Municipality profile, KZN276

Big Five Hlabisa

Big Five Hlabisa is a local municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. Census 2022 counted 131 755 people in 23 136 households, about 5.7 people per household. That is up 23.0% from 107 147 people in Census 2011. 91.6% of households lived in a formal dwelling and 20.3% had a flush toilet. It has the 29th largest population of the 44 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal.

KwaZulu-Natal. Category B3 in the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Framework.

People counted in Census 2022

131 755

Up 23.0% from 107 147 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 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

Big Five Hlabisa: Census 2011 and Census 2022 figures, with the change
Measure	2011	2022	Change
Population	107 147	131 755	+23.0%
Households	20 567	23 136	+12.5%
People per household	5.2	5.7	+0.5
Males per 100 females	85.6	86.2	+0.6
Aged 0 to 14	40.1%	34.9%	-5.2 pts
Aged 15 to 34	36.0%	33.3%	-2.7 pts
Aged 60 and over	6.8%	8.1%	+1.3 pts
Households in a formal dwelling	71.1%	91.6%	+20.5 pts
Households in an informal dwelling	0.9%	0.8%	-0.1 pts
Households with water from a regional or local scheme	39.0%	30.5%	-8.5 pts
Households with a flush toilet	16.0%	20.3%	+4.3 pts
Households with no toilet	9.5%	7.5%	-2.0 pts
Households cooking with electricity	37.6%	65.1%	+27.5 pts
Households cooking with gas	8.5%	16.3%	+7.8 pts
Attending school (ages 5 to 24)	39 515	39 789	+0.7%

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 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: 60 993
Females: 70 761
Males per 100 females: 86.2
Attending school (ages 5 to 24): 39 789

The largest age group in Big Five Hlabisa in 2022 was aged 0 to 14, at 34.9% of people.

Aged 0 to 1434.9%
40.1% in 2011
Aged 15 to 3433.3%
36.0% in 2011
Aged 35 to 5923.7%
17.1% in 2011
Aged 60 and over8.1%
6.8% 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 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 23 136 households, with about 5.7 people in each. In 2011 there were 20 567, with about 5.2 people in each.

91.6% of households in Big Five Hlabisa lived in a formal dwelling in 2022.

Formal dwelling91.6%
21 199 households
Informal dwelling0.8%
186 households
Traditional dwelling7.2%
1 665 households
Other0.4%
86 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 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

20.3% of households in Big Five Hlabisa had a flush toilet in 2022, and 65.1% cooked with electricity.

Water from a regional or local scheme30.5%
7 045 households. 39.0% in 2011.
Flush toilet20.3%
4 689 households. 16.0% in 2011.
No toilet7.5%
1 737 households. 9.5% in 2011.
Electricity for cooking65.1%
15 007 households. 37.6% in 2011.
Gas for cooking16.3%
3 747 households. 8.5% 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 31. 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: Big Five Hlabisa131 755; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal282 362Big Five Hlabisa has 53.3% fewer people; Average per municipality in South Africa291 209Big Five Hlabisa has 54.8% fewer people
People per household: Big Five Hlabisa5.7; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal5.0Big Five Hlabisa has 0.7 more people per household; Average per municipality in South Africa3.9Big Five Hlabisa has 1.8 more people per household
Households in a formal dwelling: Big Five Hlabisa91.6%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal81.7%Big Five Hlabisa is 9.9 pts higher; Average per municipality in South Africa87.0%Big Five Hlabisa is 4.6 pts higher
Water from a regional or local scheme: Big Five Hlabisa30.5%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal60.4%Big Five Hlabisa is 29.9 pts lower; Average per municipality in South Africa74.3%Big Five Hlabisa is 43.8 pts lower
Households with a flush toilet: Big Five Hlabisa20.3%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal38.4%Big Five Hlabisa is 18.1 pts lower; Average per municipality in South Africa62.0%Big Five Hlabisa is 41.7 pts lower
Electricity for cooking: Big Five Hlabisa65.1%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal67.0%Big Five Hlabisa is 1.9 pts lower; Average per municipality in South Africa66.0%Big Five Hlabisa is 0.9 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).

91.6% of households lived in a formal dwelling, 9.9 pts above the average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
20.3% of households had a flush toilet, 18.1 pts below the average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
7.5% of households had no toilet.

Similar municipalities

The 4 other municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal whose Census 2022 population is closest to Big Five Hlabisa's (131 755). 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 Big Five Hlabisa: 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.