Municipality profile, EC154

Port St Johns

Port St Johns is a local municipality in Eastern Cape. Census 2022 counted 179 325 people in 30 643 households, about 5.9 people per household. That is up 14.9% from 156 136 people in Census 2011. 66.0% of households lived in a formal dwelling and 19.4% had a flush toilet. It has the 13th largest population of the 33 municipalities in Eastern Cape.

Eastern Cape. Category B4 in the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Framework.

People counted in Census 2022

179 325

Up 14.9% from 156 136 people in Census 2011.

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), Person indicators per municipality, Eastern Cape, page 11. Originally released 10 October 2023, revised edition. Downloaded 27 October 2026. Checked on SA Data Hub 28 October 2026. Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.

Census 2011 and Census 2022

Port St Johns: Census 2011 and Census 2022 figures, with the change
Measure	2011	2022	Change
Population	156 136	179 325	+14.9%
Households	31 713	30 643	-3.4%
People per household	4.9	5.9	+1.0
Males per 100 females	84.4	88.9	+4.5
Aged 0 to 14	42.5%	36.8%	-5.7 pts
Aged 15 to 34	33.4%	34.9%	+1.5 pts
Aged 60 and over	8.0%	8.7%	+0.7 pts
Households in a formal dwelling	24.6%	66.0%	+41.4 pts
Households in an informal dwelling	1.0%	1.4%	+0.4 pts
Households with water from a regional or local scheme	19.7%	24.9%	+5.2 pts
Households with a flush toilet	3.0%	19.4%	+16.4 pts
Households with no toilet	26.3%	5.6%	-20.7 pts
Households cooking with electricity	31.3%	44.2%	+12.9 pts
Households cooking with gas	3.0%	19.0%	+16.0 pts
Attending school (ages 5 to 24)	63 788	59 748	-6.3%

Change is SA Data Hub's calculation from the two figures: a percentage change for counts, and the difference in percentage points (pts) for shares. Cooking shares are of households that named a cooking fuel; Stats SA leaves out “none”.

The 2011 and 2022 figures cover the same area. Stats SA, Census 2022 Municipal fact sheet (Report no. 03-01-82, revised), page 1: “Census 2011 indicators were generated based on aligned census data to current municipal boundaries (2021)”.

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), Person indicators per municipality, Eastern Cape, page 11; Distribution of population by broad age groups, Eastern Cape, page 12; General housing information per municipality (1), Eastern Cape, page 14; General housing information per municipality (2), Eastern Cape, page 15. Originally released 10 October 2023, revised edition. Downloaded 27 October 2026. Checked on SA Data Hub 28 October 2026. Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.

See how all municipalities changed between Census 2011 and Census 2022

Compare with another place

Questions people ask: Which province is a municipality in? · Which municipalities grew fastest between Census 2011 and Census 2022? · How many municipalities are there in South Africa?

People

Males: 84 382
Females: 94 943
Males per 100 females: 88.9
Attending school (ages 5 to 24): 59 748

The largest age group in Port St Johns in 2022 was aged 0 to 14, at 36.8% of people.

Aged 0 to 1436.8%
42.5% in 2011
Aged 15 to 3434.9%
33.4% in 2011
Aged 35 to 5919.6%
16.1% in 2011
Aged 60 and over8.7%
8.0% in 2011

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), Person indicators per municipality, Eastern Cape, page 11; Distribution of population by broad age groups, Eastern Cape, page 12. Originally released 10 October 2023, revised edition. Downloaded 27 October 2026. Checked on SA Data Hub 28 October 2026. Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.

Housing

Census 2022 counted 30 643 households, with about 5.9 people in each. In 2011 there were 31 713, with about 4.9 people in each.

66.0% of households in Port St Johns lived in a formal dwelling in 2022.

Formal dwelling66.0%
20 225 households
Informal dwelling1.4%
422 households
Traditional dwelling32.2%
9 876 households
Other0.4%
120 households

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), General housing information per municipality (1), Eastern Cape, page 14. Originally released 10 October 2023, revised edition. Downloaded 27 October 2026. Checked on SA Data Hub 28 October 2026. Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.

Water, toilets and cooking

19.4% of households in Port St Johns had a flush toilet in 2022, and 44.2% cooked with electricity.

Water from a regional or local scheme24.9%
7 641 households. 19.7% in 2011.
Flush toilet19.4%
5 947 households. 3.0% in 2011.
No toilet5.6%
1 727 households. 26.3% in 2011.
Electricity for cooking44.2%
13 502 households. 31.3% in 2011.
Gas for cooking19.0%
5 818 households. 3.0% in 2011.

Shares of households. Cooking shares are of households that named a cooking fuel. Water from another source includes boreholes, tankers, rivers and springs.

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), General housing information per municipality (2), Eastern Cape, page 15. Originally released 10 October 2023, revised edition. Downloaded 27 October 2026. Checked on SA Data Hub 28 October 2026. Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.

How it compares

Population, 2022: Port St Johns179 325; Average per municipality in Eastern Cape219 097Port St Johns has 18.2% fewer people; Average per municipality in South Africa291 209Port St Johns has 38.4% fewer people
People per household: Port St Johns5.9; Average per municipality in Eastern Cape3.9Port St Johns has 2.0 more people per household; Average per municipality in South Africa3.9Port St Johns has 2.0 more people per household
Households in a formal dwelling: Port St Johns66.0%; Average per municipality in Eastern Cape82.3%Port St Johns is 16.3 pts lower; Average per municipality in South Africa87.0%Port St Johns is 21.0 pts lower
Water from a regional or local scheme: Port St Johns24.9%; Average per municipality in Eastern Cape60.8%Port St Johns is 35.9 pts lower; Average per municipality in South Africa74.3%Port St Johns is 49.4 pts lower
Households with a flush toilet: Port St Johns19.4%; Average per municipality in Eastern Cape52.8%Port St Johns is 33.4 pts lower; Average per municipality in South Africa62.0%Port St Johns is 42.6 pts lower
Electricity for cooking: Port St Johns44.2%; Average per municipality in Eastern Cape63.5%Port St Johns is 19.3 pts lower; Average per municipality in South Africa66.0%Port St Johns is 21.8 pts lower

Each average is the simple mean of the municipal figures, so a small municipality counts as much as a large one. Gaps between shares are in percentage points (pts).

66.0% of households lived in a formal dwelling, 16.3 pts below the average per municipality in Eastern Cape.
19.4% of households had a flush toilet, 33.4 pts below the average per municipality in Eastern Cape.
5.6% of households had no toilet.

Similar municipalities

The 4 other municipalities in Eastern Cape whose Census 2022 population is closest to Port St Johns's (179 325). Where two are equally close, the lower municipal code comes first.

Sources

Every 2011 and 2022 figure on this page is from Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43, revised edition, originally released 10 October 2023), which gives Census 2011 figures alongside Census 2022 ones. Tables for Port St Johns: Person indicators per municipality, Eastern Cape, page 11; Distribution of population by broad age groups, Eastern Cape, page 12; General housing information per municipality (1), Eastern Cape, page 14; General housing information per municipality (2), Eastern Cape, page 15. SA Data Hub checked them against the publication on 28 October 2026.

Changes, shares of the total, averages and similar municipalities are SA Data Hub's own calculations from those figures. Corrections are listed on the updates page.