Google Business Profile management in North West

North West at a glance

North West province has its capital at Mahikeng. The Vaal River forms its southern border, and the Magaliesberg runs for about 130 kilometres past Brits and Rustenburg.

Census 2022 counted 3,804,547 people in the province, growing at about 0.8 percent a year since 2011 (Stats SA, Census 2022).

Over half of provincial output comes from mining: platinum at Rustenburg and Brits, and gold at Klerksdorp and Orkney. Contractors across the platinum belt hunt for partners online.

Rustenburg is the most populous city, and Potchefstroom is home to a large campus of North-West University. Student and mine trade follow different calendars, so hours and posts need to match each.

People in the smaller towns often drive in to the cities to shop and see a doctor. Exact hours on Google save them a wasted trip.

Mining provides jobs for about a quarter of the workforce. Uranium is mined at Klerksdorp and diamonds at Lichtenburg, Christiana and Bloemhof.

The north and west have sheep farms and cattle and game ranches, while the east and south grow maize and other crops. Farm suppliers, vets and mechanics are searched for across these areas.

Most residents are Tswana and speak Setswana, as in neighbouring Botswana. Rain falls mostly in summer, between October and April.

Sport teams include the Platinum Leopards rugby side in Rustenburg and the North West Eagles basketball team in Potchefstroom. Match days fill restaurants and bars.

Higher education has two deep roots: Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, founded in 1869, and the University of Bophuthatswana in Mmabatho, founded in 1979. Both now sit within North-West University, whose campuses bring students and staff into Mahikeng and Potch.

Pilanesberg, about a ninety minute drive from Johannesburg and Pretoria, is one of the country's best known game reserves, and Madikwe lies further north. Safari guests choose lodges largely by what earlier guests wrote online.

SA Tourism notes the province shares parts of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Vredefort Dome meteorite crater and the Taung skull fossil site, part of the wider Cradle of Humankind. It is the fourth smallest province and borders Botswana, so cross border shoppers and freight crews pass through.

Hartbeespoort Dam is a weekend magnet for boating and watersports, Sun City and the Palace of the Lost City pull resort guests, and Pilanesberg's 55,000 hectares offer Big Five sightings without malaria plus hot air balloon flights. Mahikeng and Mmabatho form one urban area, remembered for the Siege of Mafikeng, which lasted over 200 days; Baden Powell later founded the Scouts.

UNESCO dates the Vredefort Dome to about 2,023 million years ago, making it the oldest and largest known meteorite impact structure on earth, with a radius of 190 kilometres. Geology students, cyclists and hikers exploring the ring of hills search for farm stays and river camps.

Trading notes for North West

Planting and harvest seasons, mine shifts and month end shape trade across North West, from Mahikeng to Klerksdorp.

Check the dates with our holiday hours tool.