SA’s Brain Drain ranking has improved in the global Competitiveness Report from 80th/139 countries in 2009, to 62nd/139 in 2010 to 48/142 countries in 2011 (Where 1 represents no brain drain and 142 represents the worst brain drain) New Zealand is currently ranked at 82nd/142 and
Australia at 28th/142.
Go South Africa, we are on the up!
No comments on this one? Interesting…but this only adds weight to what those of us in SA are experiencing and feeling – that a lot of our friends are returning to SA after a time in the wilderness, so to speak.
There is no doubt that the ‘brain drain’ has slowed, it may actually be reversing at the moment. Those stats are about in line with the way it ‘feels’, if I look around at my extended group of acquaintances.
Good news, absolutely.
Its not reversing by any means,although it has probably lulled a bit.
My sisters recent 10 year matric reunion only had 80 people they could invite. Thats all that was left of her class of 270 or so. Many South Africans who left did so on their foreign passports as many were dual nationals or the children of immigrants.
There is an entire generation that has upped and left.
And yet, of my matric class of 80, only 5 left…that’s only 6.25%. That means that 94% of them stayed in SA
The stats for my matric class would be much the same as Liezel’s.
I only got in touch with my matric reunion committee about four or five years ago. In that time three have returned to SA and I have not read any reports of any leaving (as per the newsletter). There would be at least 70 to 80 per cent still residing in SA.
Cheers
I went to a reunion of sorts at the Muizenberg pavillion in Cape Town about 9 months ago now (they have recreations of the famous Pavillion discos from the 80′s), and it was brilliant.
I can think of 2 guys in the states, 1 in Oz, 1 in Nz, and one of our close group in Newquay, Cornwall. He is coming home this year.
Anyway, point is, almost everyone was ‘there’ – most of us had backpacked, worked or lived overseas for a time. Maybe it is our age group, with young kids, but most were settled southern suburbs families.
It was excellent to see, to get back into that big network.
I would like to see offical stats on the so called brain gain that the HCR is claiming. Most everyone I know and people I met while on holiday in SA over the years has at least one or more family member living overseas. In fact my Matric class had a their reunion in London so nuff said.
The fact is there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of South Africans of all races living overseas who have no intension of going back. You just have to go to shopping malls, work places, beaches etc to hear South Africans. I was looking at an open home the other day and the Estate Agent said to me that we were the fourth South African family looking for the house that day.
Kia ora Neil
If you want to know about the migration gain/loss for SA, then email the shipping companies and ask how many containers they are shipping in and out of SA for families. For the number of saffers living abroad just wait for census figures to be made available. UK and Oz had a census last year and we have ours next year.
As for you hearing saffer accents, it’s not surprising. I’m assuming that you live in a well off suburb in Auckland. These same suburbs are where most of the 50,000 plus saffers in this country live. In Wellington I very rarely hear any saffers.
I’m guessing that your matric reunion in the UK was pre-GFC. How many are left there now, I wonder?
You seem to me to be very unhappy with your life in this country going by your obsession with SA migration figures and the fact that you are on this website. Come on Neil, admit it (if not to us, then to yourself) – you want to return home to SA!!!!
Hi Davie
Wow it looks you do live in NZ, sounds like you hate it here. That’s cool and if you want to do the homecoming thing that’s great too, but just remember to have your safety net in place eg NZ passport/residency. I did the whole homecoming thing a year ago and spent 3 months looking for work, I had such a great time but I realised that being on holiday and living there are two different things. I left again after 3 months because I could not secure employment, believe me your heart sinks when you get told ‘we have employed an AA candidate’ and ‘you don’t qualify for the position.’ I don’t know how this guy got a job but he is really lucky, he must have known someone in SA who helped him.
I have a friend who works in the shipping business in SA and he tells me there is not a mad rush of South Africans coming home, but the opposite.
I am very happy here and although I miss friends and family, I am here ( or maybe Australia) for good. Sorry you don’t feel the same way but just remember to have your safety net as like myself you might change your mind.