Municipal Benchmarking Report: Findings from the GCRO’s Quality of life survey 7 (2023/24)

This municipal benchmarking report completes a series of Data Briefs that were published with the launch of the Gauteng City-Region Observatory’s (GCRO) Quality of Life (QoL) Survey 7 (2023/24). The Data Brief presents a comparative analysis of various quality of life indicators for residents in the nine municipalities of the Gauteng province, as assessed through QoL 7 (2023/24) survey data. The dimensions explored include government satisfaction and trust; access to and satisfaction with basic services; civic participation; neighbourhood conditions; health and healthcare use; migration; crime and safety; poverty and inequality; and hunger and food security.

In Gauteng, satisfaction with government is very low across all levels of government and has declined substantially in recent years. These low levels of satisfaction with government are accompanied by similarly low levels of trust in government. Satisfaction with local government is as low as 5% in Emfuleni, but as high as 59% in Midvaal, and with an average of 22% in other municipalities.

Access to basic services such as piped water, sanitation, electricity and refuse removal is relatively high and stable across municipalities in Gauteng. However, satisfaction with these services is not consistently high. While more than 90% of Gauteng respondents report access to piped water, the proportion who report that their water is always clean is relatively low – falling below 70% in seven of the nine municipalities. Access to weekly refuse removal, satisfaction with energy sources, and satisfaction with roads are particularly low in Emfuleni.

Good health is essential for quality of life, social well-being and economic productivity. While a well-resourced private healthcare sector serves the relatively small proportion of Gauteng’s population who can afford it, the under-resourced public healthcare system provides care for the majority of respondents in all municipalities. Satisfaction with public healthcare services is the lowest in Emfuleni (49%) and Mogale City (53%), while it is the highest in Merafong (68%).

The Data Brief shows that more than half of Gauteng’s adult residents were born in the province. However, the composition of municipal adult populations by migration status varies significantly. In some municipalities, the proportion of residents born in Gauteng is notably lower than in others. A significant number of Gauteng residents also express a willingness to migrate – either to another province or country – if given the opportunity. Among the municipalities, Midvaal and Merafong have the highest proportions of residents who would emigrate. Mogale City has the highest proportion of residents who would relocate to another province.

Crime and safety conditions significantly affect everyday life in South Africa. The overall crime and safety situation in Gauteng remains largely negative – more than 50% of respondents in the City of Ekurhuleni, Merafong, and Rand West indicate that the crime situation in their area has worsened over the last year. A striking proportion of respondents (81%) report feeling unsafe walking in their neighbourhoods at night and it is as high as 91% in Rand West and 89% in Merafong.

Poverty rates in Gauteng remain considerably high. Although the magnitude of poverty reflected in QoL 7 (2023/24) has decreased since the COVID-19-related peak in 2020/21, it is still higher than in any previous QoL survey iteration. Analysis highlights several dimensions of poverty and inequality across Gauteng municipalities, including the proportion of residents below the food poverty line, income inequality and percentile ratios (e.g. the p90/p10 ratio). Municipalities such as the City of Tshwane, Emfuleni, Lesedi and Merafong are among those with higher poverty and inequality rates.

There is also significant food insecurity in Gauteng, with many adults skipping meals due to financial constraints. Household adult hunger has increased over the ten years of the QoL Survey. In QoL 7 (2023/24), one in four (26%) respondents reported that an adult in their household had skipped a meal in the past year because there was not enough money to buy food. Childhood hunger remains similarly persistent, with one in five households (20%) reporting that children have skipped meals due to a lack of money for food. Emfuleni and Merafong emerge as the municipalities with the highest rates of both adult and child food insecurity. While child hunger is slightly less prevalent than adult hunger, the rates remain alarmingly high across the province.

Quality of life varies significantly both between and within municipalities. Despite this overall sombre picture, Midvaal consistently performs better on several indicators of local governance. Respondents there report relatively high levels of satisfaction with local government, ward councillors, water supply and refuse removal. In sum, while notable variation exists between municipalities, the broader quality of life in Gauteng remains shaped by structural challenges and a shared sense of insecurity.

Suggested citation: Tshuma, N., Simelane, X., Hamann, C., Miles-Timotheus, S. and Naidoo, Y. (2025). Municipal Benchmarking Report: Findings from the GCRO’s Quality of Life survey 7 (2023/24). GCRO Data Brief 27, June 2025. https://doi.org/10.36634/RFNO2431