eDumbe

Quick Fact

èDumbe Local Municipality has a population of about 82 053 people.

Quick Fact Image -0,02% Growth rate

èDumbe Local Municipality is situated in the north-western part of KwaZulu-Natal. It covers an area of 3 239 km².The municipal area of jurisdiction is demarcated into 8 wards which is predominantly rural in nature. The èDumbe Municipality is located in one of the poorest and poverty stricken district municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal. (It forms part of Presidential Nodes!). éDumbe is a gateway to KwaZulu-Natal Province and it is a shorter route from Mpumalanga Province to Durban or Pietermaritzburg. In that sense it can attract many tourists who are exploring KZN.

Rank By:
132 ranking by population size
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Thabazimbi , Limpopo 85,234 129
Pixley Ka Seme , Mpumalanga 83,235 130
Umtshezi , KwaZulu-Natal 83,153 131
eDumbe , KwaZulu-Natal 82,053 132
Nala , Free State 81,220 133
Overstrand , Western Cape 80,432 134
Makana , Eastern Cape 80,390 135
Quick Fact

18,3% of those aged 20+ had no schooling.

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Only 34 percent of the municipality’s population lives in an urban settlement while 41 percent live in the rural hinterland of the municipality. This factor has severe implications on actual service delivery and the cost thereof. Most settlements developed organically and are unplanned, lack basic services and facilities and provide limited opportunities for economic development.

Group Percentage
Black African97,8%
Coloured0,1%
Indian/Asian0,2%
White1,8%
Other0,2%
Age Males Females
0-4 6,9% 7,1%
5-9 6,6% 6,6%
10-14 6,6% 6,2%
15-19 6,1% 5,8%
20-24 4,6% 5,2%
25-29 3,4% 4,3%
30-34 2,4% 3%
35-39 2% 2,3%
40-44 1,7% 2,2%
45-49 1,5% 1,5%
50-54 1,3% 2,1%
55-59 1,2% 1,7%
60-64 0,8% 1,2%
65-69 0,6% 0,9%
70-74 0,5% 0,9%
75-79 0,3% 0,5%
80-84 0,3% 0,5%
85+ 0,2% 0,4%
Language Percentage
Afrikaans 1,1%
English 1,3%
IsiNdebele 1,2%
IsiXhosa 0,2%
IsiZulu 93,3%
Sepedi 0,2%
Sesotho 0,1%
Setswana 0,7%
Sign Language 0,5%
SiSwati 0,3%
Tshivenda 0%
Xitsonga 0%
Other 0.9%
Not Applicable 0,3%
Group Percentage
Married 12,6%
Living together like married partners 4,5%
Never married 80,3%
Widower/Widow 2,2%
Separated 0,3%
Divorced 0,1%
Group Percentage
No Schooling 3%
Some Primary 49,1%
Completed Primary 6,3%
Some Secondary 31,1%
Completed Secondary 9,9%
Higher Education 0,4%
Not Applicable 0,1%
Sex Percentage
Female 53,1%
Male 46,9%
Quick Fact

62,8% of the total households of éDumbe local municipality had access to electricity.

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78% had access to piped water while 25% had access to flush toilet. About 74% of the households live in formal dwellings and only about 6% owned a computer

