I know it is still an impoverished country but compared to other african countries it seems much more civilized and developed.
But even more than that it seems like it is much more culturally prominent than other african countries. I never hear about Ghana in casual conversation but I feel like I hear about South Africa more regularly. It has had major historical figures, movies have been set there, people want to travel there. It just seems like it is more out there than the rest of Africa.
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There are other prominent African nations such as Egypt and Nigeria which both have higher GDP then South Africa. What distinguishes South Africa from most other African countries is that it was not so much colonized as settled. In that regards it have more in common with the USA then Ghana. In rough terms the same way that British, French and Spanish settlers started farming in North America in the 1600s onward Dutch settlers started farming in South Africa, the Boers. But also local tribes learned the breeding and farming techniques brought by European settlers which triggered a huge population boom. And just a few years after the American war of independence the British invaded South Africa starting a series of wars, especially after they discovered gold and diamonds (roughly around the time of the gold and silver rush in North America). And although the Boers were relatively well coordinated it was actually the Zulu tribe who mustered the best army and ruled over a large part of the territory and fought the British, even winning notable battles. Eventually everything was under British control. But this meant that you had the unusual situation of a British colony ruling over Dutch farmers, well developed fertile lands, local tribes with well educated and experienced economists and politicians in addition to big gold and diamond mines. And that is kind of what makes South Africa a bit different even today.
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