Rising migration redefines South Africa’s social fabric
Statistics South Africa reports growth in the immigrant population and highlights a stark gender gap, with far more immigrant men employed than women.
The government is taking decisive action to address the challenge of illegal migration, as outlined in the State of the Nation Address, including intensifying efforts to combat violations of immigration laws.
Workplace inspections are being intensified across the country, and employers found to be contravening labour and immigration laws will face prosecution.
The government continues to strengthen border security, root out corruption within the immigration system, and close loopholes in fragmented immigration laws.
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The government will continue to strengthen and enforce the law while upholding the Constitution and the dignity of all people.
South Africa’s immigrant population has steadily grown over recent decades. Statistics South Africa’s migration report, using Census 2022 data, shows immigrants increased from 2,1% of the total population in 1996 to 3,9% in 2022. By last year, there were 2.4m immigrants in the country, just over 1m of them women.
Most immigrants come from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The report notes that immigration from the rest of Africa is heavily male-dominated, with roughly three men for every one woman.
Provincially, Gauteng remains the top destination, drawing 28.4% of male immigrants and 21.8% of female immigrants. The Western Cape is the second most popular province (9.1% of males, 6.8% of female immigrants).
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Immigrants play a key role in the economy, but the data reveal a sharp gender disparity in employment.
Among immigrants, just over 1m men were employed by 2022, compared to only about 400 000 women. Many more immigrant women (281 553) were classified as ‘economically inactive than men (88 598).
In percentage terms, 45.8% of male immigrants had jobs, while only 18.2% of female immigrants did. This gap is echoed among South African internal migrants, where 31.9% of men were employed versus 22.9% of women.
Among non-migrants, women were disproportionately represented in the Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) category, reflecting the broader economic challenges they face.
The report also breaks down the labour market by sector:
Among immigrant workers, men are concentrated in wholesale and retail trade (24.2%) and construction (14.8%), while immigrant women are most often in private households (9.4%).
For South Africans who moved internally, men mostly work in finance and business services (11.5%), wholesale and retail (9.4%), or community, social and personal services (8.7%).
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Non-migrant women tend to dominate community, social and personal services (16.7%). These trends show how migration influences workforce distribution across different industries.
Finally, the data show that economic opportunities are the main reason people move. Between 2011 and 2022, 13.7% of male migrants and 9.4% of female migrants said they moved primarily for paid work.
By contrast, 9.6% of women said they moved to live closer to a spouse, family, or friends. Overall, economic factors drive most male migration, while social and family ties play a stronger role for female migrants.
The official government communication was released on 3 June 2026.
Side facts:
- Immigrants rose from 2.1% of South Africa’s population in 1996 to 3.9% (about 2.4m people) in 2022.
- Gauteng attracts 28.4% of male and 21.8% of female immigrants – the largest share of migrants – with the Western Cape second (9.1% male, 6.8% female).
- Over 1m immigrant men were employed in 2022, compared to about 400 000 immigrant women.
- Employment rates among immigrants were 45.8% for men and 18.2% for women.
- Among South Africans moving provinces, 13.7% of men and 9.4% of women cited work as their main reason for moving (2011–2022).
- SADC region accounts for the majority of immigrants, with men making up 47.0% and women 36.5%.
- Among internal migrants, 31.9% of men had jobs while only 22.9% of women did.
- Immigrant men concentrated in wholesale/retail trade (24.2%) and construction (14.8%); women in private households (9.4%).
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