Pretoria – South Africa’s migration patterns continue to reshape the country’s demographic and economic landscape, with Gauteng and the Western Cape remaining the leading destinations for both internal and international migrants, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said on Friday.
Maluleke was speaking at the South Africa National Migration Symposium, known as SAN-MIS, held at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. The symposium was convened by the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation in partnership with the Wits School of Governance and the International Organization for Migration.
The gathering brought together policymakers, researchers, civil society organisations and international partners to discuss migration trends and their implications for social cohesion and development. 
For Eswatini, the findings are directly relevant. The Kingdom shares borders with South Africa and Mozambique, two of the countries most affected by the migration patterns described in the data, and many Swazis living and working in South Africa are part of the broader SADC migration movement the symposium examined.
According to the 2022 Census, South Africa had more than 2.4 million international migrants, representing just under 4% of the total population. Since 1996, Mozambique and Zimbabwe have consistently been the top countries of origin for migrants entering South Africa, with the majority coming from within the Southern African Development Community region.
Drawing on Statistics South Africa’s latest mid-year population estimates, Maluleke said migration remains an important component of population change alongside births and deaths.
“Our data show that migration continues to influence population distribution across provinces. Gauteng, the Western Cape, North-West, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal are gaining population, while the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and the Free State are experiencing net population losses,” he said.
Gauteng is expected to experience the largest inflow of migrants between 2021 and 2026, with approximately 1.4 million people projected to move into the province during that period. The province also remains the preferred destination for international migrants entering South Africa.
The Western Cape is projected to receive the second-highest inflow, with an estimated 500 347 people expected to move into the province over the same period.
“The opportunities for employment, study and an improved quality of life play an important role among the push-pull factors resulting in the high flow of migrants to the Western Cape,” Maluleke said.
He also called for evidence-based discussions on migration, arguing that reliable statistics are essential for policymakers to understand migration dynamics and develop informed responses.
“Statistics enable us to move beyond perceptions and anecdotal evidence. They provide a factual basis for understanding migration trends and their impact on society, ensuring that policy interventions are informed by evidence,” he said.
