Municipality profile, KZN282

uMhlathuze

uMhlathuze is a local municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. Census 2022 counted 412 075 people in 100 441 households, about 4.1 people per household. That is up 11.3% from 370 256 people in Census 2011. 97.0% of households lived in a formal dwelling and 62.5% had a flush toilet. It has the 5th largest population of the 44 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal.

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

People counted in Census 2022

412 075

Up 11.3% from 370 256 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

uMhlathuze: Census 2011 and Census 2022 figures, with the change
Measure	2011	2022	Change
Population	370 256	412 075	+11.3%
Households	94 010	100 441	+6.8%
People per household	3.9	4.1	+0.2
Males per 100 females	94.6	94.2	-0.4
Aged 0 to 14	29.9%	25.9%	-4.0 pts
Aged 15 to 34	42.6%	36.9%	-5.7 pts
Aged 60 and over	5.2%	7.6%	+2.4 pts
Households in a formal dwelling	87.4%	97.0%	+9.6 pts
Households in an informal dwelling	2.8%	0.8%	-2.0 pts
Households with water from a regional or local scheme	86.9%	88.6%	+1.7 pts
Households with a flush toilet	51.2%	62.5%	+11.3 pts
Households with no toilet	4.1%	0.7%	-3.4 pts
Households cooking with electricity	86.7%	77.1%	-9.6 pts
Households cooking with gas	3.3%	21.6%	+18.3 pts
Attending school (ages 5 to 24)	106 532	99 060	-7.0%

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: 199 907
Females: 212 168
Males per 100 females: 94.2
Attending school (ages 5 to 24): 99 060

The largest age group in uMhlathuze in 2022 was aged 15 to 34, at 36.9% of people.

Aged 0 to 1425.9%
29.9% in 2011
Aged 15 to 3436.9%
42.6% in 2011
Aged 35 to 5929.6%
22.3% in 2011
Aged 60 and over7.6%
5.2% 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 100 441 households, with about 4.1 people in each. In 2011 there were 94 010, with about 3.9 people in each.

97.0% of households in uMhlathuze lived in a formal dwelling in 2022.

Formal dwelling97.0%
97 417 households
Informal dwelling0.8%
778 households
Traditional dwelling2.0%
2 009 households
Other0.2%
237 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

62.5% of households in uMhlathuze had a flush toilet in 2022, and 77.1% cooked with electricity.

Water from a regional or local scheme88.6%
89 029 households. 86.9% in 2011.
Flush toilet62.5%
62 799 households. 51.2% in 2011.
No toilet0.7%
661 households. 4.1% in 2011.
Electricity for cooking77.1%
77 342 households. 86.7% in 2011.
Gas for cooking21.6%
21 700 households. 3.3% 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: uMhlathuze412 075; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal282 362uMhlathuze has 45.9% more people; Average per municipality in South Africa291 209uMhlathuze has 41.5% more people
People per household: uMhlathuze4.1; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal5.0uMhlathuze has 0.9 fewer people per household; Average per municipality in South Africa3.9uMhlathuze has 0.2 more people per household
Households in a formal dwelling: uMhlathuze97.0%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal81.7%uMhlathuze is 15.3 pts higher; Average per municipality in South Africa87.0%uMhlathuze is 10.0 pts higher
Water from a regional or local scheme: uMhlathuze88.6%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal60.4%uMhlathuze is 28.2 pts higher; Average per municipality in South Africa74.3%uMhlathuze is 14.3 pts higher
Households with a flush toilet: uMhlathuze62.5%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal38.4%uMhlathuze is 24.1 pts higher; Average per municipality in South Africa62.0%uMhlathuze is 0.5 pts higher
Electricity for cooking: uMhlathuze77.1%; Average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal67.0%uMhlathuze is 10.1 pts higher; Average per municipality in South Africa66.0%uMhlathuze is 11.1 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).

97.0% of households lived in a formal dwelling, 15.3 pts above the average per municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
62.5% of households had a flush toilet, 24.1 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 uMhlathuze's (412 075). 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 uMhlathuze: 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.