E.g., 04/19/2024
E.g., 04/19/2024
Country Resource - South Africa

South Africa

ZA
  • Population........................................................................58,048,332 (2023 est.)
  • Population growth rate .............................................................0.91% (2023 est.)
  • Birth rate....................................................18.24 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
  • Death rate................................................9.25 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
  • Net migration rate..................................0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
  • Ethnic groups*..................................Black African 80.9%, Colored 8.8%, White 7.8%, Indian/Asian 2.6% (2021 est.)

* Colored is a term used in South Africa, including on the national census, for persons of mixed race ancestry who developed a distinct cultural identity over several hundred years

CIA World Factbook

Two boys pose in an informal settlement east of Johannesburg largely populated by immigrants.

South Africa hosts the most immigrants of any African country. Yet it faces conflicting pressures, including the legacy of apartheid, a steady outflow of well-educated South Africans, and the need to juggle bilateral labor mobility schemes at a time of economic insecurity and high unemployment. This article traces these pressures and how they have developed over time.

Recent Activity

South Africa, Brazil, and Costa Rica—all destinations for migrants from the region—sought to make the lives of immigrants a little better in 2009.

Unfortunately, 2008 brought a new wave of xenophobia, most notably in South Africa and Italy.

sf map
South Africa is struggling to define a post-apartheid migration policy that is responsive to its changing role in Africa, the relationship between migration and development, and the country's rampant xenophobia, seen most graphically in May 2008. Jonathan Crush of the Southern African Migration Project reports on the latest developments.

Aderanti Adepoju of the Human Resources Development Centre in Lagos provides an overview of Africa's dynamic migration flows, examining trends ranging from feminization to diversification.

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