# Cloud Regions in South Africa: AWS, Google Cloud and Azure

> AWS, Google Cloud and Azure regions in Cape Town and Johannesburg, what POPIA means for hosting, and scheduling non-production on South African time.

Source: https://zop.dev/cloud-cost-optimization/south-africa
Published: 2026-07-01 · Updated: 2026-09-24 · Author: avinash-gaurav · Tags: geo, country, south-africa

---

Regions, time zones and data protection law for cloud teams in South Africa.

South Africa has regions from all three providers: AWS af-south-1 in Cape Town, Google Cloud africa-south1 in Johannesburg, and Azure southafricanorth in Johannesburg with southafricawest in Cape Town.

## Cloud regions in South Africa

| Provider | Region | Location |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | `af-south-1` | Cape Town |
| Google Cloud | `africa-south1` | Johannesburg |
| Azure | `southafricanorth` | Johannesburg |
| Azure | `southafricawest` | Cape Town |

AWS af-south-1 is an opt-in region. Nigeria and Kenya have no region from any of the three providers, so South African regions are among the closest options for teams there. Cape Town has its own page.

## Scheduling on local time

South Africa uses Africa/Johannesburg, with no daylight saving time, which puts it an hour ahead of Berlin in the northern winter and level with it in summer.

Time zones: `Africa/Johannesburg`. Currency: ZAR.

## Data protection law

The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) governs personal data and is enforced by the Information Regulator.

Source: [Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA)](https://inforegulator.org.za/popia/).

## City page

See <a href="https://zop.dev/cloud-cost-optimization/cape-town">cloud regions in Cape Town</a>.

## Nearby countries

<a href="https://zop.dev/cloud-cost-optimization/nigeria">Nigeria</a>, <a href="https://zop.dev/cloud-cost-optimization/kenya">Kenya</a>. For every country, see <a href="https://zop.dev/cloud-cost-optimization">cloud regions by country</a>.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which cloud regions are in South Africa?

AWS af-south-1 (Cape Town), Google Cloud africa-south1 (Johannesburg), and Azure southafricanorth (Johannesburg) and southafricawest (Cape Town).

### Is AWS af-south-1 enabled by default?

No. It is opt-in and must be enabled per account.