Municipality profile, KZN242

Nqutu

Nqutu is a local municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. Census 2022 counted 201 133 people in 33 617 households, about 6.0 people per household. That is up 21.7% from 165 307 people in Census 2011. 75.5% of households lived in a formal dwelling and 20.1% had a flush toilet. It has the 16th largest population of the 44 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal.

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

People counted in Census 2022

201 133

Up 21.7% from 165 307 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

Nqutu: Census 2011 and Census 2022 figures, with the change
Measure	2011	2022	Change
Population	165 307	201 133	+21.7%
Households	31 610	33 617	+6.3%
People per household	5.2	6.0	+0.8
Males per 100 females	83.4	86.1	+2.7
Aged 0 to 14	42.4%	36.3%	-6.1 pts
Aged 15 to 34	33.7%	33.4%	-0.3 pts
Aged 60 and over	7.4%	8.6%	+1.2 pts
Households in a formal dwelling	63.1%	75.5%	+12.4 pts
Households in an informal dwelling	0.6%	0.9%	+0.3 pts
Households with water from a regional or local scheme	40.6%	42.8%	+2.2 pts
Households with a flush toilet	5.8%	20.1%	+14.3 pts
Households with no toilet	8.7%	4.0%	-4.7 pts
Households cooking with electricity	41.0%	72.2%	+31.2 pts
Households cooking with gas	2.9%	13.5%	+10.6 pts
Attending school (ages 5 to 24)	64 117	67 230	+4.9%

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 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: 93 058
Females: 108 074
Males per 100 females: 86.1
Attending school (ages 5 to 24): 67 230

The largest age group in Nqutu in 2022 was aged 0 to 14, at 36.3% of people.

Aged 0 to 1436.3%
42.4% in 2011
Aged 15 to 3433.4%
33.7% in 2011
Aged 35 to 5921.5%
16.4% in 2011
Aged 60 and over8.6%
7.4% 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 33 617 households, with about 6.0 people in each. In 2011 there were 31 610, with about 5.2 people in each.

75.5% of households in Nqutu lived in a formal dwelling in 2022.

Formal dwelling75.5%
25 380 households
Informal dwelling0.9%
316 households
Traditional dwelling23.4%
7 868 households
Other0.2%
53 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

20.1% of households in Nqutu had a flush toilet in 2022, and 72.2% cooked with electricity.

Water from a regional or local scheme42.8%
14 399 households. 40.6% in 2011.
Flush toilet20.1%
6 749 households. 5.8% in 2011.
No toilet4.0%
1 332 households. 8.7% in 2011.
Electricity for cooking72.2%
24 220 households. 41.0% in 2011.
Gas for cooking13.5%
4 521 households. 2.9% 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: Nqutu201 133; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal282 362Nqutu has 28.8% fewer people; Average per municipality in South Africa291 209Nqutu has 30.9% fewer people
People per household: Nqutu6.0; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal5.0Nqutu has 1.0 more people per household; Average per municipality in South Africa3.9Nqutu has 2.1 more people per household
Households in a formal dwelling: Nqutu75.5%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal81.7%Nqutu is 6.2 pts lower; Average per municipality in South Africa87.0%Nqutu is 11.5 pts lower
Water from a regional or local scheme: Nqutu42.8%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal60.4%Nqutu is 17.6 pts lower; Average per municipality in South Africa74.3%Nqutu is 31.5 pts lower
Households with a flush toilet: Nqutu20.1%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal38.4%Nqutu is 18.3 pts lower; Average per municipality in South Africa62.0%Nqutu is 41.9 pts lower
Electricity for cooking: Nqutu72.2%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal67.0%Nqutu is 5.2 pts higher; Average per municipality in South Africa66.0%Nqutu is 6.2 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).

75.5% of households lived in a formal dwelling, 6.2 pts below the average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
20.1% of households had a flush toilet, 18.3 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 Nqutu's (201 133). 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 Nqutu: 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.