Concerns about crime, the future of their children and career prospects have driven more than 1-million rich and well-educated South Africans to emigrate, a new report shows.
Nearly half of the 1 500 South Africans living in 73 countries polled for the South African Diaspora Report 2026 by the University of Cape Town’s Liberty Institute of Strategic Marketing cited fears about insecurity and safety as their main reason for leaving.
The country has one of the world’s highest homicide rates, with only one in 10 cases solved, according to the police.
The World Bank estimates that crime erodes at least 10% of annual gross domestic product.
About 90% of respondents held at least one tertiary qualification and 60% a post-graduate degree or diploma.
South Africa’s diaspora includes a “substantial concentration of high-value individuals,” the institute said.
About 60% of those canvassed live in households earning more than $100 000 and a further 20%
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