North West is served by 22 municipalities: 4 district and 18 local. Together they cover 3 804 262 residents across 209 764 square kilometres.

3 804 262residents of North West recorded in Census 2022, across 22 municipalities

North West at a glance

Measure Value
Municipalities 22
Metropolitan 0
District 4
Local 18
Population 3 804 262
Area 209 764 km2
Combined annual spending R29.3 billion
Clean audits 0
Disclaimed audits 1
Coalition governed 1
Average financial health score 36.7

District municipalities and what they cover

Largest municipalities by population

Municipality Population Area km2 People per km2
Rustenburg 562 031 3 416 164.5
Madibeng 522 566 3 720 140.5
City of Matlosana 431 231 3 602 119.7
Mafikeng 354 504 3 646 97.2
Moses Kotane 265 668 5 726 46.4
Moretele 219 120 1 498 146.3
J B Marks 212 670 6 398 33.2
Greater Taung 202 009 5 637 35.8
Ditsobotla 164 176 6 387 25.7
Ramotshere Moiloa 161 605 7 323 22.1

Financial health across North West

The strongest finances in the province belong to Bojanala Platinum, scoring 55.8 out of 100 with a grade of C. The weakest are Naledi (NW) at 13.4, a grade of F.

Municipality Type Grade Score Audit outcome
Bojanala Platinum District C 55.8 Financially unqualified
Mafikeng Local D 54.4 Qualified audit
Ngaka Modiri Molema District D 54.4 Qualified audit
Dr Kenneth Kaunda District D 53.6 Financially unqualified
Moretele Local D 50.3 Financially unqualified
Kagisano-Molopo Local D 49.4 Adverse audit
Rustenburg Local D 49.0 Qualified audit
Moses Kotane Local D 45.5 Financially unqualified
J B Marks Local D 42.5 Financially unqualified
Ramotshere Moiloa Local D 41.2 Qualified audit
Greater Taung Local E 36.3 Financially unqualified
Madibeng Local E 33.9 Qualified audit
Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District E 31.0 Qualified audit
City of Matlosana Local E 30.4 Qualified audit
Mamusa Local E 29.0 Qualified audit
Kgetlengrivier Local E 28.5 Qualified audit
Lekwa-Teemane Local E 26.2 Adverse audit
Ditsobotla Local E 25.3 Disclaimer of audit
Maquassi Hills Local F 22.6 Adverse audit
Ratlou Local F 18.7 Qualified audit
Tswaing Local F 17.1 Qualified audit
Naledi (NW) Local F 13.4 Qualified audit

Household services

Across the 18 metropolitan and local municipalities in North West, an average of 40.8% of households have piped water inside the dwelling.

Municipality Piped water inside Electricity Weekly refuse
Rustenburg 53.0% 94.5% 75.6%
Madibeng 39.4% 91.3% 47.3%
City of Matlosana 62.4% 92.9% 86.4%
Mafikeng 44.2% 97.0% 34.6%
Moses Kotane 29.7% 96.5% 48.7%
Moretele 21.1% 97.6% 33.8%
J B Marks 57.7% 89.8% 75.1%
Greater Taung 26.2% 96.8% 22.6%
Ditsobotla 44.5% 92.7% 29.3%
Ramotshere Moiloa 34.9% 93.3% 34.5%
Ratlou 22.1% 93.1% 18.7%
Tswaing 31.7% 91.9% 28.6%

Browse every municipality in the province, with full contact details and five years of figures, on the North West page.

Figures on this page come from National Treasury, Statistics South Africa and the Auditor-General, as set out in the sources and methodology. Read the methodology