Johannesburg: Largest city in South Africa

It is the capital of the Gauteng Province. It was founded on October 4, 1886 and has the JSE Securities Exchange, which is the largest stock exchange in Africa.

Johannesburg houses the tallest office block in Africa, the Carlton Centre (50 stories) and the tallest tower, the Hillbrow Tower (270 metres, or 90 stories). The city is nicknamed Egoli or Jozi, which means "place of gold", for the large gold deposit at Witwatersrand.

The Johannesburg Zoo was established in 1904, and historically, it has been owned and run by the city of Johannesburg. It houses the only two polar bears in Africa. Johannesburg is not seen as a tourist centre in South Africa, but rather as a commercial centre.

Johannesburg has a subtropical highland climate (Cwb in the Köppen climate classification). Snow is a very rare event. It only snows in Johannesburg once or twice in a century.

Nelson Mandela died there on 5 December 2013, aged 95. He was also given the "Freedom of the City" award. In 2023, a fire started in the town. The fire killed more than 70 people and became one of the deadliest fires in the history of South Africa.