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The following lists events that happened during 1978 in South Africa.
Incumbents
- State President:
- Nico Diederichs (until 21 August).
- Marais Viljoen (acting from 21 August until 9 October).
;October
- 9 – P.W. Botha succeeds John Vorster as Prime Minister of South Africa.
- 10 – John Vorster becomes State President of South Africa.
Births
- 16 January – Judi van Niekerk, synchronised swimmer
- 23 February – Siyabonga Shibe, actor
- 24 February – Bolla Conradie, rugby player
- 28 February – Rowen Fernández, football player
- 22 March – Heinz Winckler, singer, winner of Idols South Africa (season 1)
- 27 March – Professor (musician), recording artist
- 30 March – Bok van Blerk, singer-songwriter
- 3 April – John Smit, Springboks, rugby captain
- 6 April – Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Springbok rugby player
- 6 May – Danie Rossouw, Jaco van der Westhuyzen
- 8 May – Nkhensani Kubayi-Ngubane, national minister
- 7 June – DuPreez Strauss, music director, TV, theatre and radio producer, composer, lyricist, writer, casting director, orchestra conductor and TV personality
- 25 June – De Wet Barry, Springbok rugby player
- 30 June – Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, national minister
- 8 August – Lawrence Sephaka, Springbok rugby player
- 10 August – Karen Zoid, singer
- 23 October – Wayne Julies, Springbok rugby player
- 7 November – Katlego Danke, actress
- 20 November – Neil de Kock, Springbok rugby player
- 18 December – Lulu Dikana, singer, older sister of singer Zonke (d. 2014)
- 29 December – André Pretorius, Springbok rugby player
Deaths
- 8 January – Rick Turner, activist and academic. (b. 1941)
- 12 January – Monty Naicker, medical doctor and activist. (b. 1910)
- 27 February – Robert Sobukwe, political activist. (b. 1924)
- 6 July – Papwa Sewgolum, golfer. (b. 1930)
- 21 August – Nico Diederichs, State President of South Africa. (b. 1903)
Railways
thumb|[[South African Class 7E|Class 7E]]
thumb|[[South African Class 9E, Series 1|Class 9E, Series 1]]
Locomotives
- Three new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the South African Railways:
- August – The first of 58 Class 34-800 General Motors Electro-Motive Division type GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives.
- The first of one hundred Class 7E electric locomotives, the SAR's first 25 kV AC locomotive.
Sports
Motorsport
- 4 March – The South African Grand Prix takes place at Kyalami.