These are the countries that South Africans are emigrating to: expert
South Africa has seen an increase in emigration since the end of 2015 with both people and finances leaving the country, says Sable International emigration expert John Dunn.
Speaking in an interview with Traveller24, Dunn said that South Africans typically choose countries which are similar and close to home meaning Australia, the UK, New Zealand and the Us remain the most popular choices.
However, he noted that an increasing number of South Africans are now looking to move to countries such as Portugal, Cyprus and Malta.
Dunn said that these countries have grown in popularity among South Africans because they typically do not have connections to countries such as the UK and Australia, and because of the ‘golden visa’ programmes which offer a relatively easy want into the country.
Moving for work
The Department of Home Affairs does not currently track the number of people leaving the country, with most information on the topic coming either from property sales or the countries where South Africans have already moved to.
However, Dunn’s data aligns with the findings of a recent report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and CareerJunction.
The research is based on a survey of more than 366,000 job seekers and 6,000 recruiters in 197 countries, and was conducted to determine mobility preferences of talent around the world, reasons to move abroad and key elements that job seekers want in a job.
According to the study, the US remains the most favourable work location for South Africans – even amid the volatility of its national politics – followed by Australia, the UK, Canada and Germany.
New Zealand, the UAE, France, China and Switzerland also fell in the top 10 most desirable countries to work.
“South Africans seem to have unique work preferences compared to the rest of the globe,” BCG said.
“While respondents around the globe listed things like good relationships with colleagues and good relationships with superiors as top motivating factors for relocating, South African respondents tend to value career development possibilities and learning and skills training more.”
‘Good work-life balance’, however, was listed in the top three motivating factors for South Africans and the rest of the world.
“So, while workers around the globe are more focused on intrinsic workplace rewards, such as those provided by good interpersonal office relationships, South Africans seem to be more set on future-proofing their careers and attaining the necessary skills to secure work and grow within their careers,” BCG said.
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