Soweto

City in South Africa: population, location, elevation, climate and landmarks.

Soweto-003

Soweto-003: [https://www.flickr.com/people/32811308@N00 Fiver L�cker] from Wellington, New Zealand, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Overview

Soweto is a city in South Africa, in Gauteng. About 1.7 million people live in the city proper, making it the 5th largest city of South Africa in our atlas.

It lies at 26.27° S, 27.86° E, about 1,632 m (5,354 ft) above sea level, and keeps time on the Africa/Johannesburg time zone.

Location

Red dot: Soweto. Green dots: other major cities of South Africa. Map data: Natural Earth.

Climate

Soweto has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). The warmest month is usually Jan, with average highs near 29°C (84°F); the coolest nights come in Jul at about 1°C (34°F). Around 585 mm (23 in) of rain and snow falls in a typical year, most of it in Dec.

29°15°Jan10728°15°Feb7427°13°Mar6524°9°Apr3921°5°May1618°2°Jun718°1°Jul322°4°Aug726°8°Sep1428°12°Oct5429°13°Nov8229°15°Dec117mm

Bars: average daily high and low (°C) for each month; blue columns and figures: average precipitation (mm). Gridded 2001-2025 averages from NASA POWER, so mountain and coastal spots can differ from local station records.

Landmarks and places to see

Mandela House
Mandela HouseThe Nelson Mandela National Museum, commonly referred to as Mandela House, is a house in South Africa.
Dobsonville Stadium
Dobsonville StadiumBuilding in Africa
Tutu House
Tutu HouseHome of Desmond and Leah Tutu in South Africa
Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication
Walter Sisulu Square of DedicationMonumental square in Kliptown, Soweto
Soweto Cricket OvalMulti-purpose stadium in Soweto, Gauteng, South Africa

Popular sights within a few kilometres of the city centre, ranked by how widely they are documented on Wikipedia.

What to eat in South AfricaNational dishes, street food, desserts and drinks on Intercontinental Chef.

Nearby major cities

← South AfricaAll cities

Sources

Text written by Geographical Effect from these sources.

Photo credits
  • Soweto-003: [https://www.flickr.com/people/32811308@N00 Fiver L�cker] from Wellington, New Zealand, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Mandela museum soweto: No machine-readable author provided. Moongateclimber assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Spectators watching Brazil national football team train at Dobsonville Stadium 2010-06-03 3: Marcello Casal Jr/ABr, CC BY 3.0 br (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Tata to Tutu: Kieran Lamb, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Walter Sisulu Square, Soweto: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)