Table 1. Household Living Conditions: Immigrants vs South Africans, Census 2022
Living Conditions Overall
N = 17,724,658
1
South African
N = 16,960,992
1
Immigrant
N = 763,666
1
p-value2
Type of dwelling



    Formal dwelling 80.1% (990,802) 81.1% (961,341) 58.1% (29,461)
    Traditional dwelling 3.1% (44,052) 3.2% (43,485) 1.1% (567)
    Flat or apartment 2.7% (31,701) 2.5% (28,204) 7.1% (3,497)
    Cluster/Town/Semi-detached 1.9% (22,515) 1.9% (21,415) 2.2% (1,100)
    Backyard dwelling 3.8% (45,449) 3.5% (40,024) 10.8% (5,425)
    Informal dwelling 8.0% (93,746) 7.4% (83,756) 20.2% (9,990)
    Other/Caravan/Tent 0.3% (4,008) 0.3% (3,774) 0.5% (234)
    Not applicable 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0)
Tenure status



    Rented from private individual 14.5% (169,381) 12.5% (140,386) 57.8% (28,995)
    Rented from other (including municipality and social housing institutions) 3.3% (39,295) 3.3% (36,742) 5.1% (2,553)
    Owned, but not yet paid off 5.0% (59,976) 5.2% (58,731) 2.5% (1,245)
    Owned and fully paid off 32.1% (409,445) 33.1% (404,191) 10.0% (5,254)
    Occupied rent-free 19.7% (251,862) 20.1% (245,576) 12.6% (6,286)
    Other 2.3% (29,323) 2.3% (28,565) 1.5% (758)
    Do not know 0.6% (7,520) 0.6% (7,238) 0.6% (282)
    Not applicable 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0)
    Unspecified 22.5% (265,471) 23.0% (260,570) 9.9% (4,901)
RDP/Government subsidised housing



    Yes 23.2% (281,867) 23.1% (269,747) 24.1% (12,120)
    No 53.8% (678,364) 53.3% (645,532) 65.1% (32,832)
    Do not know 0.6% (6,557) 0.5% (6,141) 0.8% (416)
    Not applicable 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0) 0.0% (0)
    Unspecified 22.5% (265,485) 23.0% (260,579) 9.9% (4,906)
Water source


<0.001
    Regional/local water scheme (operated by municipality/other service provider) 82.7% (1,000,850) 82.6% (957,667) 85.5% (43,183)
    Borehole 4.6% (58,069) 4.6% (55,828) 5.2% (2,241)
    Spring 0.6% (7,516) 0.6% (7,354) 0.3% (162)
    Rain-water tank 1.9% (27,568) 2.0% (27,241) 0.6% (327)
    Dam/pool/stagnant water 0.9% (12,398) 0.9% (12,198) 0.4% (200)
    Flowing water/river/stream 1.9% (27,064) 1.9% (26,793) 0.5% (271)
    Water vendor 1.8% (24,702) 1.8% (23,806) 1.6% (896)
    Water tanker 4.0% (52,301) 4.0% (50,267) 4.0% (2,034)
    Other 1.7% (21,805) 1.6% (20,845) 1.8% (960)
Toilet facility


<0.001
    Flush toilet connected to a public sewerage system 68.5% (806,540) 68.3% (770,502) 72.6% (36,038)
    Flush toilet connected to a septic tank or conservancy tank 2.3% (27,312) 2.2% (26,122) 2.5% (1,190)
    Chemical toilet 2.6% (34,182) 2.6% (33,111) 2.1% (1,071)
    Pit latrine/toilet with ventilation pipe 9.4% (132,675) 9.6% (129,848) 5.2% (2,827)
    Pit latrine/toilet without ventilation pipe 12.5% (172,084) 12.6% (165,688) 12.0% (6,396)
    Ecological toilet (e.g. urine diversion, enviroloo, etc) 0.4% (5,979) 0.4% (5,845) 0.3% (134)
    Bucket toilet (collected by municipality) 1.2% (13,657) 1.1% (12,604) 2.2% (1,053)
    Bucket toilet (emptied by household) 0.9% (11,433) 0.9% (10,958) 1.0% (475)
    None 1.6% (20,252) 1.6% (19,386) 1.7% (866)
    Other 0.6% (8,159) 0.6% (7,935) 0.4% (224)
Energy for cooking


<0.001
    Electricity (mains) 64.3% (797,592) 63.8% (759,283) 75.8% (38,309)
    Other electricity 0.4% (5,075) 0.4% (4,793) 0.6% (282)
    Gas 25.9% (305,987) 26.4% (299,335) 13.4% (6,652)
    Paraffin 2.7% (31,798) 2.5% (28,727) 6.2% (3,071)
    Wood 6.1% (85,083) 6.2% (83,418) 3.4% (1,665)
    Other/Solid fuel/None 0.6% (6,738) 0.6% (6,443) 0.6% (295)
Energy for lighting


<0.001
    Electricity from mains 94.3% (1,164,752) 94.5% (1,119,406) 89.8% (45,346)
    Other source of electricity (e.g. generator etc.) 0.4% (4,754) 0.4% (4,501) 0.5% (253)
    Gas 0.3% (3,176) 0.3% (3,023) 0.3% (153)
    Paraffin 0.9% (10,611) 0.9% (9,774) 1.7% (837)
    Candles 3.1% (37,211) 3.0% (34,432) 5.8% (2,779)
    Solar 0.7% (8,234) 0.7% (7,557) 1.4% (677)
    Other 0.1% (1,483) 0.1% (1,374) 0.2% (109)
    None 0.2% (2,052) 0.2% (1,932) 0.2% (120)
Refuse disposal


<0.001
    Removed by local authority/private company/community members at least once a week 67.1% (790,678) 66.9% (754,929) 71.7% (35,749)
    Removed by local authority/private company/community members less often 1.3% (15,009) 1.2% (14,225) 1.6% (784)
    Communal refuse dump 1.6% (20,027) 1.6% (18,814) 2.5% (1,213)
    Communal container/central collection point 2.5% (30,132) 2.5% (28,325) 3.6% (1,807)
    Own refuse dump 22.4% (308,986) 22.7% (301,054) 15.0% (7,932)
    Dump or leave rubbish anywhere (no rubbish disposal) 4.5% (58,487) 4.5% (55,935) 5.0% (2,552)
    Other 0.7% (8,954) 0.7% (8,717) 0.5% (237)
Household size (mean) 3.1 (2.1) 3.1 (2.1) 2.4 (1.5) <0.001
1 % (n (unweighted)); Mean (SD)
2 Pearson’s X^2: Rao & Scott adjustment; Design-based t-test