Quick answerJohannesburg is the largest city of South Africa, with 4,803,262 people inside the city limits in 2022. The wider metropolitan area had about 5.8 million people in 2022. It is best known for the Gold mining history, the Apartheid Museum and the Soweto. Its official languages include Afrikaans, English and 10 others, and its currency is the South African rand.
Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa and its economic hub, with about 4.8 million people in the metropolitan municipality (2022 census) and about 5.8 million in the wider urban agglomeration. Founded in 1886 after gold was discovered, it grew into the richest city in Africa.
Key facts
| Country | South Africa |
|---|---|
| Population (city) | 4,803,262 (2022) |
| Population (metro) | 5,783,000 (2022) · Johannesburg urban agglomeration (UN World Urbanization Prospects, 2020) |
| Elevation | 1753 m above sea level |
| Time zone | Africa/Johannesburg |
| Language | Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu, South African Sign Language |
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR, R) |
| Coordinates | 26.2044° S, 28.0456° E |
Overview
Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa and the economic heart of the country, though it is not one of the three capitals. The City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality had 4,803,262 residents in the 2022 census, while the wider urban agglomeration, which spills into neighbouring municipalities, held about 5,783,000 people in the United Nations estimate for 2020. The city sits at 1,753 metres above sea level on the Highveld.
Johannesburg was founded in 1886, after gold was discovered on a farm on the Witwatersrand reef, and it grew within a decade from a mining camp into the largest town in southern Africa. The gold mines shaped the city and the country: the wealth they produced built the railways and the banks, and the townships around them, above all Soweto, became centres of the struggle against apartheid.
Today Johannesburg is the home of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the headquarters of South Africa's largest companies and banks, and the country's busiest international airport. Visitors come for the Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill and the streets of Soweto, including Vilakazi Street, where Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu both lived.
What Johannesburg is known for
- Gold mining history
- Apartheid Museum
- Soweto
- Economic hub of South Africa
- Constitution Hill
- Maboneng Precinct
Landmarks
- Apartheid Museum
- Constitution Hill
- Soweto (Vilakazi Street)
- Gold Reef City
- Johannesburg Art Gallery
- Maboneng Precinct
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of Johannesburg?
The City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality had 4,803,262 people in the 2022 census, according to Statistics South Africa. The wider urban agglomeration, which spills into neighbouring municipalities, held about 5,783,000 people in the United Nations estimate for 2020, making Johannesburg the largest urban area in South Africa.
Where is Johannesburg and what is it known for?
Johannesburg is in north-eastern South Africa, in Gauteng province, about 50 kilometres south-west of Pretoria. It is the country's largest city and economic hub, known for its 1886 gold rush, the Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill, and Soweto, the township where Nelson Mandela lived.
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Keep exploring
- South Africa — the country Johannesburg is in
- Cape Town — another city in South Africa
- Durban — another city in South Africa
- Pretoria — another city in South Africa
- All cities in South Africa
- All countries — the full list
Sources & last updated
- Wikipedia — Johannesburg
- City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), citing Statistics South Africa 2022 census
- UN World Urbanization Prospects, via Wikipedia — Urban areas in Africa by population
Last updated: . Figures are shown with their year; where sources disagree, the value is left out rather than estimated.