Emigration returning south africans

It has been noted that a substantial amount of South Africans are coming back home from the UK – Photo: Unsplash

Emigration data shows ‘half of all SA citizens’ considering a move abroad

With varying degrees of certainty, a new poll shows that a MAJORITY of South Africans are ‘considering’ emigration as an option.

Emigration returning south africans

It has been noted that a substantial amount of South Africans are coming back home from the UK – Photo: Unsplash

These are some very sobering statistics – but new emigration data, provided to us by BrandMapp, reveal that 51% of all South Africans have at least considered a future outside of Mzansi. Some, however, are more determined than others.

How many South Africans are considering emigration?

Only a minority of respondents were able to say they’re ‘likely’ to stay put, and 11% of those surveyed – roughly one in nine people – said that it was ‘very likely’ they would be living overseas in the next five years. A further 40% of those who participated in the study ranged from ‘unsure’ about their future to ‘favouring a move abroad’.

Emigrating Emigration
Photo: BrandMapp

What are South Africans concerned about?

Brandon de Kock, BrandMapp director, believes this data isn’t just inspired by COVID-19 or the recent riots. South Africa is straddled with a multitude of problems, and in a different survey, more people identified crime and corruption as their biggest worry over the pandemic itself, somewhat speaking volumes for the state of our nation:

“Before COVID, life was no picnic, even for the more privileged, and it’s been that way for a long time. So, it’s worth noting that almost the same percentage of educated, tax-paying South Africans said they were definitely planning to emigrate in the next five years, which highlights the real urgency of improving safety and governance.”

Last week, StatsSA released a report which showed a sustained drop in the number of white citizens living in South Africa – down to just 7.8% of the population – driven in part by net emigration figures. The 2011 Census estimated that there were about 4.679 million white South Africans in the country, making up for 8.9% of the total population.

However, data from StatsSA shows that those figures have dropped, with just 4.662 million white South Africans remaining here. The number of new births is outweighed by emigration data. In the past five years, migration trends show a deficit of over 90 000 white South Africans – and the data is consistent with patterns of the last 36 years.