To be able to install and run Joomla, you'll need hosting space and a few tools. Here's a full shopping list.
First of all, you'll need hosting space—a place on a web server where you can set up your site, making it accessible for anyone with Internet access. Your hosting account should support the PHP scripting language (as Joomla is written in PHP), it should support the type of database that Joomla uses, called MySQL, and it has to run the Apache server software. Specifically, these are the system requirements for Joomla 3.x:
PHP 5.3.1 or higher: PHP is the scripting language that Joomla is written in.
MySQL 5.1 or higher: The MySQL database is where Joomla stores its data (the contents of your site).
Apache 2. x or higher: Apache is the web server software that processes the PHP instructions for how to pull in contents from the database and display a web page.
XML and Zlib support: Your host's PHP installation should support XML and Zlib functionality...