Social Economics of Johannesburg South Africa Tourism Full Documentary Subscribe to Us Today!! Johannesburg (Jo'burg to the white population, E'Goli, the "city of gold", to the blacks), the third largest city in Africa, after Cairo and Alexandria, and the world's youngest city to pass the million mark, lies on the highveld, South Africa's central plateau, on the edge of the Witwatersrand, an 80km/50mi long range of hills, rich in minerals, which rises only 300m/1000ft above the surrounding country. Johannesburg is steadily expanding to join up with Pretoria to the north and the industrial towns of Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging to the south, together forming the province of Gauteng (until 1994 Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging, or PWV for short). The province, with only 2% of South Africa's total area, contains 25% of its population. It is difficult to establish the exact population of Johannesburg. The white population has remained fairly constant for some years at around 500,000; estimates of the black population range widely between 1 and 2 million (excluding the black ghetto of Soweto, which was separated from Johannesburg in 1983 and has a population of at least 2 million). Although many gold-mines in and around the city have been closed down, Johannesburg is still the financial and industrial metropolis of South Africa. Most of the country's leading industrial firms have their headquarters here, and 70% of South Africa's industrial production comes from the Witwatersrand area. The city's Stock Exchange is one of the busiest in the world. Johannesburg has three universities - the (English-language) University of the Witwatersrand, founded in 1922, the Rand Afrikaans University, founded in 1966, and the Vista University in Soweto, whose students are exclusively black - as well as a college of technology and a teachers' training college. In recent years there has been a great flowering of art and culture in Johannesburg, and the city's international cultural scene has sent fresh impulses throughout the country. For many visitors to South Africa, Johannesburg is their first port of call, and many of them stay no more than a day or two before escaping from the city with its grave social problems. Certainly Johannesburg is not a beautiful town, and its architecture has only limited appeal. It has a high crime rate. But it is the South African city with the most stimulating atmosphere. While elsewhere in South Africa white and black people lived separate lives (and still do), in Johannesburg a gradual process of getting together had begun. Here you will meet more blacks of higher social status than elsewhere; here beats the heart of the new South Africa. Against this background it is well worth spending several days in South Africa's largest city. Visitors should, however, bear in mind the high crime rate. It is inadvisable to walk about after dark, when Johannesburg becomes a ghost town. The best way of seeing the sights is by taxi or on an organized tour. And of course it is advisable to dress simply and avoid flaunting an expensive camera. But there is no need to panic: the newspapers may report unpleasant incidents but they have little to say about the 3 million people who survive the day in Johannesburg unscathed. Johannesburg International Airport (formerly Jan Smuts) the largest in southern Africa - is 25km/15 mi east of the city center. There are regular half-hourly bus services (5am-10pm) between the airport and the air terminal in the city center

• published: 21 Feb 2015
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