South Africa’s hopes of curbing the surge of skilled professionals leaving the country are faring no better as a recent survey has indicated that less than a quarter are thinking about returning home.
The survey conducted on South Africans living abroad by the Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Academy, revealed that as many as 25% of respondents would “definitely not” be returning home.
Forty three percent reported they were still undecided about returning to Mzansi, however, what was even more concerning was that only 19% of the respondents said they were certain about their prospects of returning.
The survey conducted through an online poll during September highlighted that a new generation of highly educated professionals were leaving the country in search of better wages and conditions for working.
One of the biggest reasons cited by the 948 South Africans who participated in the survey for choosing to live abroad was said to be better job prospects.
Of the sample group who were either live abroad or had lived abroad in the past, revealed that nearly 40% went overseas in search of better opportunities.
“Even if there are job opportunities, the money they offer is absolutely laughable. Not to mention how time-consuming it is. My degree taught me a lot and it helped me be a better teacher, but it didn’t help me find work in my own country,” commented one of the respondents.
While only 7.8% of those surveyed cited the high cost of living domestically as their reason for moving abroad, this suggested that South Africans may not be grappling with the cost of living as much as some politicians had feared, but they were aware that more lucrative and stabler pastures may be offered overseas.
The survey results are similar to statistics South Africa's recent indications which pointed out that the number of South Africans living abroad had steadily grown from around 1.5 million in 2001 to over two million in 2021.
The main destinations for South African emigrants were according to statistics in developed countries such as the UK, the US and Australia.