Municipality profile, KZN221

uMshwathi

uMshwathi is a local municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. Census 2022 counted 118 478 people in 24 987 households, about 4.7 people per household. That is up 22.4% from 96 793 people in Census 2011. 80.9% of households lived in a formal dwelling and 32.1% had a flush toilet. It has the 31st largest population of the 44 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal.

KwaZulu-Natal. Category B4 in the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Framework.

People counted in Census 2022

118 478

Up 22.4% from 96 793 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 24. 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

uMshwathi: Census 2011 and Census 2022 figures, with the change
Measure	2011	2022	Change
Population	96 793	118 478	+22.4%
Households	24 826	24 987	+0.6%
People per household	3.9	4.7	+0.8
Males per 100 females	89.3	89.1	-0.2
Aged 0 to 14	33.3%	28.9%	-4.4 pts
Aged 15 to 34	36.6%	34.8%	-1.8 pts
Aged 60 and over	8.4%	10.1%	+1.7 pts
Households in a formal dwelling	62.3%	80.9%	+18.6 pts
Households in an informal dwelling	2.8%	2.0%	-0.8 pts
Households with water from a regional or local scheme	44.7%	64.3%	+19.6 pts
Households with a flush toilet	20.5%	32.1%	+11.6 pts
Households with no toilet	5.6%	3.0%	-2.6 pts
Households cooking with electricity	56.0%	69.8%	+13.8 pts
Households cooking with gas	2.6%	20.3%	+17.7 pts
Attending school (ages 5 to 24)	29 928	30 980	+3.5%

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, KwaZulu-Natal, page 24; Distribution of population by broad age groups, KwaZulu-Natal, page 26; General housing information per municipality (1), KwaZulu-Natal, page 28; General housing information per municipality (2), KwaZulu-Natal, page 30. 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: 55 837
Females: 62 641
Males per 100 females: 89.1
Attending school (ages 5 to 24): 30 980

The largest age group in uMshwathi in 2022 was aged 15 to 34, at 34.8% of people.

Aged 0 to 1428.9%
33.3% in 2011
Aged 15 to 3434.8%
36.6% in 2011
Aged 35 to 5926.3%
21.8% in 2011
Aged 60 and over10.1%
8.4% in 2011

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), Person indicators per municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, page 24; Distribution of population by broad age groups, KwaZulu-Natal, page 26. 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 24 987 households, with about 4.7 people in each. In 2011 there were 24 826, with about 3.9 people in each.

80.9% of households in uMshwathi lived in a formal dwelling in 2022.

Formal dwelling80.9%
20 215 households
Informal dwelling2.0%
489 households
Traditional dwelling16.9%
4 223 households
Other0.2%
60 households

Source: Stats SA, Census 2022 Provinces at a glance (Report no. 03-01-43), General housing information per municipality (1), KwaZulu-Natal, page 28. 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

32.1% of households in uMshwathi had a flush toilet in 2022, and 69.8% cooked with electricity.

Water from a regional or local scheme64.3%
16 075 households. 44.7% in 2011.
Flush toilet32.1%
8 009 households. 20.5% in 2011.
No toilet3.0%
749 households. 5.6% in 2011.
Electricity for cooking69.8%
17 391 households. 56.0% in 2011.
Gas for cooking20.3%
5 061 households. 2.6% 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 30. 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: uMshwathi118 478; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal282 362uMshwathi has 58.0% fewer people; Average per municipality in South Africa291 209uMshwathi has 59.3% fewer people
People per household: uMshwathi4.7; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal5.0uMshwathi has 0.3 fewer people per household; Average per municipality in South Africa3.9uMshwathi has 0.8 more people per household
Households in a formal dwelling: uMshwathi80.9%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal81.7%uMshwathi is 0.8 pts lower; Average per municipality in South Africa87.0%uMshwathi is 6.1 pts lower
Water from a regional or local scheme: uMshwathi64.3%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal60.4%uMshwathi is 3.9 pts higher; Average per municipality in South Africa74.3%uMshwathi is 10.0 pts lower
Households with a flush toilet: uMshwathi32.1%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal38.4%uMshwathi is 6.3 pts lower; Average per municipality in South Africa62.0%uMshwathi is 29.9 pts lower
Electricity for cooking: uMshwathi69.8%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal67.0%uMshwathi is 2.8 pts higher; Average per municipality in South Africa66.0%uMshwathi is 3.8 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).

32.1% of households had a flush toilet, 6.3 pts below the average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.

Similar municipalities

The 4 other municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal whose Census 2022 population is closest to uMshwathi's (118 478). 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 uMshwathi: Person indicators per municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, page 24; Distribution of population by broad age groups, KwaZulu-Natal, page 26; General housing information per municipality (1), KwaZulu-Natal, page 28; General housing information per municipality (2), KwaZulu-Natal, page 30. 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.