South African Flag

Last verified: Saturday, 20. April 2024 at 08:25 AM

South Africa Travel Advisory

Warning Level Icon We advise caution when travelling to South Africa

Local Situation: 3.4 / 5

We advise caution when travelling to South Africa. We detected travel advisories from 7 sources for this specific country.

Regional Situation: 3.0 / 5

South Africa shares a land border with 6 neighbouring states. For this region of countries (including South Africa), the Advisory Index is 3 (average value over all countries). All countries have some reported advisories: Zimbabwe (3.2), Botswana (3), Lesotho (3), Mozambique (3), Namibia with 3 and Swaziland with 2.7 (of 5).

Current informationen on Covid-19 in South Africa

There are currently no officially reported cases of infections with SARS-CoV-2 (or Coronavirus) in South Africa. As reported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control this morning (~8:30am CET).

There are currently no officially reported deaths related to this disease in South Africa.

Source: www.ecdc.europa.eu

Advice scoring history for South Africa

Chart of the risk level over that last 200 days. This is the daily calculated travel risk for South Africa.

Chart of the number of sources over that last 200 days. This is the daily number of advisory sources (of any rating) that have been active on that day.

Note: Changes happening on the 28th/29th of July 2019 are related to a change in the software and number of sources processed.

Rating Details (single travel warnings)

These are the individual advisories published by other countries about the destination South Africa from a travellers perspective. The scoring of all messages combined is the foundation for the current rating 3.4 out of 5.0.

Warning Level Icon Danger level: 2 - Travel is usually safe.

This is the general advisory usually covering the country as a whole.

Advisory issued by: New Zealand

Flag of New Zealand

Exercise increased caution in South Africa due to violent crime (level 2 of 4).

Source: https://www.safetravel.govt.nz/south-africa

Warning Level Icon Danger level: 2 - Travel is usually safe.
Warning Level Icon Danger level: 3 - Travel with high caution.

This is the general advisory usually covering the country as a whole.

Advisory issued by: Canada

Flag of Canada

The Canadian goverment suggests: Exercise a high degree of caution.

Source: https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/south-africa

Warning Level Icon Danger level: 3 - Travel with high caution.

This is the general advisory usually covering the country as a whole.

Advisory issued by: Finland

Flag of Finland

Iaktta särskild försiktighet - Brottslighet och våld är stora problem i Sydafrika. Var ständigt på din vakt när du rör dig ute. Undvik besök i förorter (township). Även trafikkulturen är farlig.

Source: https://um.fi/resemeddelande/-/c/ZA

Individual rating changes for South Africa

This is the recent history of individual changes of travel advices that affected the total asessment of South Africa. Most recent events first.

Changes from December 30th 2021

The total rating for South Africa changed from 4.3 to 4.0. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of Finland

The Finnish government decreased their existing warning for South Africa to 3.0 (of 5.0) from the previous rating of 5.0 (by -2.0).

Changes from August 7th 2020

The total rating for South Africa changed from 3.6 to 3.9. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of United States

The United States government increased their existing warning for South Africa to 4.0 (of 5.0) from the previous rating of 2.0 (by +2.0).

Changes from April 5th 2020

The total rating for South Africa changed from 3.4 to 3.6. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of Austria

The Austrian government issued a new warning for South Africa with a rating of 5.0.

Changes from March 23rd 2020

The total rating for South Africa changed from 3.3 to 3.4. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of Canada

The Canadian government increased their existing warning for South Africa to 4.0 (of 5.0) from the previous rating of 3.0 (by +1.0).

Changes from March 18th 2020

The total rating for South Africa changed from 3.0 to 3.3. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of Australia

The Australian government increased their existing warning for South Africa to 5.0 (of 5.0) from the previous rating of 4.0 (by +1.0).

Flag of Ireland

The Irish government increased their existing warning for South Africa to 4.0 (of 5.0) from the previous rating of 3.0 (by +1.0).

Changes from March 14th 2020

The total rating for South Africa changed from 2.7 to 3.0. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of Australia

The Australian government issued a new warning for South Africa with a rating of 4.0.

