Exodus from East Cape as people seek better living conditions and jobs

MANY people are leaving the Eastern Cape in search of better living conditions and employment opportunities‚ it appears.

Between 2011 and last year, 326 171 people left the province.

This has emerged in a report by the Institute of Race Relations in South Africa which provides a glimpse into living conditions in the nine provinces of the country.

The report was compiled by the institute’s Centre for Risk Analysis and factors such as demographics‚ economy‚ education‚ living conditions‚ politics and governance were taken into account when scrutinising the provinces. More than 40% of people in the Eastern Cape live in poverty – the highest number in the country.

Only 69.8% of Eastern Cape residents live in formal houses and just 13% of all homes use electricity for heating.

The report paints a grim picture of the picturesque province.

It has the biggest proportion of children who have lost both parents.

Many people have moved from “worse-off areas” to “better-performing provinces” such as Gauteng and the Western Cape.

Even though Gauteng is the smallest province‚ covering a land area of 1.5% of the entire country‚ the report reveals that between 2011 and last year close to one million people migrated to the province.

Gauteng contributes more than a third of South Africa’s national economy and has the highest GDP per head at R80 945.

Moving to the Western Cape can be good for your health. Here people have the highest life expectancy. Unemployment also seems to be the lowest as the labour absorption rate stands at 53.9% and labour market participation at 68%.

More than 290 000 people migrated to the Western Cape between 2011 and last year.