The document was compiled by the South African government’s official statistics service, Stats South Africa, using local data and information from several United Nations agencies and the European Union.
The report states that South Africans leaving the land of their birth consider themselves “refugees,” describing the country as “at war with itself” because of its high rates of violent crime, including murder, rape, and armed robbery.
The report states that increasing numbers of South African women are applying for refugee status in countries such as the United States, the UK, Ireland, and Canada based on their fear of being raped.
Sexual abuse organizations say the actual numbers are much higher, as sexual violence is vastly underreported in the country.
Economists point out that the official unemployment number doesn’t count people who’ve given up on finding work and that a more accurate figure would be that 42 percent of South Africa’s working-age population is jobless.
“If you look at World Bank statistics, there were more people employed in Gaza and Ukraine and Somalia in 2023 than in South Africa,” Isobel Frye, a Johannesburg-based economist, told The Epoch Times.
“The fact that 24 million adults out of a population of 60 million are either unemployed or not involved in any economic activity is disgraceful and a tragic demonstration of our government’s failed economic policies.”
According to the Stats South Africa report, many white and black South Africans are trying to leave the country because they can’t find jobs because of affirmative action and “black economic empowerment” policies implemented by the governing African National Congress (ANC).
They’re telling authorities in other countries, including the United States, that they’re being discriminated against based on their race and so should be considered refugees and asylum seekers.
The reports were largely based on anecdotal evidence from estate agencies, tax practitioners, and international moving companies.
But the Stats South Africa evidence shows that very few South Africans are returning, and its report makes clear that a “brain drain” of skilled professionals, including medical doctors, engineers, and teachers, is “hurting” the country and eroding an already tiny base of taxpayers.
The report states that rising numbers of South Africans are leaving because they’re “fed up” with the state of ANC-run municipalities, where rotting refuse often fills streets and where long electricity and water outages are now everyday occurrences.
According to the research, 501,600 South African citizens resided abroad in 2000.
By 2010, that number had increased to 743,807, and by 2020—the latest available data from the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs—their numbers had reached 914,901.
Pretoria, South Africa-based emigration adviser David Leclerq told The Epoch Times that the number of South Africans living in foreign countries is likely “double” the official figure.
“You must remember that many South Africans hold dual nationality and when they leave South Africa, say on a British passport, they don’t get counted as emigrants,” he said.
The Stats South Africa report states that most South Africans favor residing in Europe, with the region attracting 39.3 percent of migrants. North America’s share is 18.1 percent; Oceania 29.9 percent; Asia 2.2 percent, and Latin America and the Caribbean 0.3 percent.
Since 2000, the number of South Africans in the UK has grown to 247,336 from 136,720; Australia to 199,690 from 80,650; and the United States to 117,321 from 65,171.
New Zealand has almost tripled its South African immigrants, to 73,846 from 25,359, and Canada to 48,093 from 36,949.
“When they’re gone, most of them are gone for good,” Mr. Leclerq said.
“The few who do come back are usually the ones who didn’t have well-paying jobs overseas and who couldn’t afford to save much to retire with good pensions.
“The others choose to struggle financially elsewhere because at least their children are safe when compared with South Africa. At least when they pay for water and electricity in Britain, or wherever, they get the services. At least they have jobs.”
The migration report shows that 45,866 South African emigrants returned in 2011.
But, by 2022, the returns had dropped to 27,983.
“They don’t have confidence anymore that South Africa’s going to ‘come right,’ so to speak. They believe it’s soon going to be another failed state,” Mr. Leclerq said.
Regarding the number of South Africans who have successfully applied for refugee status abroad, Stats South Africa sourced its indicators from the UNHCR Statistical Online Population Database.
Its migration report shows that in 2000, there were 266 South Africans officially classified as refugees living abroad.
By 2022, this figure had risen to 4,258.
In 2021, the United States was the primary destination for South African asylum seekers, with 1,370 individuals seeking refuge.
But according to records provided by the Department of Homeland Security, only four were granted refugee status.
To be eligible for asylum in the United States, an individual must already be inside the country and be able to demonstrate persecution or fear of persecution in the home country concerned based on race, religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion.
Ireland was another leading destination, with 638 South African asylum seekers, while Australia received 495.
Canada received 187 and Israel 391 in 2021. Smaller numbers turned to the UK, Brazil, France, South Korea, and Germany.
In 2022, the United States received asylum applications from 1,351 South Africans; Ireland saw an increase to 726, while Australia also saw a rise to 525.
Canada saw a significant increase, with 321 people seeking refuge.
Mr. Leclerq said only a few of these applications were successful, and the concerned individuals had to abandon their asylum applications to follow other channels to try to remain in their chosen countries.
“The mere fact that we now have so many South Africans of all races and social positions trying to secure refugee status in foreign lands is a very serious indictment of how far we’ve fallen in the last 20 years or so,” Mr. Leclerq said.
He told Canadian authorities that he should be considered a refugee, as he had been assaulted and stabbed on seven occasions by black people while being called a “white dog” and a “settler.”
A Canadian court turned down Mr. Huntley’s application in 2014, saying he did not meet the criteria for refugee status.
In 2010, they had told Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board that they feared being victims of crime and violence in South Africa, especially because whites were being “targeted” there.
In 2018, a group of white Afrikaans farmers emigrated to Australia, arguing that white farmers were being murdered in South Africa.
The Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU), which represents many of South Africa’s white farmers, says at least 5,000 have been murdered since the ANC came to power in 1994.
“When you’ve been to hundreds of these murder scenes like I have, you will know that many of these killings are racially motivated,” said TAU General Manager Bennie van Zyl.
“The attackers tell their victims, ‘We’re doing this because you are white.’ It’s as clear as that.
“Women and girls are raped in front of husbands and fathers.
“A lot of the time, there’s torture involved; stuff I don’t even want to speak about, with racial insults. I’ve seen Afrikaans Bibles left open on blood-soaked bodies.”
Mr. Van Zyl told The Epoch Times that thousands of white farmers had emigrated since the 1990s.
“It’s a flood that’s getting deeper with each passing year,” he said. “South African farmers are now building successful businesses in America and Canada, just two countries that recognize their skills as food producers.
“We have South African farmers in neighboring countries, such as Botswana and Namibia. We even have a few hundred farming wheat and other grains in Ukraine; they’d rather stay there than return to South Africa.”
The Stats South Africa report also reveals something that Mr. Leclerq described as “startling.”
Refugees from other parts of the world no longer want to settle in South Africa.
According to the research, the country’s refugee applications have dwindled since 2015, when 1,096,021 foreign nationals sought protection under the mandate of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
In 2022, only 84,316 refugees applied for asylum in South Africa.
