Gauteng

I

Introduction

Gauteng, province of South Africa, formerly known as Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging. Gauteng was historically part of the Transvaal. It is bordered by four other provinces: Limpopo Province to the north, North-West Province to the west, the Free State to the south, and Mpumalanga to the east. Gauteng was named after the Sotho word meaning “place of gold”. It is the smallest of the South African provinces but has the largest population and the highest population density.

II

Physical Geography

Gauteng Province lies on a plateau some 1,740 m (5,710 ft) above sea level. In area it is about 17,010 sq km (6,568 sq mi). Most of the province lies in the High Veld, a plateau of grassy plains that covers much of central South Africa. The Witwatersrand (Afrikaans, “ridge of white waters”) is a rocky ridge that extends for about 80 km (50 mi) down the middle of Gauteng and is famous for its rich gold deposits.

Average temperatures in Gauteng range from 16° to 32° C (60° to 90° F) in the summer (October to April), and from 6° to 17° C (43° to 63° F) in the winter. Annual rainfall totals 510 mm (20 in), with most of the rain falling in the summer months.

III

Population

Gauteng has a population of 9,018,000 (2005 estimate). The province has the richest mix of ethnic groups and languages of any province in South Africa. Black Africans make up 74 per cent of the population, of which the main groups are Zulu, Sotho, Pedi, and Batswana. Other groups include Afrikaners, British, Italians, Portuguese, and Greeks. The principal languages are Zulu (22 per cent), Afrikaans (14 per cent), and English (13 per cent), but nearly half of the population has another first language.

Dominating Gauteng is its provincial capital and South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg (population, 2001, 3,225,796), founded in 1886 after gold discoveries on the Witwatersrand. South Africa’s stock exchange and the headquarters of many corporations are located there. Adjacent to Johannesburg is Soweto (2001, 858,649), a residential area that began as squatter camps for black labourers and was developed after World War II as an area designated for blacks, under the South African government’s former policy of apartheid, or racial segregation. About 50 km (30 mi) to the north of Johannesburg is Pretoria (2001 estimate, 1,651,000), South Africa’s administrative capital and the location of most foreign embassies. Other important towns include Benoni (2001, 94,341), Boksburg (2001, 158,650), Brakpan (2001, 62,115), Germiston (1996, 164,252), Heidelberg, Krugersdorp (2001, 86,618), Randburg, Springs (2001, 80,776), Vanderbijlpark, and Vereeniging (2001, 73,288).

Institutions of higher education in Gauteng include the University of Pretoria (1908); the University of South Africa (2004), in Pretoria and Florida; the Tshwane University of Technology (2004), in Pretoria, Ga-Rankuwa, and Soshanguve; the Vaal University of Technology, in Vanderbijlpark; the University of the Witwatersrand (1922) and the University of Johannesburg (2005), in Johannesburg.

Important cultural and historical places of interest include the home of Jan Smuts in the town of Irene; the Voortrekker Monument, a monument completed in 1949 outside Pretoria commemorating the migrations of Afrikaners north from the Cape of Good Hope during the Great Trek in the 19th century; the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where the president’s executive offices are located; and the MuseumAfrica in Johannesburg, which displays exhibits on the history of South Africa. Bone fragments of the prehistoric hominid Australopithecus have been discovered at various sites in the province, including the Sterkfontein Caves, near Krugersdorp, Swartkrans, and Kromdraai. These sites were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Some of these finds are on display at the Transvaal Museum of Natural History, in Pretoria.

IV

Economy

The province’s economy is diverse, producing gold (which makes up a quarter of South Africa’s annual gross national product), iron, steel, and a wide variety of manufactured products. The province accounts for 60 per cent of South Africa’s economic activity and 40 per cent of manufacturing output. In addition to gold mining, major industries include iron and steel production. Although Gauteng is South Africa’s most urbanized province, it does have farming areas that produce maize, vegetables, dairy products, meat, and fruit. Gauteng has two major airports, and an extensive network of roads and railways connects it to the rest of the country.