Eastern Cape Shows Significant Population Growth In Latest Census Report

Eastern Cape's population has shown an extensive increase of more than 10% as per the current Census 2022 report handed to Premier Oscar Mabuyane by Acting Statistician-General, Yandidswa Mpetsheni. The population of the Eastern Cape soared from 6.5 million in 2011 to over 7.2 million in 2022, recording a growth of 10.2%.

In terms of population, the Eastern Cape province has now risen to the fourth most populous province in the country, demonstrating an apparent upward shift from being the third most populated in the preceding census.

The demographic composition of the province continues to be largely represented by the black community at 85.6%, followed by the colored community at 7.6%, the white community at 5.6%, and Indian and Asian communities together making up 0.5%, as per Premier Mabuyane.

Further, the census data unveils an encouraging trend in education. 56.1% of children aged 0-4 years have access to the Early Childhood Development Programme and are reported to regularly attend Educare Centres across the province. Moreover, a remarkable 4.8% rise in school attendance has been observed among individuals aged 5-24 years, with the rate reaching 77.3% in 2022 from 72.5%.

The report further indicates the province's consistent emphasis on providing decent living conditions to its dwellers. 49.5% of households have access to piped water inside their property, while 17.6% can access it in their yards and 13.4% outside the yards. The province also reported a significant rise of 15.7% in households having flush toilets, reaching 58.7% from the prior 43%. Moreover, 53.9% of households now have their refuse removed at least once a week.

Lastly, the report provides another remarkable statistic, reflecting female empowerment, with more than half or 51.9% of the Eastern Cape households being led by females.