Flag of Denmark

The Danish government increased their existing warning for South Africa to 4.0 (of 5.0) from the previous rating of 3.0 (by +1.0).

Changes from September 25th 2019

The total rating for South Africa changed from 0.0 to 0.0. Here are the influencing details:

Flag of United States

The United States government issued a new warning for South Africa with a rating of 2.0.

Flag of Canada

The Canadian government issued a new warning for South Africa with a rating of 3.0.

Flag of New Zealand

The New Zealand government issued a new warning for South Africa with a rating of 2.0.

Flag of Ireland

The Irish government issued a new warning for South Africa with a rating of 3.0.

Flag of Finland

The Finnish government issued a new warning for South Africa with a rating of 3.0.

Flag of Denmark

The Danish government issued a new warning for South Africa with a rating of 3.0.

About South Africa

South Africa with its capital Pretoria is a country in Africa (Southern Africa), slightly less than twice the size of Texas (1,219,912 km²). The country is located Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa. The climate can be described as mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights. The landscape is vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain. With a population of about 43.79 million citizens.

South African flag

Flag of South Africa

Introduction Video

Basic Statistics and Facts

Topic Value
Capital Pretoria
Population about 43.79 million
Size 1.219.912 km²
Size comparable to slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Common languages Afrikaans, English, Southern Sotho, Tswana, Tsonga, Xhosa, Zulu
Currency Rand (short: ZAR)
Common voltage (electricity) 220V - 50Hz
Used GSM Frequencies 900/1800
International phone prefix +27
Internet Top Level Domain .za
Countrycode: ISO Alpha 2 ZA
Countrycode: ISO Alpha 3 ZAF
Countrycode: ISO Numeric 710

Environmental problems and natural hazzards

These are problems South Africa is facing. Environmental issues refer to damages of the nature due to industry and society. Natural hazzards refer to potential dangers originating in nature.

Environmental problems

  • air pollution resulting in acid rain
  • desertification
  • growth in water usage outpacing supply
  • lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures
  • pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge
  • soil erosion

Natural hazzards

  • prolonged droughts
  • the volcano forming Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands, which last erupted in 2004, is South Africa's only active volcano

Top Industries and Agricultural Products

These are the main product industries and agricultural products of South Africa. This list indicates what this country is good at producing.

Industries

  1. automobile assembly
  2. chemicals
  3. chromium
  4. commercial ship repair
  5. fertilizer
  6. foodstuffs
  7. gold
  8. iron
  9. machinery
  10. metalworking

Agriculture products

  1. beef
  2. corn
  3. dairy products
  4. fruits
  5. mutton
  6. poultry
  7. sugarcane
  8. vegetables
  9. wheat
  10. wool

South African Imports and Exports

These are the main product categories of imports and exports to and from South Africa.

Export products

  1. diamonds
  2. equipment
  3. gold
  4. machinery
  5. minerals
  6. other metals
  7. platinum

Import products

  1. chemicals
  2. equipment
  3. foodstuffs
  4. machinery
  5. petroleum products
  6. scientific instruments

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the current travel advisory for South Africa?

South Africa is currently rated at 3,4 out of a possible 5.0. Collected from 7 official sources. We advise caution when travelling to South Africa.

Is it safe to travel South Africa in 2024?

Visiting the country South Africa is usually fine. The score is at 3,4 Just keep an eye open, obey local rules and you'll most likely be fine.

How many travel advisories do you know for South Africa?

We currently evaluate 11 official sources each morning. Today, we know of active advisories from 7 individual sources for South Africa.

What is the current Corona virus situation in South Africa?

There are currently no officially reported cases of infections with SARS-CoV-2 (or Coronavirus) in South Africa. As reported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control this morning (~8:30am CET). There are currently no officially reported deaths related to this disease in South Africa.

What is the size of South Africa?

South Africa has a size of 1,219,912 km² or 471,010 mi² which is slightly less than twice the size of Texas.

Common Frequently Asked Questions

For non-country specific questions, please check our global F.A.Q.