Republic of South Africa vs African nation

Republic of South Africa and African nation both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
Republic of South Africa	Yes	No	No	No
African nation	Yes	No	No	No

Republic of South Africa (noun)	African nation (noun)
a republic at the southernmost part of Africa; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1910; first European settlers were Dutch (known as Boers)	any one of the countries occupying the African continent