Demography and Youth

Lindela And South Africa’s Defective Deportation Regime

What is going on at the Bosasa-run Lindela Repatriation Centre - South Africa's single specialised holding facility for irregular immigrants awaiting deportation? This brief investigates the country's notorious deportation regime and its custodians – the South African Police Service, the Department of Home Affairs and Bosasa.

Migration V: Policy recommendations for the South African migration regime

This final brief offers a set of problem statements and policy recommendations for the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Government.

Migration IV: The state of South Africa’s borders

South Africa’s borders require serious attention to counter irregular migration, illicit trade and incumbered movement. The Department of Home Affairs’ intended solutions are deficient.

Migration III: Interpreting the data on South African migration

There is a pressing need for more comprehensive and conclusive data on migration, to counteract uninformed xenophobic sentiment and to make migration policy responsive to regional developments and national demands.

Migration II: The South African migration policy landscape

South African migration has been dictated by an increasingly restrictive policy trajectory that positions migrants as criminal and undeserving.

Migration I: Public opinion versus reality on immigrants in South Africa

This brief reviews immigrants’ net economic contribution, and crime statistics. The OECD estimates that immigrants contribute between 8.9% and 9.1% of national GDP.

Should The National Development Plan Be Revised?

National Development Plans are revised periodically, often at five year intervals. Although our 'National Development Plan 2030' (NDP) was launched in 2012, it has not been revised. This brief shows that the illusion that the goals of the NDP are achievable cannot be sustained for a minute. A rethink is due.

The Coming Demographic Crisis In Sub-Saharan Africa

In this brief Charles Simkins explores the coming demographic crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The State Of The South African Refugee Protection Regime: Part III - Party Politics

Asylum has become a battleground for party politics and electioneering.This brief - the third in a three-part series - reviews the asylum policies and statements of four of South Africa’s major political parties (the ANC, DA, EFF and COPE) in the run up to the 2019 election.

The State Of The South African Refugee Protection Regime: Part II - Politics And Policy

This brief - the second in a three-part series - explores reasons for the deterioration of refugee protection in South Africa.

The State Of The South African Refugee Protection Regime: Part I - Current Status

Once applauded by UNHCR’s Antonio Guterres as ‘one of the most advanced and progressive systems of refugee protection in the world’, the South African refugee regime has deteriorated beyond recognition.This brief - the first in a three-part series - explores the state of protection and what it means for asylum-seekers within our borders.

Free Basic Services At The Municipal Level

On 30 September 2017, South African municipalities were collectively owed R143.6 billion by consumers, according to the latest National Treasury report on municipal finances. R101.6 billion of this amount was household debt. If consumer debt is limited to below 90 days, then the actual realistically collectable amount is estimated at R22.9 billion.

The preceding brief constructed and tested an indicator of whether a young person stays at home or has left it. This brief considers the reasons for leaving home and their impact. Some of the argument in this brief is quite technical. Readers uninterested in technique are advised to read only the introduction and the summary and conclusions.

Leaving home is one of the transitions made by young people. This brief constructs an indicator of whether a person has left home from information in the 2015 General Household Survey and sets out what the indicator reveals.

This is a brief specifically focusing on the movement of youth and it uses the same methods as two published briefs on migration among the population as a whole.

This is the second of two briefs considering contemporary evidence on movement of the population between mid-2011 and mid-2016. The first brief dealt with immigration and emigration of the foreign born. This brief considers movement between municipalities within South Africa, preceded by a summary of the findings of the two briefs together.

This is the first brief of two analysing migration between 2011 and 2016. This brief considers the movement of the foreign born across the country’s borders. The second brief will consider the movement of people between different parts of the country. An executive summary of the findings of both briefs is presented at the beginning of the second brief.

This brief considers the differing population growth estimates from international and domestic sources for the periods between 1990 and 2015 and makes observations about the changes in the age distribution of the population.

Youth Brief 7 considered the patterns of time use among young people who are (1) working and (2) not working but undergoing education. This brief deals with the patterns among unemployed and not economically active young people. It will also discuss the places at which young people spend their time.

This brief considers the patterns of time use among young people who are (1) working and (2) not working but undergoing education. A companion brief will consider the patterns among unemployed and not economically active young people.

This Brief is the first in a series examining the state of youth in South Africa.

Zimbabwe I - Demography & Economy

This, the first of two briefs examining the prospects for Zimbabwe following the presidential succession, will consider the demographic and economic context. The second brief will discuss the political implications.