South Africa’s people by numbers

STATS SA: 2.6 MILLION FOREIGNERS WILL HAVE ENTERED COUNTRY BETWEEN 2006 AND 2021

Research suggests the Eastern Cape is the least appealing province to live in.

What’s the least appealing province in South Africa … at least to live in? According to the latest population statistics from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA), it appears to be the Eastern Cape.

In the 15 years from 2006 to 2021, it is estimated that the Eastern Cape will record a net loss of migrants (those who leave the province compared to those who move there) of almost one million people. This is, by far, the biggest net loss of migrants within the nine provinces of the country.

On the other hand, Gauteng and the Western Cape seem to be magnets for migrants, both from within and outside this country. In the same 15-year period, Gauteng will record a net gain of just over 2.9 million migrants. The Western Cape’s net gain will be just under 880 000.

Stats SA mid-year population estimates indicate that about 2 604 835 foreign migrants will have come into the country during the 2006-2021 period.

Gauteng is the most popular province with foreigners, with an estimated 1 237 897 of them having put down roots in the province by 2021. The Western Cape is the next most popular destination for people from outside our borders, and just over 302 000 of them will call the province their new home by 2021.

For 2018, Stats SA estimated the mid-year population at 57.73 million. About 51% (about 29.5 million) of the population is female.

Gauteng is the most populous province with just over 14.7 million people, or 25.4% of the coun- try’s total living there. KwaZulu-Natal is the province with the second largest population, with 11.4 million people (19.7% of the total), while the Northern Cape has just 1.23 million people or 2.1% of the total.

The figures show that there

Picture: AFP FRUSTRATING. Hundreds of refugees, mostly from other African countries, queue outside the South African department of home affairs, on the UN’s World Refugee Day in 2013, to apply for extensions of their asylum seeker permits, and other similar documents, in the centre of Cape Town. Some of these refugees voiced their frustration at the very slow pace at which home affairs was able to process their requests, meaning people queued from very early in the morning until evening, sometimes for up to two weeks to get their paperwork done.