All mining companies and the big banking and investment institutions have their headquarters in Johannesburg. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange, founded in 1887, is the centre of the capital markets for he whole of southern Africa There are only few South African companies which are not represented in Johannesburg.

Johannesburg is also the first address for international tourism. Most of the major airlines call at Johannesburg International Airport in the southeast of the city and most travel agencies and tour operators choose Johannesburg as the starting point for journeys through the country. The lively metropolis offers a wide spectrum of culture, combining European and African components.

Safety is a big issue as far as Johannesburg is concerned. After the end of apartheid, the crime rate rose dramatically, and the city got the reputation to be the "world's crime capital". Especially Johannesburg's Central Business District (CBD) was hit badly. Many shops and offices moved to the suburbs, to Rosebank, Sandton and Benoni. But in the year 2002 the business community took action and installed a surveillance camera web. More than 200 video cameras are covering virtually every corner of the CBD around the clock. Police and security officers can be at the scene of an assault in a minute. Since then the crime rate in the inner city has dropped considerably. Read more on this topic in Crime and Safety Info.

Visitor Information
Accommodation in Johannesburg

Johannesburg or Jo'burg, as the locals call the city of the gold, is the biggest metropolis in South Africa. With its 3,2 million citizens (sensus in 2001) the city on the Witwatersrand is the predominant commercial centre and the economic motor of the Republic of South Africa. One fifth of the country's Gross Domestic Product is being produced in Johannesburg. More than half of its population live in the suburbs of Soweto, Diepkloof and Orange Farm south-west of the city.



Johannesburg is the centre of the Gauteng Province, a densely populated Mega-Metropolis with numerous satellite towns as well as the South African capital of Pretoria. The population of Gauteng exceeds 8 million people by now.

Johannesburg's economical backbone still is the gold industry. Only a few of the initial mining oprations in Johannesburg are still active in the city area, but the former mines and the mine dumps had a lasting impact on the appearance of the urban landscape and the industrial structure.