South Africa - Location, size, and extent

The area of South Africa is 1,219,912 sq km (471,011 sq mi). Comparatively, the area occupied by South Africa is slightly less than twice the size of the state of Texas. Considered as a whole, South Africa extends 1,821 km (1,132 mi) NE–SW and 1,066 km (662 mi) SE–NW. It is bounded on the N by Botswana and Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), on the NE by Mozambique and Swaziland, on the E by the Indian Ocean, on the S by the confluence of the Indian and Atlantic oceans, on the W by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the NW by Namibia. South Africa also controls two small islands, Prince Edward and Marion, which lie some 1,920 km (1,200 mi) southeast of Cape Town. South Africa's capital city, Pretoria, is located in the northeastern part of the country.