City Africa
Johannesburg
Johannesburg is the biggest city in South Africa. It began when gold was found there, so people call it 'the place of gold'.
Johannesburg is South Africa's most populous city, high on the country's central plateau. It grew very fast after gold was discovered in the Witwatersrand in 1886. Today it is the capital of Gauteng province, and the 2022 census counted 4,803,262 people in the City of Johannesburg.
Johannesburg owes its site to the Witwatersrand gold reef, found in 1886; within ten years the mining camp had 100,000 people. It is the capital of Gauteng province and home to South Africa's stock exchange. The census of 2 February 2022 counted 4,803,262 people in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, the most of any municipality in the country.
Photo: Evan Bench, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Johannesburg
Johannesburg is a huge city in South Africa. More people live there than in any other city in the country.
People often call it Joburg for short.
Johannesburg lies on South Africa's central highlands, about 1,700 meters above sea level. It is not the country's capital, but it is the capital of Gauteng, the province around it.
South Africa's 2022 census counted 4,803,262 people in the City of Johannesburg, more than in any other municipality in the country. About 15.1 million people live in Gauteng as a whole.
Encyclopaedia Universalis describes Johannesburg as a mining town turned industrial city and now a service metropolis, at about 1,700 m on the central highlands, sited by the Witwatersrand gold mines discovered in 1886.
City Population's table from Statistics South Africa gives 4,803,262 people in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality at the census of 2 February 2022, up from 4,434,631 in 2011, ahead of the City of Cape Town (4,772,846). Gauteng counted 15,099,422 of South Africa's 62,027,503.
- Country and province
- South Africa; capital of Gauteng province
- People in the City of Johannesburg (census, 2 February 2022)
- 4,803,262
- People in Gauteng province (same census)
- 15,099,422
- Height above sea level
- about 1,700 m
A bridge over the railway
A big white bridge crosses lots of train tracks in Johannesburg. It is named after Nelson Mandela.
Behind it stand the tall towers of the city center.
The hero photo looks out over Johannesburg from the Braamfontein district. The Nelson Mandela Bridge, held up by white masts and fans of cables, crosses the railway lines by the main station, and the towers of the central business district rise behind it.
Wikidata dates the bridge to 2003 and Park Station, the city's central railway station, to 1897. The Hillbrow Tower, opened in 1971, stands 269 meters tall.
The photographer describes the view as looking out over Johannesburg from Braamfontein, with the Nelson Mandela Bridge over the train station and the central business district in the background. Wikidata gives the bridge's opening as 2003 and Johannesburg Park Station's as 1897; the bridge is about 0.8 km west of the station.
Universalis notes that Johannesburg hosts the South African stock exchange and the headquarters of most of the country's large private companies. Wikidata gives the Hillbrow Tower a height of 269 m, about 1.4 km north-northeast of Park Station.
- Nelson Mandela Bridge
- opened 2003, over the tracks by the main station
- Johannesburg Park Station
- the central railway station, opened 1897
- Hillbrow Tower
- 269 m tall, opened 1971
The city of gold
In 1886 people found gold in the ground here. Lots of people came to dig for it.
A mining camp quickly grew into a big city.
Gold was found in a river north of today's Johannesburg in 1853, but the big find came in 1886, when the gold reef of the Witwatersrand was discovered. Within months, prospectors poured in, and the government of the Transvaal chose the site for a new town: Johannesburg.
The town grew very fast. Miners came from Australia, California, Cornwall and Wales, and Black workers came from all over southern Africa. By 1896 Johannesburg already had 100,000 people. It earned the nickname Egoli, 'the place of gold'.
Universalis records a prospector finding gold in the Jukskei River, north of the future city, in 1853, and the Witwatersrand reef in 1886. The government of the Transvaal, a small Boer republic, inspected the deposits and picked the site; the town grew 'like a mushroom' as large reserves were proven, reaching 100,000 people by 1896.
The ore was hard to mine at a profit: tons of rock had to be crushed and processed for an ounce or two of gold. British troops entered the city in June 1900 during the war with the Boers, and the colonial government that followed passed laws forcing Black people to work for white employers and brought in more than 60,000 Chinese workers for a time.
- Witwatersrand gold reef found
- 1886
- People by 1896
- 100,000
- Nickname
- Egoli, 'place of gold'
Gautrain and Metrorail
A fast train called the Gautrain zooms between Johannesburg, the airport and the city of Pretoria.
Part of its track runs in a tunnel under the ground.
