This shouldn’t come as surprise, like, at all.

If you’re a white South African, you probably need more than one hand to count the amount of family and friends who have packed up everything and set off for ‘greener pastures’, settling in countries such as Australia, Canada, the UK, Ireland and the US.

We have spoken before about the decrease of the country’s white population – here – and now there’s another conversation happening.

According to a piece published by News24, “[a]bout half a million white South Africans have left the country in the past three decades, and Stats SA estimates that a further 112 740 will emigrate in the next five years”.

In their words, we’re “running out of whites”.

On top of those leaving, what is left is a rapidly ageing population:

The white population is also ageing as younger people are mostly the ones who go, leaving their parents behind.

Population growth estimates show that the white population declined by 22 250 people, from 4.52 million in 2016 to 4.49 million in 2017. Over the same period, the total population increased by 900 000 to 56.62 million.

This is what the country’s population breakdown looks like:

Although Stats SA couldn’t say why whites were leaving, emigration agencies believe it’s due to “political instability, crime and uncertainty”. Add concerns about the future and low earning potential, and there are all the reasons you need.

Bonus: if you get to the country of your choice early enough – in high school, for example – you could even study for free in a first world country, nogal.

[source:news24]