Municipality profile, KZN225

The Msunduzi

The Msunduzi is a local municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. Census 2022 counted 817 725 people in 213 727 households, about 3.8 people per household. That is up 31.5% from 621 715 people in Census 2011. 90.5% of households lived in a formal dwelling and 63.0% had a flush toilet. It has the 2nd largest population of the 44 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal.

KwaZulu-Natal. Category B1 in the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Framework.

People counted in Census 2022

817 725

Up 31.5% from 621 715 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

The Msunduzi: Census 2011 and Census 2022 figures, with the change
Measure	2011	2022	Change
Population	621 715	817 725	+31.5%
Households	164 757	213 727	+29.7%
People per household	3.8	3.8	0.0
Males per 100 females	90.8	91.3	+0.5
Aged 0 to 14	26.7%	23.5%	-3.2 pts
Aged 15 to 34	40.0%	35.8%	-4.2 pts
Aged 60 and over	7.9%	10.2%	+2.3 pts
Households in a formal dwelling	73.5%	90.5%	+17.0 pts
Households in an informal dwelling	8.2%	4.8%	-3.4 pts
Households with water from a regional or local scheme	89.4%	91.0%	+1.6 pts
Households with a flush toilet	56.7%	63.0%	+6.3 pts
Households with no toilet	2.0%	0.6%	-1.4 pts
Households cooking with electricity	88.0%	77.5%	-10.5 pts
Households cooking with gas	2.5%	21.0%	+18.5 pts
Attending school (ages 5 to 24)	161 941	177 803	+9.8%

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: 390 308
Females: 427 417
Males per 100 females: 91.3
Attending school (ages 5 to 24): 177 803

The largest age group in The Msunduzi in 2022 was aged 15 to 34, at 35.8% of people.

Aged 0 to 1423.5%
26.7% in 2011
Aged 15 to 3435.8%
40.0% in 2011
Aged 35 to 5930.5%
25.4% in 2011
Aged 60 and over10.2%
7.9% 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 213 727 households, with about 3.8 people in each. In 2011 there were 164 757, with about 3.8 people in each.

90.5% of households in The Msunduzi lived in a formal dwelling in 2022.

Formal dwelling90.5%
193 482 households
Informal dwelling4.8%
10 268 households
Traditional dwelling4.4%
9 462 households
Other0.2%
515 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

63.0% of households in The Msunduzi had a flush toilet in 2022, and 77.5% cooked with electricity.

Water from a regional or local scheme91.0%
194 535 households. 89.4% in 2011.
Flush toilet63.0%
134 595 households. 56.7% in 2011.
No toilet0.6%
1 318 households. 2.0% in 2011.
Electricity for cooking77.5%
165 375 households. 88.0% in 2011.
Gas for cooking21.0%
44 897 households. 2.5% 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: The Msunduzi817 725; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal282 362The Msunduzi has 189.6% more people; Average per municipality in South Africa291 209The Msunduzi has 180.8% more people
People per household: The Msunduzi3.8; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal5.0The Msunduzi has 1.2 fewer people per household; Average per municipality in South Africa3.9The Msunduzi has 0.1 fewer people per household
Households in a formal dwelling: The Msunduzi90.5%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal81.7%The Msunduzi is 8.8 pts higher; Average per municipality in South Africa87.0%The Msunduzi is 3.5 pts higher
Water from a regional or local scheme: The Msunduzi91.0%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal60.4%The Msunduzi is 30.6 pts higher; Average per municipality in South Africa74.3%The Msunduzi is 16.7 pts higher
Households with a flush toilet: The Msunduzi63.0%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal38.4%The Msunduzi is 24.6 pts higher; Average per municipality in South Africa62.0%The Msunduzi is 1.0 pts higher
Electricity for cooking: The Msunduzi77.5%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal67.0%The Msunduzi is 10.5 pts higher; Average per municipality in South Africa66.0%The Msunduzi is 11.5 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).

90.5% of households lived in a formal dwelling, 8.8 pts above the average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
63.0% of households had a flush toilet, 24.6 pts above the average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.

Similar municipalities

The 4 other municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal whose Census 2022 population is closest to The Msunduzi's (817 725). 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 The Msunduzi: 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.