Foreign nationals twice as likely to be employed than South Africans, says Ntshavheni

Khumbudzo Ntshavheni delivers the Budget Vote 14 debate in Parliament, where she revealed that foreign-born nationals are twice as likely to be employed as locally born South Africans, according to Statistics South Africa data.

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says foreign-born people in South Africa are more likely to be employed than locally born citizens, as the government intensifies efforts to clamp down on undocumented immigration and tighten labour law enforcement.

Delivering the Stats SA Vote 14 2026/2027 Budget Debate speech on Wednesday, Ntshavheni cited new data from Statistics South Africa showing a stark employment gap between South Africans and foreign nationals.

“The unemployment rate for foreign-born persons as of 2022 was 18,2%, and that of locally born persons was 34%,” Ntshavheni said.

“The unemployment rate of foreign-born persons is almost half compared to that of locally born persons.”