Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Johannesburg: a Primer

Some fun* facts

  • Johannesburg is more commonly referred to as Joburg. Saying "Johannesburg" is on par with saying "New York City" rather than "New York." The cool kids call it Jozi.
  • Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital is the largest hospital in the world, with almost 3,000 beds.
  • Joburg is the world's largest city not built on a river, lake, or coast.
  • The city sits almost 6,000 feet above sea level. It is roughly 500 feet higher than Denver.
  • Gold was discovered in the 1880's and what started as tent camp and tin sheds bloomed into a city of over four million. In 1904 the population was smaller than that of St. Paul, Minnesota.
  • The population of the metro area is about the same as the Boston metro or the San Francisco/Oakland area. Joburg is slightly more populous than the Twin Cities.
  • Joburg is over 630 square miles, making it a bit bigger than the Chicagoland area.
  • Joburg is the capital of the Gauteng province. 
  • Gauteng's GDP is bigger than any African country's.


* fun if you are a big nerd like me

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