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Brain drain is a contemporary issue of concern in South Africa. This study uses selected data from the major countries to which skilled people from South Africa are migrating to measure the emigration of highly skilled South Africans. The data shows that the emigration rate is much higher than what has been recorded officially in South Africa. At the same time, the increase in the last 10 years is less dramatic than what has been suggested by the South African official data, stemming from the use of a more concrete approach to the country's migration policy. The report is presented in five chapters. The first chapter looks at the reasons why people migrate, exploring the 'pull' and 'push' factors, the size of the country's skilled labour force, and measuring the brain drain; chapter two discusses the impact of the brain drain; chapter three highlights the perceptions and debates on the brain drain and its impact; chapter four looks at policies to manage the brain drain; and the final section concludes with two recommendations, firstly to ensure that the receiving countries provide South African agencies with the relevant data on an annual basis, and secondly, to support 'mobilising its highly skilled expatriates all over the world, for the development of their country of origin'.

This report is part of a series of studies conducted by the International Labour Office under the DFID-sponsored project on 'Skilled labour migration (the 'brain drain') from developing countries: analysis of impact and policy issues'. Available reports are indexed from TD/TNC 86.109 to TD/TNC 86.119. Show less