THERE are 11 official languages in South Africa, all of which are spoken in Johannesburg. By far the most widely spread languages, however, are English and Afrikaans, and English is understood just about anywhere. Afrikaans is similar to Dutch and Flemish. For the record, the official languages are English, Afrikaans, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu.

South Africans speak British as opposed to American English, but the local variety has been influenced by Afrikaans and some colloquialisms will require translation.

Johannesburg has a population of about 2,5-million people, in a country of 46,5-million. The city is recognised as the financial capital of South Africa and is home to many big businesses. The national capital, Pretoria, is 35-45 minutes' drive north of Johannesburg.

South Africa's time is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, seven hours from Eastern Standard Time and 10 hours from Pacific Standard Time.

The main religion is Christianity but there are sizeable Jewish, Hindu and Muslim communities.