Polokwane

Quick Fact

The population size is 628 999, with 178 001 households.

Quick Fact Image 2,13% Growth rate

Polokwane Municipality is situated in the central part of the Limpopo Province. The municipality shares the name with the biggest town in Limpopo called Polokwane. Locally it shares borders with three other local municipalities within Capricorn District as well as local municipalities in Mopani and Waterberg Districts. It is the largest metropolitan complex in the north and a major economic centre with 38 wards. Its proximity to the neighboring countries of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland makes it a perfect gateway to Africa and an attractive tourist destination. The settlement types indicates that it is more urban than rural.

Rank By:
2 ranking by population size
  Rank view all
Emfuleni , Gauteng 721,663 1
Polokwane , Limpopo 628,999 2
Msunduzi , KwaZulu-Natal 618,536 3
Thulamela , Limpopo 618,462 4
Mbombela , Mpumalanga 588,794 5
Quick Fact

6,7% of those 20+ have no schooling.

Quick Fact Image

The population size is 628 999, with 178 001 households and average of 4 persons per household. 92,9% of the population is black African, followed by white people at 5,2%. Other population groups make up the remaining 1,9%. For every 100 females there are 93 males. The age dependency ratio is 54,3. Most people in the municipality speak Sepedi as the first language at 80%, Afrikaans at 5%, English at 3% and the other languages make up 11%. 17,9% of the population aged 20 years and older had some form of higher education; whereas 29,6% has completed matric and only 6,8% had no schooling. The municipality has number of public schools and tertiary institutions such as University of Limpopo, University of South Africa and Tshwane University of Technology.

Group Percentage
Black African92,9%
Coloured0,9%
Indian/Asian0,7%
White5,2%
Other0,2%
Age Males Females
0-4 5,7% 5,7%
5-9 4,7% 4,7%
10-14 4,8% 4,6%
15-19 5,3% 5,4%
20-24 5,8% 5,5%
25-29 4,8% 4,9%
30-34 3,7% 3,8%
35-39 2,9% 3,4%
40-44 2,5% 3%
45-49 2,1% 2,1%
50-54 1,7% 2%
55-59 1,4% 1,6%
60-64 1% 1,3%
65-69 0,7% 1%
70-74 0,5% 0,8%
75-79 0,3% 0,6%
80-84 0,2% 0,4%
85+ 0,1% 0,4%
Language Percentage
Afrikaans 5,3%
English 3,1%
IsiNdebele 0,9%
IsiXhosa 0,2%
IsiZulu 1%
Sepedi 78,7%
Sesotho 0,8%
Setswana 0,7%
Sign Language 0,2%
SiSwati 0,2%
Tshivenda 2,1%
Xitsonga 2,8%
Other 1.9%
Not Applicable 2,1%
Group Percentage
Married 22,8%
Living together like married partners 4,6%
Never married 68%
Widower/Widow 3,4%
Separated 0,4%
Divorced 0,9%
Group Percentage
No Schooling 1,9%
Some Primary 38%
Completed Primary 5,8%
Some Secondary 33,7%
Completed Secondary 14%
Higher Education 3,6%
Not Applicable 3,1%
Sex Percentage
Female 52%
Male 48%
Quick Fact

83% Use electricity for lighting.

Quick Fact Image

Between 2001 and 2011 there has been an increase in the number of households that have income from 77% to 86%. Provision of household services has increased between 2001 and 2011. The municipality has 46 health facilities in the form of hospitals and clinics, excluding private hospitals.