Area Percentage
Urban 28,3%
Tribal/Traditional 44,2%
Farm 27,5%
Item Yes No
Cellphone 84,7% 15,3%
Computer 5,8% 94,2%
Television 55,9% 44,1%
Satellite Television 12,3% 87,7%
Radio 72,9% 27,1%
Landline / Telephone 4% 96%
Motor Car 16,9% 83,1%
Refrigerator 47,1% 52,9%
Electric / Gas-Stove 45,4% 54,6%
Energy Source Cooking Heating Lighting
Electricity 35% 26,9% 62,8%
Gas 2,5% 1,9% 0,4%
Paraffin 3,7% 1,7% 0,5%
Solar 0,2% 0,1% 0,3%
Candles 0% 0% 35,4%
Wood 57,7% 59,8% 0%
Coal 0,6% 1,1% 0%
Animal Dung 0,1% 0,1% 0%
Other 0,1% 0% 0%
None 0,2% 8,4% 0,7%
Access Percentage
From Home 3,2%
From Cellphone 19,3%
From Work 1,8%
From Elsewhere 4,6%
No Access 71%
Tenure Status Percentage
Rented 11,2%
Owned and fully paid off 53,1%
Owned but not yet paid off 9,5%
Occupied rent free 23,3%
Other 3%
Source of water Percentage
Regional/Local water scheme (operated by municipality or other water services provider) 45,2%
Borehole 12,6%
Spring 3,1%
Rain water tank 0,8%
Dam/Pool/Stagnant water 2,2%
River/Stream 21,4%
Water vendor 1,1%
Water tanker 11,6%
Other 2%
Toilet Facility Percentage
None 9,7%
Flush toilet (connected to sewerage system) 5,5%
Flush toilet (with septic tank) 19,6%
Chemical toilet 8,3%
Pit toilet with ventilation 38,4%
Pit toilet without ventilation 15,9%
Bucket toilet 0,3%
Other 2,4%
Refuse Disposal Percentage
Removed by local authority/private company at least once a week 20,7%
Removed by local authority/private company less often 1,7%
Communal refuse dump 0,8%
Own refuse dump 65,1%
No rubbish disposal 10,4%
Other 1,3%
Refuse Disposal Percentage
Removed by local authority/private company at least once a week 20,7%
Removed by local authority/private company less often 1,7%
Communal refuse dump 0,8%
Own refuse dump 65,1%
No rubbish disposal 10,4%
Other 1,3%
Quick Fact

37,7% Unemployment rate.

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éDumbe’s economy is far more heavily reliant on agriculture. This is the major economic activity in the study area, due to availability of good quality agricultural land, however the heavy reliance on agriculture represents a relatively underdeveloped economy that requires further diversification and development of the secondary sector. The manufacturing sector in the study area is still relatively small and accounts for only 8 percent of total output. Other sectors that are of significance in terms of their contribution to GDP are trade and accommodation; finance and business services and government services

Employment Status Number
Employed 9595
Unemployed 5813
Discouraged Work Seeker 4556
Not Economically Active 25189
Income Percentage
None income 11,9%
R1 - R4,800 6,4%
R4,801 - R9,600 12,4%
R9,601 - R19,600 26%
R19,601 - R38,200 23,9%
R38,201 - R76,4000 10,2%
R76,401 - R153,800 4,7%
R153,801 - R307,600 2,6%
R307,601 - R614,400 1,4%
R614,001 - R1,228,800 0,2%
R1,228,801 - R2,457,600 0,2%
R2,457,601+ 0,1%
Agricultural households
Type of specific activity Number
Livestock production 3,475
Poultry production 4,822
Vegetable production 3,764
Production of other crops 1,655
Other 574

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

Agricultural households
Type of activity Number
Crops only 1,943
Animals only 3,462
Mixed farming 2,682
Other 120

**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 2,810
R1-R4 800 480
R4 801-R38 400 4,253
R38 401-R307 200 415
R307 201+ 57
Unspecified 191

Place names

Places in eDumbe Municipality

Key Statistics 2011

Total population82,053
Young (0-14)40%
Working Age (15-64)55%
Elderly (65+)5%
Dependency ratio81,7
Sex ratio88,2
Growth rate-0,02% (2001-2011)
Population density42 persons/km2
Unemployment rate37,7%
Youth unemployment rate45,4%
No schooling aged 20+18,3%
Higher education aged 20+4%
Matric aged 20+22,1%
Number of households16,138
Number of Agricultural households8,206
Average household size5
Female headed households52,1%
Formal dwellings74%
Housing owned/paying off62,6%
Flush toilet connected to sewerage5,5%
Weekly refuse removal20,7%
Piped water inside dwelling13,8%
Electricity for lighting62,8%

Key Statistics 2001

Total population82,241
Young (0-14)41,7%
Working Age (15-64)55%
Elderly (65+)4,8%
Dependency ratio87%
Sex ratio89,7
Growth rate4,59% (2001-2011)
Unemployment rate57,5%
Youth unemployment rate64,7%
No schooling aged 20+37,7%
Higher education aged 20+3%
Matric aged 20+10,5%
Number of households15,107
Average household size5,2
Female headed households48,4%
Formal dwellings61,7%
Housing owned/paying off46,9%
Flush toilet connected to sewerage5,2%
Weekly refuse removal26,5%
Piped water inside dwelling4,7%
Electricity for lighting32,4%