Between 2007 and 2016, the District had the fastest population growth in KZN. According the 2019 community survey, the population of iLembe has grown to 669 748 people.

According to Global Insight, from 2009 to 2019, the population experienced compound annual growth of 1.5%, 0.7% higher than the South African average growth over the same period.

The 2018 KZN Citizens Satisfaction Survey indicates that the accelerated growth in population contributed at least 15.7% to the province’s population changes.