With the lilac splendour of jacarandas as its trademark, Tshwane has grown into a metropolis that encapsulates the rainbow nation. It is here where people of all races, colours and creeds gather. Tshwane resembles Africa with a touch of Europe and a pinch of oriental spice. Hooting taxis, cars old and new, buses and trains drive past hawkers selling an array of fresh fruit and other articles of interest.

Tshwane lies in the smallest of the country's nine provinces, Gauteng (the Sotho word for The Place of Gold). Tshwane's neighbouring provinces are the North West Province, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo. Gauteng encompasses an area of 17 010 km2 (making up 1,4% of South Africa), while Tshwane covers an area of 2 198 km² (approximately 65 x 50 km). It includes Pretoria, Centurion, Laudium, Eersterust, Akasia and Soshanguve, as well as the surrounding areas of Atteridgeville, Crocodile River, Ga-Rankuwa, Mabopane, Winterveld, Hammanskraal, Temba, and Mamelodi. (See map)

The city has about ten inhabitants per hectare. The population of almost two million people has on average the highest educational level in the country, and the city is a national centre of research and learning with four universities and the headquarters of both the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Human Sciences Research Council. The projected annual growth of the population between 1996 and 2001 was 4,1%, which is substantially higher than the national average of 2,1%.

The home language profile of Tshwane indicates that the most widely used home language is Pedi (Northern Sotho), followed by Afrikaans, Tswana, Tsonga, Zulu and English. These six languages account for 84,68% of the population.

The Tshwane area has a very moderate climate, which makes it a sought-after area to live in. On average, it is at least 3 degrees warmer than the Johannesburg area.

Rainfall is mainly during the summer months (November to February) and temperatures are low from April to August. Tshwane experiences high rainfall during the months of December to January.