The Effects of Immigration in Contemporary South Africa

Book excerpt: The number of immigrants in South Africa has been increasing in the last decade. This study investigates the effects of immigration on economic growth, unemployment, poverty and crime using secondary data mainly obtained from Statistics South Africa. The period under study is from 1995 to 2012. Only the impact of documented immigrants is investigated because that of illegal immigrants is not known. The theories of immigration and its economic and social effects will be reviewed. Studies done by other researchers in different countries will also be looked at. Xenophobic attacks in South Africa are as a result of the allegations by South Africans that immigrants are taking South Africans' jobs, increase poverty and crime. However, the positive contribution of these immigrants toward the South African economy is not much talked about. The research therefore seeks to identify if immigrants really cause some of the economic and social problems in South Africa. The results obtained show that an increase in immigration increases the number of unemployed people in South Africa, poverty as well as gross domestic product (economic growth). The effect on crime is different with each type of crime. Murder, burglary and common robbery decrease with an increase in immigration while the opposite is true for other crime types. The main cause of an increase in crime, poverty and the number of unemployed people is because immigration increases human population. The study concludes by suggesting policy recommendations.