South Africa is a popular tourist destination, and a substantial amount of revenue comes from tourism. The high Drakensberg mountains, which form the south-eastern escarpment of the Highveld, offer limited skiing in winter.

The South African black majority still has a substantial number of rural inhabitants who lead largely impoverished lives. It is among these people that cultural traditions survive most strongly; as blacks have become increasingly urbanised and Westernised, aspects of traditional culture have declined. Members of the middle class, who are predominantly white but whose ranks include growing numbers of Black, Coloured and Indian people, have lifestyles similar in many respects to that of people found in Western Europe, North America and Australasia.