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Municipality profile, JHB

City of Johannesburg

City of Johannesburg is a metropolitan municipality in Gauteng. Census 2022 counted 4 803 262 people in 1 841 917 households, about 2.6 people per household. That is up 8.3% from 4 434 631 people in Census 2011. 89.8% of households lived in a formal dwelling and 93.0% had a flush toilet. It has the largest population of the 9 municipalities in Gauteng.

Gauteng.

People counted in Census 2022

4 803 262

Up 8.3% from 4 434 631 people in Census 2011.

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), Person indicators per municipality, Gauteng, page 36. 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

City of Johannesburg: Census 2011 and Census 2022 figures, with the change
Measure20112022Change
Population4 434 6314 803 262+8.3%
Households1 434 7151 841 917+28.4%
People per household3.12.6-0.5
Males per 100 females100.7101.5+0.8
Aged 0 to 1423.2%21.9%-1.3 pts
Aged 15 to 3442.0%38.1%-3.9 pts
Aged 60 and over6.6%7.9%+1.3 pts
Households in a formal dwelling81.4%89.8%+8.4 pts
Households in an informal dwelling17.4%9.7%-7.7 pts
Households with water from a regional or local scheme95.6%95.8%+0.2 pts
Households with a flush toilet89.3%93.0%+3.7 pts
Households with no toilet0.8%0.3%-0.5 pts
Households cooking with electricity87.5%59.1%-28.4 pts
Households cooking with gas3.4%36.9%+33.5 pts
Attending school (ages 5 to 24)893 838871 485-2.5%

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, Gauteng, page 36; Distribution of population by broad age groups, Gauteng, page 37; General housing information per municipality (1), Gauteng, page 38; General housing information per municipality (2), Gauteng, page 39. 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
2 419 151
Females
2 384 111
Males per 100 females
101.5
Attending school (ages 5 to 24)
871 485
The largest age group in City of Johannesburg in 2022 was aged 15 to 34, at 38.1% of people.
  • Aged 0 to 1421.9%

    23.2% in 2011

  • Aged 15 to 3438.1%

    42.0% in 2011

  • Aged 35 to 5932.1%

    28.2% in 2011

  • Aged 60 and over7.9%

    6.6% in 2011

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), Person indicators per municipality, Gauteng, page 36; Distribution of population by broad age groups, Gauteng, page 37. 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 1 841 917 households, with about 2.6 people in each. In 2011 there were 1 434 715, with about 3.1 people in each.

89.8% of households in City of Johannesburg lived in a formal dwelling in 2022.
  • Formal dwelling89.8%

    1 654 417 households

  • Informal dwelling9.7%

    179 028 households

  • Traditional dwelling0.2%

    3 890 households

  • Other0.2%

    4 583 households

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), General housing information per municipality (1), Gauteng, page 38. 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

93.0% of households in City of Johannesburg had a flush toilet in 2022, and 59.1% cooked with electricity.
  • Water from a regional or local scheme95.8%

    1 765 087 households. 95.6% in 2011.

  • Flush toilet93.0%

    1 712 838 households. 89.3% in 2011.

  • No toilet0.3%

    5 059 households. 0.8% in 2011.

  • Electricity for cooking59.1%

    1 086 838 households. 87.5% in 2011.

  • Gas for cooking36.9%

    678 471 households. 3.4% 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), Gauteng, page 39. 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
City of Johannesburg4 803 262
Average of the other 7 metros2 870 991City of Johannesburg has 67.3% more people
People per household
City of Johannesburg2.6
Average of the other 7 metros3.4City of Johannesburg has 0.8 fewer people per household
Households in a formal dwelling
City of Johannesburg89.8%
Average of the other 7 metros88.4%City of Johannesburg is 1.4 pts higher
Water from a regional or local scheme
City of Johannesburg95.8%
Average of the other 7 metros94.4%City of Johannesburg is 1.4 pts higher
Households with a flush toilet
City of Johannesburg93.0%
Average of the other 7 metros84.5%City of Johannesburg is 8.5 pts higher
Electricity for cooking
City of Johannesburg59.1%
Average of the other 7 metros70.6%City of Johannesburg is 11.5 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). Metros are compared with the other metros, not with their province.

  • 93.0% of households had a flush toilet, 8.5 pts above the average of the other 7 metros.
  • 38.1% of people were aged 15 to 34.

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), Person indicators per municipality, Gauteng, page 36; Distribution of population by broad age groups, Gauteng, page 37; General housing information per municipality (1), Gauteng, page 38; General housing information per municipality (2), Gauteng, page 39. 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 Gauteng whose Census 2022 population is closest to City of Johannesburg's (4 803 262). 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 City of Johannesburg: Person indicators per municipality, Gauteng, page 36; Distribution of population by broad age groups, Gauteng, page 37; General housing information per municipality (1), Gauteng, page 38; General housing information per municipality (2), Gauteng, page 39. 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.