The Eastern Cape faces the most severe crisis, with 340 818 households lacking access to potable water.
More than 1.1 million households across South Africa remain without access to potable water, according to data from the Department of Water and Sanitation.
The figures, recently revealed by Water and Sanitation minister Pemmy Majodina in response to a parliamentary question from EFF MP Dr Lilian Managa, paint a stark picture of the country’s ongoing water crisis.
While the national average shows 6% of households without clean drinking water, the burden falls disproportionately on certain provinces.
Eastern Cape leads in lack of water access
The Eastern Cape faces the most severe crisis, with 340 818 households lacking access to potable water.
This represents 18% of the province’s 1 866 388 total households, making it by far the worst-affected region in the country.
Limpopo follows as the second most affected province, where 272 570 households, or 14% of the provincial total, remain without clean water access.
The province’s 1 883 948 households make it one of the larger provinces grappling with this challenge.
KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga both show 9% of their households without potable water, with 258 599 and 135 250 households affected, respectively.
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Urban provinces fare better
In contrast, several provinces have managed to keep their figures significantly low.
The Free State, Gauteng, and Western Cape each report only 1% of households without access to clean drinking water.
Gauteng, despite being the most populous province with 5 718 394 households, has just 37 950 households without potable water.
The Western Cape shows similar success, with only 13 789 of its 2 410 483 households lacking access to clean water.
The Free State recorded 6 872 households without clean water from a total of 850 420, while the Northern Cape has 8 102 affected households out of 339 991, representing 2%.
Data sources and methodology
Majodina explained that the statistics reflect conditions as of April 2025 and are drawn from the Water Services Knowledge System, which aligns with the 2022 Census results.
The North West province sits in the middle of the spectrum, with 50 075 households, or 4% of its 1 170 938 total households, without access to potable water.
Nationally, the total of 1 124 025 households without clean drinking water represents a significant challenge for the country’s water infrastructure and service delivery systems.
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