The Institute of Plumbing South Africa (IOPSA) and the Plumbing Industry Registration Board (PIRB) conducts the Plumbing National Survey annually.

This analysis is an initial review of the responses and some preliminary findings from the Plumbing National Survey 2021. According to 2020 data, there are approximately 95 626 people who self -identify as plumbers (including apprentices) in South Africa, down from previously 113 232 in 2019 (StatsSA, 2020), and 125 000 in 2018 (TIPS/SD4GE 2019) an approximate decrease of 15,5 percentage points and 9.4 percentage points respectively. The 2021 survey received a total of 1074 responses. The respondents represent only approximately 1,1% of those who self-identify as plumbers in the industry. In comparison to 2020, there were 50 more responses to the 2021 survey, however, a handful of participants failed to respond to two questions.

Click here to download the full report