High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! South Africa is a large country, ranked 25th by size in the world, and is situated in the temperate latitudes and subtropics. Due to a range of climate types present, a patchwork of unique habitat types occur, which contribute to its biodiversity and level of endemism. Offshore, South Africa`s territory includes the Prince Edward Islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean, while the submerged though ecologically important Agulhas Bank is for most part inside its territorial waters.