOH-lo
  • Hallo!
    Afrikaans

Five questions to ask

Conversation starters

  1. 01How many languages do you speak?
  2. 02What is school like where you live?
  3. 03What animals live near you?
  4. 04What music do you love?
  5. 05What do you wish other children knew about South Africa?

What not to assume

Friendly cautions

  • ℹSouth Africa has 11 official languages and many cultures.
  • ℹWildlife is part of life for some communities but not all — many live in big cities.

Culture

Food, music, sport, festivals.

  • Food

    • Pap and wors
    • Bobotie
    • Bunny chow
    • Milk tart

  • Music

    • Amapiano
    • Kwaito
    • Choral traditions
    • Gospel

  • Sport

    • Rugby
    • Football
    • Cricket

  • Festivals

    • Heritage Day
    • Diwali
    • Eid
    • Christmas
Reflection prompts
  • “What would your school sound like with eleven languages?”
  • “Whose stories do you most want to hear?”

Could your class meet South Africa?

Choose South Africawhen you register — we’ll show you the time-zone feasibility.

Register your classroom