Question 1

True or false: The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange in Africa.

Accepted Answer

True. Founded in 1887, the JSE is the oldest and largest stock exchange on the continent.

Question 2

True or false: The Soweto township in Johannesburg was the site of the 1976 student uprising against Afrikaans instruction.

Accepted Answer

True. On June 16, 1976, thousands of students protested, marking a turning point in the anti-apartheid struggle.

Question 3

True or false: Johannesburg was originally a British military fort built to protect diamond mines.

Accepted Answer

False. It started as a gold mining camp in 1886, long after diamonds were found elsewhere in South Africa.

Question 4

True or false: Johannesburg is one of the few major cities in the world not built on a river or lake.

Accepted Answer

True. Unlike most global cities, Johannesburg was founded on a gold reef, not a water source, relying on man-made reservoirs and groundwater.

Question 5

True or false: Johannesburg has the largest man-made forest in the world, with over 10 million trees.

Accepted Answer

True. Thanks to extensive planting in the early 1900s, Johannesburg is often called the 'largest man-made urban forest' globally.

Question 6

True or false: The city's name 'Johannesburg' comes from a Dutch gold miner named Johannes.

Accepted Answer

False. It's named after two officials: Johannes Rissik and Christiaan Johannes Joubert—not a single miner.

Question 7

True or false: Johannesburg is located at the convergence of three major rivers: the Vaal, Limpopo, and Orange.

Accepted Answer

False. None of these rivers run through Johannesburg; it sits on the Witwatersrand ridge, far from major rivers.

Question 8

True or false: The University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg was the first in Africa to perform a human heart transplant.

Accepted Answer

False. The first heart transplant was performed at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, not Johannesburg.

Johannesburg Trivia Questions