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Municipality profile, ETH

eThekwini

eThekwini is a metropolitan municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. Census 2022 counted 4 239 901 people in 1 122 738 households, about 3.8 people per household. That is up 22.0% from 3 476 686 people in Census 2011. 89.2% of households lived in a formal dwelling and 80.4% had a flush toilet. It has the largest population of the 44 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal.

KwaZulu-Natal.

People counted in Census 2022

4 239 901

Up 22.0% from 3 476 686 people in Census 2011.

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), Person indicators per municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, page 25. Originally released , revised edition. Downloaded . Checked on SA Data Hub . Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.

Census 2011 and Census 2022

eThekwini: Census 2011 and Census 2022 figures, with the change
Measure20112022Change
Population3 476 6864 239 901+22.0%
Households963 0111 122 738+16.6%
People per household3.63.8+0.2
Males per 100 females95.595.6+0.1
Aged 0 to 1425.3%21.0%-4.3 pts
Aged 15 to 3441.4%36.6%-4.8 pts
Aged 60 and over7.7%10.3%+2.6 pts
Households in a formal dwelling78.8%89.2%+10.4 pts
Households in an informal dwelling15.5%8.9%-6.6 pts
Households with water from a regional or local scheme90.1%93.8%+3.7 pts
Households with a flush toilet67.8%80.4%+12.6 pts
Households with no toilet2.1%1.1%-1.0 pts
Households cooking with electricity85.5%75.6%-9.9 pts
Households cooking with gas2.7%23.0%+20.3 pts
Attending school (ages 5 to 24)812 505805 314-0.9%

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, KwaZulu-Natal, page 25; Distribution of population by broad age groups, KwaZulu-Natal, page 27; General housing information per municipality (1), KwaZulu-Natal, page 29; General housing information per municipality (2), KwaZulu-Natal, page 31. Originally released , revised edition. Downloaded . Checked on SA Data Hub . 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
2 072 331
Females
2 167 569
Males per 100 females
95.6
Attending school (ages 5 to 24)
805 314
The largest age group in eThekwini in 2022 was aged 15 to 34, at 36.6% of people.
  • Aged 0 to 1421.0%

    25.3% in 2011

  • Aged 15 to 3436.6%

    41.4% in 2011

  • Aged 35 to 5932.2%

    25.7% in 2011

  • Aged 60 and over10.3%

    7.7% in 2011

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), Person indicators per municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, page 25; Distribution of population by broad age groups, KwaZulu-Natal, page 27. Originally released , revised edition. Downloaded . Checked on SA Data Hub . Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.

Housing

Census 2022 counted 1 122 738 households, with about 3.8 people in each. In 2011 there were 963 011, with about 3.6 people in each.

89.2% of households in eThekwini lived in a formal dwelling in 2022.
  • Formal dwelling89.2%

    1 001 347 households

  • Informal dwelling8.9%

    100 291 households

  • Traditional dwelling1.7%

    18 677 households

  • Other0.2%

    2 422 households

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), General housing information per municipality (1), KwaZulu-Natal, page 29. Originally released , revised edition. Downloaded . Checked on SA Data Hub . Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.

Water, toilets and cooking

80.4% of households in eThekwini had a flush toilet in 2022, and 75.6% cooked with electricity.
  • Water from a regional or local scheme93.8%

    1 052 684 households. 90.1% in 2011.

  • Flush toilet80.4%

    902 237 households. 67.8% in 2011.

  • No toilet1.1%

    12 700 households. 2.1% in 2011.

  • Electricity for cooking75.6%

    846 835 households. 85.5% in 2011.

  • Gas for cooking23.0%

    257 680 households. 2.7% 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), KwaZulu-Natal, page 31. Originally released , revised edition. Downloaded . Checked on SA Data Hub . Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.

How it compares

Population, 2022
eThekwini4 239 901
Average of the other 7 metros2 951 471eThekwini has 43.7% more people
People per household
eThekwini3.8
Average of the other 7 metros3.3eThekwini has 0.5 more people per household
Households in a formal dwelling
eThekwini89.2%
Average of the other 7 metros88.5%eThekwini is 0.7 pts higher
Water from a regional or local scheme
eThekwini93.8%
Average of the other 7 metros94.6%eThekwini is 0.8 pts lower
Households with a flush toilet
eThekwini80.4%
Average of the other 7 metros86.3%eThekwini is 5.9 pts lower
Electricity for cooking
eThekwini75.6%
Average of the other 7 metros68.2%eThekwini is 7.4 pts higher

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). Metros are compared with the other metros, not with their province.

  • 80.4% of households had a flush toilet, 5.9 pts below the average of the other 7 metros.

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), Person indicators per municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, page 25; Distribution of population by broad age groups, KwaZulu-Natal, page 27; General housing information per municipality (1), KwaZulu-Natal, page 29; General housing information per municipality (2), KwaZulu-Natal, page 31. Originally released , revised edition. Downloaded . Checked on SA Data Hub . Original data: Stats SA. Any calculation shown is SA Data Hub's own processing.

Similar municipalities

The 4 other municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal whose Census 2022 population is closest to eThekwini's (4 239 901). 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 eThekwini: Person indicators per municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, page 25; Distribution of population by broad age groups, KwaZulu-Natal, page 27; General housing information per municipality (1), KwaZulu-Natal, page 29; General housing information per municipality (2), KwaZulu-Natal, page 31. 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.