Author: Deborah Budlender.

This Fact Sheet draws from the data compiled in a report commissioned by the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS) on behalf of the Migrating for Work Research Consortium (MiWORC). The full report (MiWORC Report N°2) aims to assist with improving the quality of available statistics on foreign labour in South Africa. Such improvement is intended, in turn, to advance understanding of the role played by foreign workers in the South African labour market. With over 40 tables and analysis, the core of the full report is an assessment of the scope and relevance of existing statistical data sets in South Africa. This Fact Sheet presents a small selection of the report’s data sets without the accompanying assessment and analysis; these data sets were selected for timeliness (2008‐12) and their ability to stand alone. The full report’s focus is on the period 1980 to date, with more emphasis placed on current data sources given that the ultimate aim is to contribute to improving available data for future use. Geographically, special attention is given to statistics on foreign labour originating within the Southern African region. Throughout the report the emphasis is on sources that provide broad coverage, ideally of the entire country, rather than small‐scale investigations. Further, the main interest is in ongoing sources of statistics rather than in one‐off investigations. Partly as a result, the report focuses on statistics produced by the government, while also discussing smaller‐scale and one‐off non‐governmental investigations, where they highlight important issues. For the complete presentation of data‐sets, a description of the state of current data sources and methods and recommendations for improving them, please consult the full report, MiWORC Report N°2, “Improving the quality of available statistics on foreign labour in South Africa: Existing data‐sets.”