is south africa a continent or a country
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded on the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739Â mi) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans;[9][10][11] on the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and on the east and northeast by Mozambique and Swaziland; and surrounds the kingdom of Lesotho.[12] South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa[13] and the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and, with close to 56 million people, is the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry,[5] divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different African languages, nine of which have official status.[11] The remaining population consists of Africa's largest communities of European (white), Asian (Indian), and multiracial (coloured) ancestry.
Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (Dutch: Unie van Zuid-Afrika, Afrikaans: Unie van Suid-Afrika) is the historic predecessor to the present-day republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of four previously separate British colonies: the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Orange River colonies. It included the territories formerly part of the Boer republics annexed in 1902, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State.