Moretele

Quick Fact

The Moretele Local Municipality has a total population of 186 947.

Quick Fact Image 0,32% Growth Rate

Moretele Local Municipality is located in an area called Moretele, which is situated far north of Pretoria in the North West province. The municipality was built in 2000, and covers an area of 1 369km2.  It is located strategically to join four provinces, namely North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.  Moretele is the Setswana name for a river that runs through the area, namely Noka ya Moretele (the Moretele River).

The Municipality comprises of 24 wards, which are made up of 66 villages and plots. Most villages are ruled by 4 traditional leaders(Dikgosi) who are recognised by law and who all represent their respective tribes/communities in council.

Rank By:
53 ranking by population size
  Rank view all
Lukhanji , Eastern Cape 190,723 50
Ulundi , KwaZulu-Natal 188,317 51
Mhlontlo , Eastern Cape 188,226 52
Moretele , North West 186,947 53
Jozini , KwaZulu-Natal 186,502 54
Albert Luthuli , Mpumalanga 186,010 55
Umzimkhulu , KwaZulu-Natal 180,302 56
Quick Fact

According to the Census 2011, 4,6% Higher education aged 20+.

Quick Fact Image

The Moretele Local Municipality has a total population of 186 947, making it the municipality with the smallest population in Bojanala District Municipality. It is highly rural, with 88% of the population residing in traditional areas, about 7,4% residing in urban areas and about 3% residing on smallholdings. Black Africans constitute 99,4% of the Moretele Local Municipality’s population. The most commonly spoken or dominating language is Setwana.

 More than half of the population (51%) is female At age 85 and older, there were more than twice as many women as men. People under 15 years of age made up over a quarter of the population (30,9%), people aged between 15 and 64 constitute more than half of the population (60,9%) and people aged 65 and older made up 8,2% of the population.

Group Percentage
Black African99,4%
Coloured0,2%
Indian/Asian0,1%
White0,2%
Other0,1%
Age Males Females
0-4 5,9% 6%
5-9 5% 5%
10-14 4,6% 4,4%
15-19 5,2% 4,8%
20-24 5% 4,6%
25-29 4,4% 4,3%
30-34 3,5% 3,3%
35-39 2,8% 2,9%
40-44 2,2% 2,5%
45-49 2% 2%
50-54 1,9% 2,2%
55-59 1,8% 2,1%
60-64 1,5% 1,8%
65-69 1,1% 1,6%
70-74 0,8% 1,3%
75-79 0,5% 1%
80-84 0,3% 0,7%
85+ 0,3% 0,6%
Language Percentage
Afrikaans 0,4%
English 1,4%
IsiNdebele 3,5%
IsiXhosa 0,7%
IsiZulu 3,5%
Sepedi 13,8%
Sesotho 2,9%
Setswana 51,6%
Sign Language 0,9%
SiSwati 0,7%
Tshivenda 1,3%
Xitsonga 18,4%
Other 0.7%
Not Applicable 0,3%
Group Percentage
Married 17,6%
Living together like married partners 4,7%
Never married 71,7%
Widower/Widow 4,6%
Separated 0,6%
Divorced 0,7%
Group Percentage
No Schooling 2,9%
Some Primary 42,3%
Completed Primary 6,1%
Some Secondary 33,9%
Completed Secondary 13,3%
Higher Education 1,4%
Not Applicable 0,1%
Sex Percentage
Female 51,2%
Male 48,8%
Quick Fact

According to census 2011, 92.2% of households had access to electricity for lighting.

Quick Fact Image

The Moretele Local Municipality has a relatively rural population, with more than 88% of the population located in traditional areas. There are about 52 063 households in Moretele with an average household size of 3,6. More than 80% of the population lives in formal dwellings and about 15% of households occupy informal dwellings.

More than 70% of the households have access to water. However, of serious concern is the fact that close to 6 000 households have no access to water.The provision of sanitation facilities across the municipal communities remains one of the key challenges for the municipality. Only 2 281(5,7%) households have access to flush toilets connected to the sewerage system, 14 228 have access to ventilated pit latrines, but the majority of households(33 408) still rely on pit latrines that are without ventilation.

