Number of immigrants — all countries

Number of immigrants — Southern Africa

Number of immigrants in Southern Africa in 2024 — 2,911,844 people. Since 1990, the indicator has risen by 91.9%.

2024 2.91M people +0.28% vs 2020
World rank
Period maximum 3.41M people2015
Period minimum 1.2M people1995

Trend over time

1990–2024 · people

Number of immigrants — Southern Africa, 1990–20241M2M3M4M19901994199820022006201020142018202220241990: 1,517,089 people1995: 1,204,498 people2000: 1,248,435 people2005: 1,745,545 people2010: 2,512,206 people2015: 3,408,739 people2020: 2,903,653 people2024: 2,911,844 people
Change over the period: +1.39M (+91.94%) Average annual rate: 1.94 %

Comparison, 2024

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Southern Africa

Southern Africa 2.91M people
World 303M people
Number of immigrants — Southern Africa, by year Southern Africa All countries CSV XLSX
Year people Change Change, %
2024 2.91M
2020 2.9M
2015 3.41M
2010 2.51M
2005 1.75M
2000 1.25M
1995 1.2M
1990 1.52M

About the indicator

The number of people living in a country but born outside it — the international migrant stock. These are estimates of the UN Population Division, built from census and population register data. It is a stock, not a flow: the indicator answers the question of how many newcomers live in the country now, not how many arrived during the year. For the flow there is a separate indicator, net migration.

Important: The series is updated once every five years, so values may repeat in the intervening years. Foreign-born people and foreign citizens are not the same thing: in many countries most of the former have long held local citizenship.

Source: World Population Prospects (UN), license CC BY 3.0 IGO.