GAUTENG

province, northeastern South Africa. It consists of the cities of Pretoria, Johannesburg, Germiston, and Vereeniging and their surrounding metropolitan areas in the eastern part of the Witwatersrand region. Gauteng is the smallest South African province. It is bordered by the provinces of Northern on the north, Mpumalanga on the east, Free State on the south, and North-West on the west. Until 1994 Gauteng was part of the former Transvaal (q.v.) province. The provincial capital is Johannesburg. Gauteng lies on the great interior plateau of southern Africa (the Highveld) and stretches northward from the Vaal River. South of Pretoria there is rolling grassland, and to the north of the city is bushveld. The province's climate is warm and temperate, and rainfall averages 26 inches (650 mm) annually. Blacks speaking a variety of Bantu languages make up 63 percent of the province's population, and whites constitute 31 percent. Almost three-fifths of the whites speak Afrikaans, and most of the remainder speak English. Though the province is largely urbanized, some farming (corn , sorghum, peanuts [groundnuts]), market gardening, and dairy farming are practiced. Gauteng contains enormous concentrations of gold, mainly in the ridge of gold-bearing rock in the south known as the Witwatersrand, where Johannesburg is located. There are also large reserves of platinum, chromite, iron ore, and uranium in the Bushveld Basin to the north. The varied assemblage of mining, industrial, commercial, and financial activities arising from this vast mineral wealth have made Gauteng the economic hub of South Africa and its most densely populated province. Pretoria is the administrative (executive) capital of South Africa. Johannesburg is South Africa's second-largest metropolitan area (after Cape Town) and its leading industrial, financial, and commercial centre. Johannesburg International Airport is the nation's main international airport. Four universitiesthose of South Africa, Pretoria, Witwatersrand, and Rand Afrikaansare located in the province. Area 7,243 square miles (18,760 square km). Pop. (1993 est.) 6,847,000.