The Gautrain is an express railway about 80 kilometers long that links Johannesburg with Pretoria and OR Tambo International Airport. About 15 kilometers of it run underground beneath Johannesburg's northern suburbs. Its first section, from the airport to Sandton, opened on 8 June 2010, and it reached Park Station in 2012.
Metrorail suburban lines spread out from the city center to cities across Gauteng, such as Pretoria, Soweto, Germiston and Krugersdorp.
UrbanRail lists the Gautrain openings as OR Tambo International Airport to Sandton (8 June 2010), Sandton to Rosebank and Marlboro to Hatfield (2 August 2011), and Rosebank to Johannesburg Park (7 June 2012). It uses standard 1,435 mm gauge and 25 kV AC power.
The Gauteng Metrorail network, run by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, uses 1,067 mm narrow gauge at 3,000 V DC, with lines radiating from the city center; UrbanRail's 2012 page gave four to six trains an hour at peak times.
- Gautrain
- 80 km express rail to Pretoria and OR Tambo International Airport
- Gautrain underground section
- 15 km, under Johannesburg's northern suburbs
- First Gautrain section
- OR Tambo airport to Sandton, 8 June 2010
Wet summers, dry winters
In Johannesburg, January is the warmest month. The warm months are the wettest.
June and July are dry, with cold nights.
Johannesburg is south of the equator, so its seasons are the opposite of North America's and Europe's. The World Meteorological Organization's averages for 1961 to 1990 give January days of about 26 °C and nights of about 15 °C. In July, days average about 17 °C and nights about 4 °C.
About 713 millimeters of precipitation fall in an average year, mostly from October to March. January is the wettest month, and July the driest.
WMO averages for 1961–1990 give highs and lows of 25.6 °C and 14.7 °C in January, the warmest month, and 16.7 °C and 4.1 °C in July; June has the coolest highs (16.0 °C) and shares July's lowest lows.
The monthly precipitation averages add up to about 713 mm. January is the wettest month (125 mm) and July the driest (4 mm); October to March bring about 600 mm, roughly five-sixths of the year.
- January, average daily high and low (WMO, 1961–1990)
- 25.6 °C and 14.7 °C
- July, average daily high and low (WMO, 1961–1990)
- 16.7 °C and 4.1 °C
- Precipitation in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 713 mm
Money, trees and a busy city
Johannesburg is a city of offices, shops and companies.
It also has millions of trees!
Johannesburg began as a mining town, then became an industrial city, and today it is a city of services, such as offices, shops and banks. It is home to South Africa's stock exchange and the headquarters of most of the country's big companies.
South African History Online counts about 10 million trees in Johannesburg. It also describes how the city was rebuilt again and again: first a camp of tents, then a town of tin shacks, then four-story brick buildings, and finally a city of skyscrapers.
Universalis calls Johannesburg the heart of Gauteng's urban and industrial region, home to the stock exchange and to the head offices of most of South Africa's large private companies.
South African History Online says the city has been rebuilt four times, from a tented mining camp to a town of tin shanties, then four-story Edwardian brick buildings and finally modern skyscrapers, and it counts about 10 million trees, which it describes as the world's largest human-made urban forest.
- South African stock exchange
- based in Johannesburg
- Trees in the city
- about 10 million (South African History Online)
- City of Johannesburg growth
- 4,434,631 (2011) to 4,803,262 (2022)
Johannesburg on the map
Find the southern tip of Africa on the globe. That is South Africa.
Johannesburg is in its northeast.
Johannesburg is in northeastern South Africa, at about 26° south, on the country's central highlands.
Measured from Park Station, the Nelson Mandela Bridge is about 800 meters to the west, the Hillbrow Tower about 1.4 kilometers to the north-northeast, Sandton about 10 kilometers to the north and OR Tambo International Airport about 21 kilometers to the east-northeast.
Johannesburg lies at about 26.2° S and 28.0° E, on the central highlands at about 1,700 m (Universalis).
Measured from Johannesburg Park Station (Wikidata points), the Nelson Mandela Bridge is about 0.8 km west, the Hillbrow Tower 1.4 km north-northeast, Sandton Gautrain station 10.1 km north and OR Tambo International Airport 21.4 km east-northeast.
- Latitude
- about 26.2° south
- Longitude
- about 28.0° east
- OR Tambo International Airport
- about 21 km east-northeast of Park Station
Amazing facts
-
Johannesburg's nickname means 'place of gold'!
