Countries in Southern Africa

How Many Nations in Southern Africa

Located in south part of Africa, Southern Africa is composed of 5 countries. Here is an alphabetical list of all countries in South Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, and South Africa.

1. South Africa

South Africa, formally the Republic of South Africa, is a republic in Africa, the southernmost part of the African continent.

Capital: Pretoria (Executive), Bloemfontein (Judiciary), Cape Town (Legislative) Area: 1,219,090 km 2 Languages: Afrikaans and English (plus eleven official languages) Currency: Rand

2. Botswana

Botswana is a republic in southern Africa. The state has no coast and the country borders in the east to Zimbabwe, in the southwest and south to South Africa, in the west and in the north to Namibia. Before the independence from Great Britain, the country was very poor but today has a high growth rate and is a very peaceful country for the region.

Capital: Gaborone Area: 581,730 km 2 Language: English Currency: Pula

3. Lesotho

Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a monarchy in southern Africa, an enclave to, and thus on all sides surrounded by, South Africa and one of the smallest countries in Africa.

Capital: Maseru Area: 30,360 km 2 Languages: English and Sessoto Currency: Loti

4. Namibia

Namibia, formally the Republic of Namibia, is a state in southwestern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean. The country borders Angola, Botswana, South Africa and Zambia. Along the coast are the Namib Desert and to the east the Kalahari Desert.

Capital: Windhoek Area: 824,290 km 2 Language: English Currency: Namibian Dollar

5. Swaziland

Swaziland, formally the Kingdom of Swaziland, is an absolute monarchy located in southern Africa. It is the region’s smallest state, lacks a coast and borders Mozambique in the east and South Africa in the north, west and south.

Capital: Mbabane / Lobamba Area: 17,630 km 2 Languages: English and Sussuati Currency: Lilangeni

Countries in Southern Africa by Population and Their Capitals

As noted above, there are five independent countries in the Southern Africa. Among them, the largest country is South Africa and the smallest one is Swaziland in term of population. The full list of Southern African countries with capitals is shown in the table below, ranked by latest total population.

Rank	Country	Population	Land Area (km²)	Capital
1	South Africa	57,725,600	1,214,470	Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein
2	Namibia	2,458,936	823,290	Windhoek
3	Botswana	2,338,851	566,730	Gaborone
4	Lesotho	2,007,201	30,355	Maseru
5	Swaziland	1,367,254	6704	Mbabane

Map of South African Countries