Current Time in Johannesburg
About Johannesburg
Johannesburg is located in South Africa, in the Southern Hemisphere, and is one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of around 9,418,183. It runs on Africa/Johannesburg time, currently UTC+2:00 relative to UTC. Johannesburg does not observe Daylight Saving Time, so this offset stays fixed year-round.
- CountrySouth Africa
- Population9,418,183
- Latitude-26.2023°
- Longitude28.0436°
- Time zoneAfrica/Johannesburg
- Current UTC offsetUTC+2:00
- Daylight Saving TimeNot observed
Sunrise & Sunset in Johannesburg Today
For Sunday, October 11, 2026, calculated from Johannesburg's own coordinates.
Sunrise
Sunset
Daylight
Seasons in Johannesburg
Approximate dates — the exact moment a season begins shifts by about a day from year to year.
Spring
Summer
Fall
Winter
Top Places to Visit in Johannesburg
Apartheid Museum
The Apartheid Museum, opened in 2001 next to the Gold Reef City complex, is widely considered the definitive museum on South Africa's system of racial segregation, which governed the country from 1948 until the early 1990s. Visitors are randomly assigned a race classification card at entry and routed through separate entrances, a deliberately disorienting recreation of the arbitrary racial categorization apartheid imposed on the population. From there, the museum moves chronologically through the system's construction, the resistance movements that opposed it, periods of state violence and repression, and the negotiated transition to democracy under Nelson Mandela, using film, photography, and personal testimony throughout. It's an emotionally demanding visit, generally taking two to three hours, and is widely regarded as essential context for understanding modern South Africa rather than an optional add-on.
OR Tambo International Airport sits on the Gautrain line, but Gautrain doesn't reach the museum directly; take a taxi or ride-hailing app (Uber, Bolt) from the airport, roughly 30-40 minutes depending on traffic.
From Johannesburg Park Station, take a taxi or ride-hailing app to the museum, as it isn't served by Gautrain or fixed-route public transit.
From Johannesburg Park Station's long-distance coach terminal, take a taxi or ride-hailing app to the museum.
Constitution Hill
Constitution Hill occupies a former prison and military fort complex that once held figures including Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, both imprisoned here decades apart under different regimes, and has since been transformed into a human rights precinct anchored by South Africa's Constitutional Court. The old Number Four prison, which held Black male prisoners under particularly harsh conditions, and the Women's Jail, are preserved largely as they were, with exhibits drawing direct lines between the site's punitive history and the constitutional protections South Africa adopted after apartheid ended. The Constitutional Court building itself, completed in 2004, incorporates bricks salvaged from the old prison stairwell into its facade, a deliberate architectural link between the country's past and its democratic present. Guided tours run regularly and add considerable context to the self-guided exhibits.
OR Tambo International Airport sits on the Gautrain line; take the Gautrain toward Park Station or Rosebank, then a taxi or ride-hailing app to Constitution Hill, as it isn't within walking distance of any Gautrain station.
From Johannesburg Park Station, take a taxi or ride-hailing app to Constitution Hill, a relatively short ride.
From Johannesburg Park Station's long-distance coach terminal, take a taxi or ride-hailing app to Constitution Hill.
Gold Reef City
Gold Reef City is a theme park and casino complex built on the site of a former working gold mine, one of the reef deposits that triggered the 1886 gold rush responsible for Johannesburg's founding and rapid growth. Alongside standard theme park rides and roller coasters, its signature attraction is an underground mine tour descending into original mining shafts, giving visitors a genuine sense of the conditions and history behind the city's gold-mining origins. Above ground, the park's buildings are styled to evoke Johannesburg's Victorian-era boomtown architecture, and gold-pouring demonstrations run throughout the day. It sits directly next to the Apartheid Museum, making the two an easy, if tonally very different, pairing for a single day out.
OR Tambo International Airport sits on the Gautrain line, but Gautrain doesn't reach Gold Reef City directly; take a taxi or ride-hailing app from the airport, roughly 30-40 minutes depending on traffic.
From Johannesburg Park Station, take a taxi or ride-hailing app to Gold Reef City.
From Johannesburg Park Station's long-distance coach terminal, take a taxi or ride-hailing app to Gold Reef City.
Cradle of Humankind
The Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage Site roughly 50 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg, is one of the world's richest sources of early hominid fossils, including the well-known Australopithecus specimen nicknamed Mrs. Ples, discovered in the Sterkfontein Caves within the site. The caves themselves, formed in dolomitic limestone over millions of years, can be toured on foot through a mix of open chambers and narrower passages where excavation work is still ongoing in places. The Maropeng Visitor Centre, built partly underground and topped with a grass-covered mound, houses exhibitions on human evolution and the site's major fossil discoveries, serving as a good starting point before or after visiting the caves themselves. Given the distance and the spread-out nature of the site's various components, most visitors plan at least half a day, often as a guided tour from Johannesburg rather than independent travel.
The Cradle of Humankind sits roughly an hour's drive from OR Tambo International Airport with no rail or fixed-route bus connection; a guided tour or a private car/rideshare for the full round trip is the standard way to visit.
From Johannesburg Park Station, a guided tour or a private car/rideshare for the full round trip is the standard way to reach the site, as there's no rail connection.
From Johannesburg Park Station's long-distance coach terminal, a guided tour or private car/rideshare is the standard way to reach the site.