Johannesburg grew during one of the world's biggest gold rushes, which earned it the name Egoli, meaning 'place of gold'.
South African History Online links the nickname Egoli, 'place of gold', to the gold rush in which the city was founded.
-
Johannesburg grew from a camp of tents into a city of skyscrapers.
Johannesburg has been rebuilt four times: tents, then tin shacks, then brick buildings, then skyscrapers.
South African History Online says Johannesburg was rebuilt four times: a tented mining camp, a town of tin shanties, four-story Edwardian brick buildings and a city of modern skyscrapers.
-
In just ten years, Johannesburg grew from a new mining camp to 100,000 people!
Gold was found in 1886, and by 1896 Johannesburg already had 100,000 people.
Universalis: after the Witwatersrand reef was found in 1886, Johannesburg grew 'like a mushroom' and had 100,000 inhabitants by 1896.
-
Part of Johannesburg's fast train runs in a tunnel.
About 15 kilometers of the Gautrain run underground through Johannesburg's northern suburbs.
Of the Gautrain's 80 km, 15 km run underground beneath Johannesburg's northern suburbs (UrbanRail).
Words to know
- gold rush
- a time when many people hurry to a place where gold has been found
- reef
- in mining, a long layer of rock that contains gold
- prospector
- a person who searches for gold or other valuable minerals
- province
- a large part of a country with its own local government
- stock exchange
- a place where people buy and sell shares in companies
- plateau
- a large, flat area of high land
Discovery challenge
-
What did people find in Johannesburg in 1886?
What was discovered on the Witwatersrand in 1886, starting Johannesburg?
Johannesburg owes its site to the discovery of what on the Witwatersrand in 1886?
- Gold
- Oil
- Diamonds
Show the answer
Gold
Gold!
Gold: the Witwatersrand gold reef.
A gold reef.
-
Johannesburg is in which country?
Johannesburg is in which country?
Johannesburg is the capital of Gauteng province in which country?
- Kenya
- Nigeria
- South Africa
Show the answer
South Africa
South Africa!
South Africa.
South Africa.
-
What crosses the train tracks in the photo?
What crosses the railway lines by the main station in the photo?
What structure, opened in 2003, crosses the tracks by Park Station?
- A cable car
- The Nelson Mandela Bridge
- A canal
Show the answer
The Nelson Mandela Bridge
A bridge!
The Nelson Mandela Bridge.
The Nelson Mandela Bridge.
-
What is the name of Johannesburg's fast train?
Which express railway links Johannesburg, Pretoria and the airport?
Which 80 km express railway, opened in stages from 2010, links Johannesburg with Pretoria and OR Tambo airport?
- The Gautrain
- The Blue Line
- The Shinkansen
Show the answer
The Gautrain
The Gautrain!
The Gautrain.
The Gautrain.
-
Which month is the wettest in Johannesburg?
Which month gets the most precipitation in Johannesburg, on average?
Which month averages 125 mm of Johannesburg's roughly 713 mm a year (WMO, 1961–1990)?
- January
- July
- April
Show the answer
January
January!
January. July is the driest.
January (125 mm); July is the driest (4 mm).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Johannesburg on South Africa's central plateau.
- Describe how a gold discovery created a city in a few years.
- Explain why seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are opposite to the Northern Hemisphere's.
- Read monthly precipitation averages and find a summer-rain pattern.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Johannesburg grew from a new mining camp to 100,000 people in ten years. What would a town need if that many people arrived so fast?
- Miners came from many countries to Johannesburg. Why do people move far away for work?
- Johannesburg's coldest month is July. How would your year change if winter came in July?
Try at home or in class
- Gold panning: mix sand and a few shiny beads in a tray of water and swirl to see how heavy things settle to the bottom.
- Season chart: plot Johannesburg's monthly highs next to your town's and see how the seasons flip.
- Train map: draw the Gautrain line from the airport to Sandton, Park Station and Pretoria.
Key vocabulary: gold rush, reef, prospector, province, stock exchange, plateau
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- South Africa: provinces and municipalities (censuses 1996–2022) , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from Statistics South Africa
- Johannesburg , Encyclopaedia Universalis (Philippe Gervais-Lambony, James T. Campbell)
- Johannesburg, Gauteng Province , South African History Online
- Johannesburg: Gauteng Metrorail and Gautrain , UrbanRail.Net (Robert Schwandl)
- File:Johannesburg CBD.jpg (Evan Bench, 4 December 2009) , Wikimedia Commons
- Johannesburg, South Africa: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.