South Africa · Qibla direction
Qibla Direction in Johannesburg, South Africa
From Johannesburg, the qibla — the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah — bears 15° (N) from true north, and the Kaaba lies about 5,446 km (3,384 miles) away along the great-circle path. The compass below shows that bearing on a fixed rose; the live tool follows your exact location.
Qibla compass for Johannesburg
Face N — 15° clockwise from north
Distance to the Kaaba: 5,446 km / 3,384 miles
Static figure: the needle marks the qibla on a fixed rose. For a compass that rotates with your phone, use the live tool.
How this direction is calculated
The 15° (N) figure is a great-circle bearing: the initial heading, measured clockwise from true north, of the shortest path over the Earth’s surface from Johannesburg (-26.2041, 28.0473) to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). A magnetic compass does not point to true north — the angle between magnetic and true north, called magnetic declination, varies from place to place and drifts from year to year, so a raw compass reading can sit several degrees off. The live qibla tool compensates: it uses your device’s location and orientation sensors to apply the correction and point to the Kaaba from wherever you actually stand.
Keep going
Frequently asked questions
What is the qibla direction from Johannesburg?
From Johannesburg, the qibla bears 15° (N) from true north — the great-circle direction to the Kaaba in Makkah, which lies about 5,446 km (3,384 miles) away.
Is that bearing from true north or magnetic north?
True north. A magnetic compass needle points to magnetic north, and the offset between the two — magnetic declination — varies by location and changes over the years, so a raw compass reading can be several degrees off. The live tool at /qibla/ compensates using your device’s sensors.
Does the qibla direction change over time in Johannesburg?
No. For a fixed location the bearing to the Kaaba never changes; it only changes when you move. The figure on this page is computed from Johannesburg’s city coordinates, so for a bearing precise to your room, use the live tool, which recalculates from your own position.
A qibla compass that knows where you are
Niyat’s live compass works from your exact location, compensates for magnetic declination, and works offline — plus prayer times, Quran, and daily duas.
Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play