Number of emigrants from South Africa 2020, by country of destination

In 2020, cumulative South African emigrants amounted to roughly 915,000. The vast majority settled in the United Kingdom (around 247,000), followed by Australia (nearly 200,000). Together, the two countries constituted roughly 49 percent of the total South African migrants living abroad. Moreover, the third major country of destination for South Africans was the United States, with about 117,000 people living there. Overall, the 21 countries presented covered 94.4 percent of all South African migrants.

Language: a primary driver of emigration destinations

Language is a factor that helps ease communication and integration for individuals within a new society. Noticeably, the five leading destinations for South African emigrants had English as an official language. In South Africa, English was the second most spoken language outside households. Furthermore, the Netherlands ranked seventh, which language can also justify. Afrikaans, a language developed from 17th-century Dutch, was the third most spoken language among households in South Africa.

Unemployment a major worry and prevalent among youth

     A real worry for South Africans in 2022 was unemployment. As of April 2022, 64 percent of the respondents of a survey reported concern regarding the job market and the unemployment situation in the country. As of the first quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate among the age groups 15-24 years and 25-34 years was significantly higher than the rest, reaching 63.9 percent and 42.1 percent, respectively.