Soweto (Vilakazi Street)
Soweto, short for South Western Townships, was established under apartheid-era forced removals as a residential area for Black South Africans working in Johannesburg, and became the center of the country's anti-apartheid resistance movement, most famously the site of the 1976 student uprising. Vilakazi Street is believed to be the only street in the world to have been home to two Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose former houses sit within a short walk of each other. The Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum, dedicated to a 13-year-old boy killed by police during the 1976 uprising, provides essential context on the events that made the street and the surrounding neighborhood historically significant. Today the area also has a lively, everyday side, with shebeens turned into proper restaurants and a strong sense of community distinct from the historical weight of the sites themselves.
OR Tambo International Airport sits on the Gautrain line, but Gautrain doesn't reach Soweto directly; a guided tour or a taxi/rideshare from the airport is the standard way to visit, given the area's spread-out geography and the value of local context a guide provides.
From Johannesburg Park Station, a guided tour or taxi/rideshare is the standard way to reach Soweto.
From Johannesburg Park Station's long-distance coach terminal, a guided tour or taxi/rideshare is the standard way to reach Soweto.
South Africa National Holidays
2026
| Holiday | Date |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Thu, Jan 1 |
| Human Rights Day | Sat, Mar 21 |
| Good Friday | Fri, Apr 3 |
| Family Day | Mon, Apr 6 |
| Freedom Day | Mon, Apr 27 |
| Workers' Day | Fri, May 1 |
| Youth Day | Tue, Jun 16 |
| National Women's Day | Sun, Aug 9 |
| Heritage Day | Thu, Sep 24 |
| Day of Reconciliation | Wed, Dec 16 |
| Christmas Day | Fri, Dec 25 |
| Day of Goodwill | Sat, Dec 26 |
2027
| Holiday | Date |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Fri, Jan 1 |
| Human Rights Day | Sun, Mar 21 |
| Good Friday | Fri, Mar 26 |
| Family Day | Mon, Mar 29 |
| Freedom Day | Tue, Apr 27 |
| Workers' Day | Sat, May 1 |
| Youth Day | Wed, Jun 16 |
| National Women's Day | Mon, Aug 9 |
| Heritage Day | Fri, Sep 24 |
| Day of Reconciliation | Thu, Dec 16 |
| Christmas Day | Sat, Dec 25 |
| Day of Goodwill | Sun, Dec 26 |
2028
| Holiday | Date |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Sat, Jan 1 |
| Human Rights Day | Tue, Mar 21 |
| Good Friday | Fri, Apr 14 |
| Family Day | Mon, Apr 17 |
| Freedom Day | Thu, Apr 27 |
| Workers' Day | Mon, May 1 |
| Youth Day | Fri, Jun 16 |
| National Women's Day | Wed, Aug 9 |
| Heritage Day | Sun, Sep 24 |
| Day of Reconciliation | Sat, Dec 16 |
| Christmas Day | Mon, Dec 25 |
| Day of Goodwill | Tue, Dec 26 |
2029
| Holiday | Date |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Mon, Jan 1 |
| Human Rights Day | Wed, Mar 21 |
| Good Friday | Fri, Mar 30 |
| Family Day | Mon, Apr 2 |
| Freedom Day | Fri, Apr 27 |
| Workers' Day | Tue, May 1 |
| Youth Day | Sat, Jun 16 |
| National Women's Day | Thu, Aug 9 |
| Heritage Day | Mon, Sep 24 |
| Day of Reconciliation | Sun, Dec 16 |
| Christmas Day | Tue, Dec 25 |
| Day of Goodwill | Wed, Dec 26 |
2030
| Holiday | Date |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Tue, Jan 1 |
| Human Rights Day | Thu, Mar 21 |
| Good Friday | Fri, Apr 19 |
| Family Day | Mon, Apr 22 |
| Freedom Day | Sat, Apr 27 |
| Workers' Day | Wed, May 1 |
| Youth Day | Sun, Jun 16 |
| National Women's Day | Fri, Aug 9 |
| Heritage Day | Tue, Sep 24 |
| Day of Reconciliation | Mon, Dec 16 |
| Christmas Day | Wed, Dec 25 |
| Day of Goodwill | Thu, Dec 26 |
Daylight Saving Time
Johannesburg does not observe Daylight Saving Time. The UTC offset stays fixed at UTC+2:00 year-round.
Time Difference from Top 10 US Cities
Time Difference from Top 10 Cities Worldwide
Frequently Asked Questions About Time in Johannesburg
What time zone is Johannesburg in?
Johannesburg, South Africa uses the Africa/Johannesburg time zone. It is currently on SAST (UTC+2:00). The live local time is shown at the top of this page.
Does Johannesburg observe Daylight Saving Time?
No. Johannesburg does not observe Daylight Saving Time, so it stays on UTC+2:00 all year round and never changes its clocks.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Johannesburg today?
The sun rises at 5:36 AM and sets at 6:12 PM in Johannesburg today, giving 12h 35m of daylight.
What is the time difference between Johannesburg and New York City?
New York City is 6 hours behind Johannesburg right now. The full comparison against other major cities is in the tables above.
What is the UTC offset for Johannesburg?
Johannesburg is currently UTC+2:00. This offset is fixed and does not change during the year.