Thousands of South Africans Seeking Refugee Status Abroad, New Report Says

South Africans, desperate to emigrate because of crime, unemployment, and poor service delivery, are applying for asylum elsewhere, including the US and Europe.

Curious onlookers behind a police cordon, where 10 people from the same family were shot dead in the city of Pietermaritzburg in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, on April 21, 2023. AP Photo

JOHANNESBURG—Growing numbers of South Africans are applying for asylum in North America, Europe, and Australasia, joining people from war zones such as Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti, according to the first-ever Migration Profile Report for South Africa.

The document was compiled by the South African government’s official statistics service, Stats South Africa, using local data and information from several United Nations agencies and the European Union.