South Africa

This is one of several pages linking to information about the immigration and emigration policies and outcomes of specific countries, and implications for discussions of open borders.

South Africa is the southernmost country of the continent of Africa. It has a population of 53 million and a per capita GDP of about $11,000 per annum at PPP. This makes it a middle-income country by world standards, but the richest of the large African countries.

South Africa arises in discussions of migration and open borders for the following reasons:

  • The apartheid regime in South Africa placed restrictions on the internal migration of black South Africans. The lifting of these restrictions, which was accomplished faily quickly over the years 1990-1994, has been likened to a sudden opening of borders. The aftermath of this lifting has been used as a source of evidence for the possible effects of open borders.
  • South Africa has considerably higher per capita GDP than nearby African countries, such as Zimbabwe. There is some illegal immigration from these countries to South Africa. The magnitude of this migration and the political response and outcomes for both natives and migrants sheds light on migration-related issues.

Blog posts and articles discussing South Africa:

See also all Open Borders blog posts tagged South Africa.

"The Efficient, Egalitarian, Libertarian, Utilitarian Way to Double World GDP" — Bryan Caplan