One in Five South Africans wants to leave

Twenty percent of the South African population wants to, considers or is seriously planning to leave their country. What is interesting is that half of them a black. Yes, that is interesting, as it is often assumed that only whites want to pack their bags.

This assumption is perhaps not without reason, as over the past ten years, about a million white South Africans have spread their wings  and exchanged South Africa for places such as Canada, Dubai, the UK, the US and Australia.

A recent survey by market research company Synovate, however, has dismissed the assumption. The statistics revealed that almost half of aspiring South African emigrants are young blacks between 18 and 44.

Of the 600 respondents, 88 percent said they wanted to emigrate for business and job opportunities. Other reasons included violence and crime, the volatile economy, the increased cost of living, lost of faith in government and family reasons.

Only 20 percent of interviewees said they would not return should they emigrate, and most of them were highly educated and skilled people.

The urge among many South Africans to move, poses serious problems to the country which faces severe skills shortages.