Cape Town has more informal dwellings than Johannesburg, household survey shows
Food insecurity remains a major concern for 81% of households.
At lease 98% of SA children of school-going age are enrolled in schools.
Social grants are making a difference, with a 100% uptake among pensioners.
The latest General Household Survey released by Stats SA on Tuesday provides a detailed snapshot of the living conditions across the country's metropolitan areas.
The data highlight both progress and persistent challenges in sectors such as agriculture, education, health and infrastructure, offering insights into the realities faced by households in SA's major cities last year.
Agriculture and food security
The survey reveals significant disparities in agricultural engagement among the metros. The Buffalo City Metro Municipality leads with 17.7% of households involved in agricultural activities, while Cape Town and eThekwini report the lowest participation at 2.1% and 2.3%, respectively.
Fruit and vegetable production is the most common activity, particularly in Buffalo City (9.7%) and Mangaung (7.5%). However, livestock and poultry production remain minimal nationwide, with Buffalo City again an outlier at 5.8% for livestock.
Food insecurity remains a concern. While 81.8% of households report adequate food access, 12.1% face inadequate access and 6.1% experience severe food shortages. Nelson Mandela Bay records the highest rate of severe food insecurity (18.4%), contrasting sharply with eThekwini (0.8%). These figures underscore the uneven distribution of food security, with rural-urban divides and economic disparities playing a role.
Education, enrolment and challenges
Education indicators show high enrolment rates for children of primary school age (98.5% nationally), but challenges persist for older learners. Only 85.6% of 16- to 18-year-olds attend educational institutions, with Cape Town (77.5%) and eThekwini (78.5%) lagging behind Mangaung (94.5%).
Pupils with special needs face significant barriers. Nationally, 10.7% of children with disabilities, aged seven to 15, are not enrolled, rising to 41.1% in eThekwini. Corporal punishment remains an issue, particularly in eThekwini, where 19.8% of the pupils reported incidents, compared to the national average of 3.7%.
Access to support services varies. While 62.3% of pupils benefit from nutrition programmes, only 4.4% received free scholar transport, with Nelson Mandela Bay (31%) and Tshwane (11.7%) outperforming other metros.
Health and social development
Medical aid coverage remains low, with only 22.1% of individuals covered nationally. Tshwane (29.7%) and Cape Town (27.6%) report the highest rates, while Mangaung (14.9%) trails behind. Public healthcare reliance is high, with 64.3% of households using public facilities as their primary healthcare source.
READ: Nurses union backs NHI: 'Let's give new healthcare system a chance'
Social grant uptake is nearly universal among the elderly, with all the metros reporting 100% access to old-age pensions. However, broader social grant coverage for those older than 60 varies, from 52.6% in Cape Town to 75.9% in Mangaung. Disability rates among the elderly are notable, with Mangaung recording the highest proportion of severely disabled individuals (14.1%).
Housing and infrastructure
Housing conditions reveal ongoing inequities. Nelson Mandela Bay has the highest proportion of households in state-subsidised homes (35.7%), while Johannesburg has the lowest (8.2%). Informal dwellings remain prevalent, particularly in Johannesburg (17.4%) and Cape Town (18.8%).
Nationally, 45,5% of children lived with mothers only while less than a third (31,4%) of children lived with both parents. More than one-quarter (26,9%) of households consisted of a single person
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— Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) (@StatsSA) May 27, 2025
Water access is broadly available, but 7.9% of households use substandard sanitation facilities, with eThekwini (18.9%) and Mangaung (15.8%) facing the highest rates. Bucket toilets are still in use in some areas, notably eThekwini (185 000 households) and Tshwane (70 000 households).
Transport and environmental concerns
Public transport reliance is high, with minibus taxis dominating (34.7 million monthly trips nationally). However, transport costs strain household budgets, with 15.4% spending more than 30% of their income on transport.
Environmental issues such as waste removal and pollution vary by metro. While 84.7% of households benefit from regular refuse removal, Buffalo City (70.8%) and Mangaung (79.1%) lag behind. Noise and air pollution are prominent concerns in Buffalo City (30.2%) and Mangaung (31.5%), while land degradation affects 55% of households in Mangaung.
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