Demographics
Distribution of population and growth rates per Local Municipality
The following Table indicates the population size of each of the Local Municipalities within the Vhembe District and their corresponding growth rates.
| Population | Year | Musina | Mutale | Thulamela | Makhado | Vhembe | Limpopo | South Africa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 32,795 | 69,399 | 532,933 | 455,479 | 1,090,606 | 4,876,898 | 40,171,605 | |
| 2004 | 42,656 | 81,234 | 606,075 | 515,050 | 1,245,015 | 5,466,932 | 45,857,655 |
Source Quantec, 2006 and Kayamandi Calculations
The above Table shows that the total population of the Vhembe District Municipality is approximately 1.2 million people. The population of Vhembe District Municipality grew by 1.5% between 2000 and 2004, and between 1995 and 1999. During the 2000 to 2004 time period, the Vhembe District’s growth rate exceeded that of South Africa. The fastest growing area of the Vhembe District Municipality, during both time periods, was the Musina Local Municipality with a growth rate of 3 %.
The population Growth rate has been slowest in the more rural Local Municipalities. Both the Thulamela and Makhado Local Municipalities had the lowest population growth in both time periods. Although the growth rate of the District has remained constant over the two time periods the Mutale and Thulamela Local Municipalities have experienced a slight decline in the second time period.
According to the District’s Draft Spatial Rational (2006), the population of the Vhembe District is predicted to increase by approximately 91,100 people by 2008. Between 2000 and 2008 the population growth rate is predicted to decline by 0.4% to just slightly more than 1% growth rate (1.06%).
The below Figure outlines both the age and gender distribution of the Vhembe District Municipality.
The majority (55%) of the residents of the Vhembe District Municipality are women (see above Figure). In each of the four Local Municipalities the majority of the total population is female: Musina (52%), Mutale (55%), Thulamela (55%), and Makhado (55%). On average there are 0.7 Men to every Woman in Vhembe. The average number of Men to Women, across age groups, is the same as that of the District in the Makhado and Mutale Local Municipalities (0.7). There is a higher average ratio of Men to Women in Musina (0.9) and a lower one in Thulamela.