Greater Taung

Quick Fact

The municipal population stands at 177 642

Quick Fact Image Growth rate

Greater Taung Local Municipality (NW 394) is situated in the western part of North West in the area of jurisdiction of Dr Ruth S Mompati District Municipality. The municipality is one of the five local municipalities in Dr Ruth S Mompati District Municipality.The municipality covers an area of 5 639 Km2, which accounts for 11,8 % of the total area of Dr Ruth S Mompati District Municipality.The main rural towns/townships in the municipal area are Reivilo, Pudimoe and Taung Central. About 95% of the municipal area is predominantly rural. There are about 106 widely-scattered villages in the municipal area. There are Northern Cape areas that one passes when going from one village to the other within the municipality, namely Pampierstad township and Northern Cape farms. These areas previously formed part of the municipality but were later moved to the Northern Cape during the last demarcation process. The municipality is divided into 26 administration wards and has a total of 52 councillors (both ward and PR councillors).

As the municipality is predominantly rural, villages have been divided under the three tribal authorities under three paramount chiefs, namely Mankuroane, Mothibi and Motlhabane. The agricultural sector, both commercial and subsistence, is the major employer and contributor to the municipal economy.

The municipal population stands at 177 642 (the largest in the district), with a total of 48 612 households.When compared to the 2001 population statistics, the population size has declined from a total of 182 164 to 177 642 in 2011. The average population density stands at 31,5km2.

Rank By:
57 ranking by population size
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Jozini , KwaZulu-Natal 186,502 54
Albert Luthuli , Mpumalanga 186,010 55
Umzimkhulu , KwaZulu-Natal 180,302 56
Greater Taung , North West 177,642 57
Msinga , KwaZulu-Natal 177,577 58
Mtubatuba , KwaZulu-Natal 175,425 59
Mkhondo , Mpumalanga 171,982 60
Quick Fact

15,7% of the  population aged 20+ has Matric

Quick Fact Image 15,7% Matric

The most spoken language within the municipality is Setswana (93%), followed by English (1,6%).The least spoken languages are Xitsonga and Tshivenda, which stood at 0,1% and 0% respectively according to Census 2011 results. A total of 98,2% of the municipal population classify themselves as black Africans, while 0,4%, 1% and 0,2% classified themselves as white, coloured and Asian/Indian respectively. Of the 177 642 population, about 53% is female, while only about 47% is male. A high proportion of the municipal population (75%) has never been married, while only 14,9% are married and 4,5% are not married but living together like married partners.

A greater proportion of Greater TaungMunicipality is 0–14 years(35,9%), followed by members of the population aged15–34 years (31,7%).Members of the population aged 35–64 years account for 24,6% and those aged 65 years and above account for 7,9% of the entire municipal population.

Group Percentage
Black African98,2%
Coloured1%
Indian/Asian0,2%
White0,4%
Other0,1%
Age Males Females
0-4 6,5% 6,4%
5-9 6,1% 6%
10-14 5,7% 5,3%
15-19 5,8% 5,4%
20-24 4,1% 4,3%
25-29 2,9% 3,7%
30-34 2,4% 3,1%
35-39 2,1% 2,9%
40-44 1,9% 2,5%
45-49 1,9% 1,9%
50-54 1,8% 2,2%
55-59 1,6% 2%
60-64 1,4% 1,8%
65-69 1,2% 1,6%
70-74 0,8% 1,2%
75-79 0,5% 0,9%
80-84 0,3% 0,6%
85+ 0,2% 0,6%
Language Percentage
Afrikaans 1,3%
English 1,5%
IsiNdebele 1,2%
IsiXhosa 1,7%
IsiZulu 0,9%
Sepedi 0,2%
Sesotho 1,5%
Setswana 89,9%
Sign Language 0,5%
SiSwati 0%
Tshivenda 0%
Xitsonga 0,1%
Other 0.6%
Not Applicable 0,5%
Group Percentage
Married 14,9%
Living together like married partners 4,5%
Never married 74,7%
Widower/Widow 4,7%
Separated 0,5%
Divorced 0,6%
Group Percentage
No Schooling 2,9%
Some Primary 50,9%
Completed Primary 6,7%
Some Secondary 31,2%
Completed Secondary 7%
Higher Education 0,6%
Not Applicable 0,7%
Sex Percentage
Female 52,9%
Male 47,1%
Quick Fact

88,5% of the population use electricity for lighting

Quick Fact Image 88.5% Electricity

48,3% of the population is not economically active, and among those who are, 50% are unemployed.

Although about 88% of the dwelling units/structures are built from bricks/concrete blocks, and the average household size is only about four people per household, the municipality is faced with challenges such as absence of mail delivery services

It should be noted that, even though the unemployment rate in 2011 stood at 50%, there has been a significant improvement when compared to 2001, when the municipal unemployment rate stood at 65%.

As far as other major services are concerned, the municipality household access to electricity is 89%, compared to 49% in 2001. All of those with access to electricity use it for lighting, 40,3% use it for heating and about 73% for cooking.

Only 10,1% of the households within the municipality have access to a flush toilet, of which 9% is a flush toilet connected to a sewage system and 1,1% is a flush toilet with a septic tank. A total of 77,8% of households use pit toilets, with 29% using a pit toilet with ventilation and 49% using a pit toilet without ventilation.

As the municipality is 95% rural, only 7,6% of the municipal households have their refuse disposal removed by the municipality, whereas over 82% use their own refuse dump.

About 98% of households have access to piped (tap) water. From this percentage, 10% has access inside their dwelling units, 10,3% inside their yards, 51,2% access tap water on a community stand that is a distance of less than 200m from their yards, 18% travel between 200m and 500m to access tap water, and8,3% travel 500m and more to access tap water.

