It’s complicated

According to Stats SA, there are about 65,500 refugees in SA and 230,000 asylum seekers. In 2016, the UNHCR reported that SA had more than a million unresolved asylum applications. An Africa Check investigation found this number to be inflated due to flawed home affairs reporting procedures, and estimated there to be 400,000 asylum seekers.

In SA, a refugee is defined as a person who has met the legal criteria to remain in the country due to a well-founded fear of persecution in their place of origin.