14.5 million dwellings in SA
2012-10-30 16:51
Cape Town - Of the more than 14.5 million dwellings in South Africa, by far the majority are brick houses or concrete structures, according to Census 2011, released on Tuesday.
According to the document - a snapshot of the situation in the country on 9 October last year - there are 9 384 030 "house or brick/concrete block structure on a separate stand or yard, or on a farm" dwellings across the country.
There are also 1.1 million homes, including huts, made of "traditional materials". Most of these are in KwaZulu-Natal (483 296) and the Eastern Cape (476 285).
A table included in the census shows there are also 720,327 flats or "apartments in a block of flats" around the country, with most in Gauteng (280 396), KwaZulu-Natal (167 301) and the Western Cape (125 372).
More than 1.2 million households in South Africa are recorded as "informal" dwellings, including squatter camps. Most these are in Gauteng (434 075) and the Western Cape (191 668).
The total does not include the 712 956 "backyard" shacks around the country.
Another table shows there are 20,689 dwellings where plastic has been used as "wall material", and 60 979 such cardboard structures. There are also 1.6 million built from corrugated iron.
A surprisingly high number of families live in caravans and tents; a total of 14 439 around the country.
Of the 14.5 million homes in South Africa, almost 6 million are listed as "owned and fully paid off"; 1.7 million are "owned but not yet paid off"; 3.6 million are rented; and 2.7 million are "occupied rent free".
A breakdown by population group shows 4.9 million black people own homes which are fully paid off, compared to just over half-a-million whites, 415 940 coloureds and 119 457 Indians or Asians.
- SAPA