Area Percentage
Urban 2,4%
Tribal/Traditional 96%
Farm 1,6%
Item Yes No
Cellphone 80,7% 19,3%
Computer 5,6% 94,4%
Television 65,2% 34,8%
Satellite Television 11,6% 88,4%
Radio 62,6% 37,4%
Landline / Telephone 2,2% 97,8%
Motor Car 13,4% 86,6%
Refrigerator 62,5% 37,5%
Electric / Gas-Stove 76,9% 23,1%
Energy Source Cooking Heating Lighting
Electricity 72,5% 40,3% 88,5%
Gas 1,6% 1% 0,1%
Paraffin 4,7% 1,9% 0,5%
Solar 0,1% 0,1% 0,2%
Candles 0% 0% 10,4%
Wood 19,7% 44,3% 0%
Coal 0,2% 0,5% 0%
Animal Dung 0,3% 0,4% 0%
Other 0% 0% 0%
None 0,9% 11,6% 0,3%
Access Percentage
From Home 1,4%
From Cellphone 10,4%
From Work 1,3%
From Elsewhere 3,4%
No Access 83,5%
Tenure Status Percentage
Rented 6,1%
Owned and fully paid off 67,9%
Owned but not yet paid off 2%
Occupied rent free 16,3%
Other 7,6%
Source of water Percentage
Regional/Local water scheme (operated by municipality or other water services provider) 88%
Borehole 8,5%
Spring 0,2%
Rain water tank 0,2%
Dam/Pool/Stagnant water 0,1%
River/Stream 0,1%
Water vendor 0,4%
Water tanker 1,7%
Other 0,7%
Toilet Facility Percentage
None 10,4%
Flush toilet (connected to sewerage system) 9%
Flush toilet (with septic tank) 1,1%
Chemical toilet 0,5%
Pit toilet with ventilation 29%
Pit toilet without ventilation 48,8%
Bucket toilet 0,1%
Other 1%
Refuse Disposal Percentage
Removed by local authority/private company at least once a week 7,4%
Removed by local authority/private company less often 0,2%
Communal refuse dump 0,8%
Own refuse dump 82,4%
No rubbish disposal 8,6%
Other 0,6%
Refuse Disposal Percentage
Removed by local authority/private company at least once a week 7,4%
Removed by local authority/private company less often 0,2%
Communal refuse dump 0,8%
Own refuse dump 82,4%
No rubbish disposal 8,6%
Other 0,6%
Quick Fact

Unemployment rate is 49.8%.

Quick Fact Image

The Greater Taung Municipalityhas an agriculture-based economy, focusing on both livestock and crops. Most of the crops produced are exported to the Northern Cape as raw materials for further processing, as the neighbouring farmers are equipped with advanced processing machinery. Thus, a large portion of income is derived from the agricultural sector which is mainly owned by individual farmers/corporations. The agricultural sector is the one that employs the majority of the inhabitants. There is also subsistence farming by villagers who, at times, sell their produce to generate a household income.

There are also a few government sector departments (sub-district offices) that also contribute to the employment of the municipal population. The newly-built Taung Mall boosts a number of giant retailers.The retail-trade industry also contributes, though not significantly,to the municipal GDP.

Employment Status Number
Employed 16464
Unemployed 16303
Discouraged Work Seeker 12777
Not Economically Active 54456
Income Percentage
None income 20,5%
R1 - R4,800 6,2%
R4,801 - R9,600 10,3%
R9,601 - R19,600 25,4%
R19,601 - R38,200 21,6%
R38,201 - R76,4000 8,1%
R76,401 - R153,800 4,1%
R153,801 - R307,600 2,6%
R307,601 - R614,400 0,9%
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 10,441
Poultry production 11,462
Vegetable production 1,649
Production of other crops 1,168
Other 2,614

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

Agricultural households
Type of activity Number
Crops only 560
Animals only 14,839
Mixed farming 2,267
Other 589

**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 6,481
R1-R4 800 368
R4 801-R38 400 10,088
R38 401-R307 200 1,080
R307 201+ 67
Unspecified 171

Place names

Places in Greater Taung Municipality

Key Statistics 2011

Total population177,642
Young (0-14)35,8%
Working Age (15-64)56,3%
Elderly (65+)7,9%
Dependency ratio77,6
Sex ratio89,2
Growth rate-0,25% (2001-2011)
Population density32 persons/km2
Unemployment rate49,8%
Youth unemployment rate61,7%
No schooling aged 20+19,2%
Higher education aged 20+4,7%
Matric aged 20+15,7%
Number of households48,613
Number of Agricultural households18,255
Average household size3,6
Female headed households48,2%
Formal dwellings88,5%
Housing owned/paying off70%
Flush toilet connected to sewerage9%
Weekly refuse removal7,4%
Piped water inside dwelling10%
Electricity for lighting88,5%

Key Statistics 2001

Total population182,164
Young (0-14)38,4%
Working Age (15-64)56,3%
Elderly (65+)6,6%
Dependency ratio81,7%
Sex ratio89,8
Growth rate-0,24% (2001-2011)
Unemployment rate65,2%
Youth unemployment rate75,7%
No schooling aged 20+32,1%
Higher education aged 20+4,1%
Matric aged 20+9,7%
Number of households41,450
Average household size4,3
Female headed households52,1%
Formal dwellings83,5%
Housing owned/paying off70,9%
Flush toilet connected to sewerage7,4%
Weekly refuse removal5,9%
Piped water inside dwelling5,3%
Electricity for lighting49,4%