The municipality population totaled 71 925 people in 2001 and was inhabited by Black Africans who made up 100% of the total population.  94% spoke IsiZulu as a home language.  The under 20 age group constitued a significant amount of the population, just over half the population (54%) were of working age with only 4% of the population 65 years and  older.  The proportion of women stood at 54%  while males made up 46% of the total population.  This profile is indicative of the mostly male, and working-age migration patterns.

Education

The level of education for the community of Hlabisa is relatively low – 22% had no schooling, 26% had completed matric and just 1,7% had higher education.  Although there were high levels of school attendance, very few people progress to tertiary institution or achieve post matric qualification.  School attendance is high however, of those aged between 5 and 24 years, 82%  people were attending school, primary school enrollment stood at 92%.

Health

Statistics provided by the Department of Health shows that facility mortality rate  for children under one year was 9,9% and that of children under five years was 7,5%.

Births

The high proportion of persons aged under 4 years – 15% of the population – was indicative of higher birth rates and survival rates associated improved health services and access to anti-retroviral medication.  Hlabisa had the highest proportion of young persons in the province.

Deaths

While the higher proportion of 0-4 years was indicative of a reduction in infant mortality, mortality rates are still high.  The number of HIV deaths  accounted for7% of deaths in 2010.  Tuberculosis accounted for the highest number of deaths – 21%, followed by Intestinal infectious diseases (9%) and cerebrovascular diseases (5%).  A total of 1 179 deaths were recorded, with 4,6% due to non-natural causes.

Hlabsisa Municipality had a total of 12 586 households in 2011 with average household size of 5,4 – the second highest in the province.  The relatively large size of households is typical of the traditional, rural characteristic of the area.  The proportion of households living in formal dwellings was was 68%.  The municipality faces many challenges in the provision of infrastructure.  The proportion of households with flush toilet connected to  sewage was 7% and just 12,5% households had piped water inside dwelling and 55,4% households had access to electricity.  This represents a significant increase in access to electricty, in 2001 less then a third of households had access to electricity.

Poverty

Hlabisa Municipality had high levels of poverty, with the third highest unemployment rate in the province – 53%.  This means that over half the population of working age and available for work was unemployed.  Almost 60% of households were headed by females, reflective of the mostly male migration patterns.  The average household income income was 47 263 in 2011 up from 15 566 in 2001.

The major economic activity is tourism which is centred in adjacent Hlulhuwe-Umfolozi game reserve.  Hlabisa had limited economic development opportunities and in 2011, with over half the population of working age, available for work.  There were few primary investment points in the municipality, and the most significant economic activity was household-based agriculture, mainly subsistence in nature.