Area Percentage
Urban 41%
Tribal/Traditional 55,8%
Farm 3,2%
Item Yes No
Cellphone 91,8% 8,2%
Computer 21,3% 78,7%
Television 70,4% 29,6%
Satellite Television 26,5% 73,5%
Radio 67,3% 32,7%
Landline / Telephone 7,1% 92,9%
Motor Car 27,3% 72,7%
Refrigerator 64,9% 35,1%
Electric / Gas-Stove 72,6% 27,4%
Energy Source Cooking Heating Lighting
Electricity 70,9% 60,8% 83%
Gas 2,7% 1,4% 0,1%
Paraffin 11,3% 5% 1,6%
Solar 0,1% 0,1% 0,6%
Candles 0% 0% 14,4%
Wood 14,6% 18% 0%
Coal 0,1% 0,2% 0%
Animal Dung 0,2% 0,2% 0%
Other 0,1% 0% 0%
None 0,1% 14,1% 0,2%
Access Percentage
From Home 6,2%
From Cellphone 18,5%
From Work 5,1%
From Elsewhere 5,5%
No Access 64,7%
Tenure Status Percentage
Rented 22,3%
Owned and fully paid off 48,2%
Owned but not yet paid off 8,2%
Occupied rent free 17,7%
Other 3,6%
Source of water Percentage
Regional/Local water scheme (operated by municipality or other water services provider) 82,7%
Borehole 9,7%
Spring 0,1%
Rain water tank 0,5%
Dam/Pool/Stagnant water 1,7%
River/Stream 0,6%
Water vendor 2,2%
Water tanker 1,1%
Other 1,4%
Toilet Facility Percentage
None 2,8%
Flush toilet (connected to sewerage system) 41,1%
Flush toilet (with septic tank) 2,7%
Chemical toilet 0,4%
Pit toilet with ventilation 6,5%
Pit toilet without ventilation 45%
Bucket toilet 0,6%
Other 0,9%
Refuse Disposal Percentage
Removed by local authority/private company at least once a week 44,4%
Removed by local authority/private company less often 0,7%
Communal refuse dump 1%
Own refuse dump 49,9%
No rubbish disposal 3,2%
Other 0,7%
Refuse Disposal Percentage
Removed by local authority/private company at least once a week 44,4%
Removed by local authority/private company less often 0,7%
Communal refuse dump 1%
Own refuse dump 49,9%
No rubbish disposal 3,2%
Other 0,7%
Quick Fact

42% Youth unemployment rate.

Quick Fact Image

The municipality has the Polokwane International Airport where various commercial flights enter and exit the town of Polokwane. There are three major malls in the municipality with Mall of the North being the latest and the biggest with 180 retail shops. Peter Mokaba Stadium is one of the stadia that was build in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Tournament which brings PSL soccer matches to Limpopo frequently. With one soccer team called Polokwane City having been promoted to the PSL, the stadium would be expected to have more soccer matches in the next season and that would contribute a lot to the economic growth of the municipality. The are many churches in the municipality with ZCC that bring large number of followers of the church at least once per year. The church attracts people from all the nine provinces of South Africa and neighboring countries such as Swaziland and Botswana.

During Easter holidays small businesses and the self employed are able to make bigger profits as the church welcomes over 2 million followers to Moria.

Employment Status Number
Employed 155691
Unemployed 74784
Discouraged Work Seeker 14798
Not Economically Active 162442
Income Percentage
None income 13,8%
R1 - R4,800 4,8%
R4,801 - R9,600 8,5%
R9,601 - R19,600 19,3%
R19,601 - R38,200 19,7%
R38,201 - R76,4000 11,7%
R76,401 - R153,800 8,1%
R153,801 - R307,600 7,2%
R307,601 - R614,400 4,6%
R614,001 - R1,228,800 1,6%
R1,228,801 - R2,457,600 0,4%
R2,457,601+ 0,3%
Agricultural households
Type of specific activity Number
Livestock production 12,795
Poultry production 15,375
Vegetable production 7,547
Production of other crops 17,349
Other 5,470

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

Agricultural households
Type of activity Number
Crops only 15,473
Animals only 16,880
Mixed farming 7,203
Other 2,311

**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 11,190
R1-R4 800 1,442
R4 801-R38 400 22,473
R38 401-R307 200 5,350
R307 201+ 735
Unspecified 677

Place names

Places in Polokwane Municipality

Key Statistics 2011

Total population628,999
Young (0-14)30,1%
Working Age (15-64)64,8%
Elderly (65+)5,1%
Dependency ratio54,3
Sex ratio92,5
Growth rate2,13% (2001-2011)
Population density167 persons/km2
Unemployment rate32,4%
Youth unemployment rate42%
No schooling aged 20+6,7%
Higher education aged 20+17,3%
Matric aged 20+29,5%
Number of households178,001
Number of Agricultural households41,867
Average household size3,4
Female headed households44,8%
Formal dwellings89,4%
Housing owned/paying off56,4%
Flush toilet connected to sewerage41,1%
Weekly refuse removal44,4%
Piped water inside dwelling33,7%
Electricity for lighting83%

Key Statistics 2001

Total population508,277
Young (0-14)36%
Working Age (15-64)64,8%
Elderly (65+)4,9%
Dependency ratio69%
Sex ratio86,9
Growth rate3,59% (2001-2011)
Unemployment rate41,5%
Youth unemployment rate53,2%
No schooling aged 20+15,7%
Higher education aged 20+11,2%
Matric aged 20+23,6%
Number of households124,978
Average household size3,7
Female headed households49,4%
Formal dwellings79,3%
Housing owned/paying off60,2%
Flush toilet connected to sewerage32,6%
Weekly refuse removal33,4%
Piped water inside dwelling21,1%
Electricity for lighting64,6%