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South Africa diaspora

Flag of South Africa
Map of the South African diaspora in the world
Total population
~915,000
Regions with significant populations
United Kingdom	235,060 (2021/22)
Australia	214,790 (2023)
United States	133,359 (2022)
United Arab Emirates	~100,000 (2014)
New Zealand	95,577 (2023)
Canada	51,590 (2021)
Netherlands	41,300 (2023)
Israel	22,315 (2021)
Germany	20,378 (2020)
Mozambique	20,171 (2020)
Zimbabwe	19,731 (2020)
Ireland	15,886 (2022)
Eswatini	12,712 (2020)
Portugal	10,630 (2021)
Namibia	8,883 (2020)
Switzerland	8,324 (2020)
Greece	7,045 (2020)
Qatar	~6,500 (2019)
Angola	6,295 (2020)
Malawi	6,054 (2020)
France	5,925 (2020)
Italy	5,834 (2020)
Botswana	5,733 (2020)
Cyprus	4,937 (2020)
Lesotho	4,782 (2020)
Spain	4,303 (2022)
Sweden	4,263 (2022)
Belgium	4,176 (2020)
Zambia	3,788 (2020)
Brazil	3,401 (2024)

The South African diaspora consists of South African emigrants and their descendants living outside South Africa. The largest concentrations of South African emigrants are to be found in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. At the time of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 217,180 residents of England and Wales were born in South Africa. In Australia, there were 189,207 South African-born people living in the country at the moment of the 2021 Census. The 2021 American Community Survey identified 123,461 South African-born residents of the country.

According to the data compiled by Statistics South Africa, between 2006 and 2016 the most popular overseas destinations for South African émigrés were: 1. Australia (26.0%), 2. United Kingdom (25.0%), 3. United States (13.4%), 4. New Zealand (9.5%), 5. Germany (6.0%), 6. American Samoa (United States territory) (4.4%), 7. United Arab Emirates (4.2%), 8. Cuba (4.0%), 9. Canada (3.0%), and 10. China (2.0%).

A number of White South Africans, most of them skilled, left the country in the years preceding and following the 1994 election that represented the end of the Apartheid era. As a result, the diaspora mainly consists of white South African emigrants of British, Jewish (mostly via Latvian, German and Lithuanian ancestry) and to a lesser extent, Afrikaner origin. A minority of English South Africans have moved to the United Kingdom (often through the UK ancestry visa), due to socioeconomic concerns such as South Africa's high crime rate in the 1990s and early 2000s, a volatile South African Rand, economic mismanagement during the Jacob Zuma presidency and changes in the South African economy. More recently, over 128,000 people emigrated from South Africa between 2015 and 2020, more than three times as many as between 2010 and 2015 (43,000 people).

Afrikaners and Black South Africans generally have much lower emigration rates than their English South African counterparts. In 2022, the most popular destinations for emigrating South Africans were the United Kingdom, Australia, Portugal, Canada and Mauritius.

See also

• Zimbabwean diaspora
• South Africans in the United Kingdom

References

1. "International Migrant Stock [Total, origin]". United Nations.
2. "Country of birth (detailed)". Office for National Statistics.
3. "Census 2021 main statistics demography tables – country of birth". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
4. "Scotland's Census 2022 - UV204 - Country of birth". UK Data Service. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
5. "Australia's Population by Country of Birth". Australian Bureau of Statistics.
6. "B05006PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES". United States Census Bureau.
7. "UAE's population - by nationality". BQ Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017.
8. https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/census-results-reflect-aotearoa-new-zealands-diversity/
9. "Immigrant population by selected places of birth, admission category and period of immigration, 2021 Census". Statistics Canada.
10. "Population; sex, age, country of origin, country of birth, 1 January". Statistics Netherlands.
11. "IMMIGRANTS,(1) BY PERIOD OF IMMIGRATION, COUNTRY OF BIRTH AND LAST COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics.
12. ^ "International Migrant Stock [Destination and origin]". United Nations.
13. "Census of Population 2022 - Summary Results, Migration and Diversity". Central Statistics Office.
14. "Resident population by Place of residence at Census date [2021], Sex, Age group and Birthplace". Statistics Portugal.
15. "Population of Qatar by nationality - 2019 report". Priya DSouza Communications.
16. "Población (españoles/extranjeros) por País de Nacimiento, sexo y año". Spanish Statistics Office.
17. "Population by country of birth, age and sex. Year 2000 - 2022". Statistics Sweden.
18. Immigrants in Brazil (2024, in Portuguese)
19. "International migration, England and Wales: Census 2021". Office of National Statistics. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
20. "Cultural Diversity: Census". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
21. "B05006PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
22. "This is who is emigrating from South Africa – and where they are going". Archived from the original on 2 February 2018.
23. "Cheers, South Africa: Reasons behind spike in emigration". Archived from the original on 2 February 2018.
24. "End of the SA dream? Emigration stats show Zim, Mozambique hotspots". Archived from the original on 2 February 2018.
25. "South African businesses in a panic over emigration". BusinessTech.
26. "Top 5 destinations South Africans emigrated to in 2022". IOL.co.za.

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