Area Percentage
Urban 4%
Tribal/Traditional 96%
Farm 0%
Item Yes No
Cellphone 86,2% 13,8%
Computer 11,5% 88,5%
Television 79,5% 20,5%
Satellite Television 11,6% 88,4%
Radio 66% 34%
Landline / Telephone 1,6% 98,4%
Motor Car 15,8% 84,2%
Refrigerator 76,1% 23,9%
Electric / Gas-Stove 80% 20%
Energy Source Cooking Heating Lighting
Electricity 76,7% 63,1% 92,2%
Gas 1,1% 0,7% 0,1%
Paraffin 6,4% 1,8% 0,3%
Solar 0,1% 0,1% 0,1%
Candles 0% 0% 7,1%
Wood 15,4% 18,5% 0%
Coal 0,1% 0,5% 0%
Animal Dung 0% 0% 0%
Other 0% 0% 0%
None 0,2% 15,2% 0,2%
Access Percentage
From Home 1,4%
From Cellphone 12,7%
From Work 1,2%
From Elsewhere 5,2%
No Access 79,4%
Tenure Status Percentage
Rented 2,4%
Owned and fully paid off 72%
Owned but not yet paid off 1%
Occupied rent free 23,7%
Other 0,8%
Source of water Percentage
Regional/Local water scheme (operated by municipality or other water services provider) 75,8%
Borehole 9,1%
Spring 0,8%
Rain water tank 0,4%
Dam/Pool/Stagnant water 0,5%
River/Stream 0,1%
Water vendor 9,7%
Water tanker 1,4%
Other 2,1%
Toilet Facility Percentage
None 1,4%
Flush toilet (connected to sewerage system) 4,4%
Flush toilet (with septic tank) 1,3%
Chemical toilet 0,9%
Pit toilet with ventilation 27,3%
Pit toilet without ventilation 64,2%
Bucket toilet 0,3%
Other 0,2%
Refuse Disposal Percentage
Removed by local authority/private company at least once a week 1%
Removed by local authority/private company less often 0,3%
Communal refuse dump 1,2%
Own refuse dump 89,5%
No rubbish disposal 7,9%
Other 0,2%
Refuse Disposal Percentage
Removed by local authority/private company at least once a week 1%
Removed by local authority/private company less often 0,3%
Communal refuse dump 1,2%
Own refuse dump 89,5%
No rubbish disposal 7,9%
Other 0,2%
Quick Fact

45,9% Unemployment Rate.

Quick Fact Image

The spatial development framework of the municipality is shaped by the rich agricultural history characterising large pieces of land in the area. It is against this backdrop that agriculture has become a focal point in all economic development prospects for the municipality constituency.

The municipality has vast tracts of land which can be used to harness economic development opportunities.It is believed that livestock farming is the main type of farming activity that is carried out in the local municipality.  The tourism sector in the Moretele Local Municipality is not well established.

Employment Status Number
Employed 29475
Unemployed 25053
Discouraged Work Seeker 8728
Not Economically Active 50580
Income Percentage
None income 19,9%
R1 - R4,800 5,2%
R4,801 - R9,600 8,5%
R9,601 - R19,600 23,9%
R19,601 - R38,200 21,8%
R38,201 - R76,4000 12,1%
R76,401 - R153,800 5,6%
R153,801 - R307,600 2,2%
R307,601 - R614,400 0,7%
R614,001 - R1,228,800 0,1%
R1,228,801 - R2,457,600 0,1%
R2,457,601+ 0,1%
Agricultural households
Type of specific activity Number
Livestock production 5,506
Poultry production 8,065
Vegetable production 2,975
Production of other crops 4,398
Other 2,661

**An agricultural household may engage in more than one agricultural activity

Agricultural households
Type of activity Number
Crops only 3,685
Animals only 8,678
Mixed farming 2,709
Other 596

**An agricultural household may not fall under more than one agricultural activity

Income category of agricultural households
Annual income category of agricultural household heads Number
No income 4,881
R1-R4 800 378
R4 801-R38 400 8,864
R38 401-R307 200 1,345
R307 201+ 47
Unspecified 152

Place names

Places in Moretele Municipality

Key Statistics 2011

Total population186,947
Young (0-14)30,9%
Working Age (15-64)60,9%
Elderly (65+)8,2%
Dependency ratio64,2
Sex ratio95,2
Growth rate0,32% (2001-2011)
Population density136 persons/km2
Unemployment rate45,9%
Youth unemployment rate57,2%
No schooling aged 20+9,1%
Higher education aged 20+4,6%
Matric aged 20+27,2%
Number of households52,063
Number of Agricultural households15,668
Average household size3,6
Female headed households43,5%
Formal dwellings84,5%
Housing owned/paying off73,1%
Flush toilet connected to sewerage4,4%
Weekly refuse removal1%
Piped water inside dwelling8,7%
Electricity for lighting92,2%

Key Statistics 2001

Total population181,033
Young (0-14)33,4%
Working Age (15-64)60,9%
Elderly (65+)6,9%
Dependency ratio67,4%
Sex ratio94,3
Growth rate0,86% (2001-2011)
Unemployment rate58,1%
Youth unemployment rate72,9%
No schooling aged 20+16,9%
Higher education aged 20+4,1%
Matric aged 20+18,2%
Number of households43,763
Average household size4,1
Female headed households45%
Formal dwellings78,5%
Housing owned/paying off70,2%
Flush toilet connected to sewerage0,8%
Weekly refuse removal0,3%
Piped water inside dwelling1,6%
Electricity for lighting71,5%