Fewer than 20% of South Africans abroad plan to come back: survey

Only 19% of South Africans living abroad say they are “definitely” going to return home.

This is according to a recent survey by the TEFL Academy on South Africans living abroad.

The academy, which is a leading “teach English as a foreign language” (TEFL) course provider, conducted an online poll of South Africans aged 18+ in September.

The respondents were alumni of the TEFL Academy.

The TEFL survey asked those living abroad whether they thought they would return to South Africa. It said 25% of the respondents claimed they would “definitely not” be returning, 43% claimed to be “undecided” while 12.8% said they would “probably” return.

Statistics by German business data platform Statista said that in 2020, cumulative South African emigrants amounted to roughly 915,000. It said, overall, an increasing trend in the number of people migrating from South Africa could be observed since 2000, when more than 501,000 people left the country

It said the vast majority settled in the UK (about 247,000), followed by Australia (nearly 200,000).

Statista said together, the two countries hosted roughly 49% percent of the total South African migrants living abroad. 

The third major country of destination for South Africans was the US, with about 117,000 there. 

The TEFL survey found the biggest reason many South Africans are choosing to live abroad is better job prospects.

A follow-up survey conducted by the TEFL Academy on 948 South Africans who live or have lived abroad in the past revealed that nearly 40% went overseas in search of better opportunities, 23.6% because of safety and security concerns, 15.8% because of infrastructure issues and 14% because of the uncertain political climate.

The academy said one individual surveyed claimed: “Even if there are job opportunities, the money they offer is absolutely laughable. Not to mention how time-consuming it is.

“My degree taught me a lot and it helped me be a better teacher, but it didn't help me find work in my own country.”

Only 7.8% of those surveyed cited the high cost of living domestically as their reason for moving abroad.

The survey authors said while this suggested South Africans may not be grappling with the cost of living as much as some politicians may have feared, they are aware that more lucrative pastures may be on offer overseas.