BY TONY KWAME ANSAH, JR
12/17/2018
While the African youth risk their lives by embarking on dangerous journeys to developed countries in makeshift boats in search of a better life, the African continent is, ironically, an attraction to people from other regions of the world, mostly men and women in search of a better life, too. They’re classified as expatriates. To them, it’s an opportunity to make a decent living outside of their country of origin. Here’s an inside look at the expat population and their various contributions in Africa towards progressive development.
In 2017, 25 million documented international migrants were residing in Africa and accounted for 2% or less of the total population of Africa. Between 2000 and 2017, the number of international migrants in Africa grew by an average of 3.0 per cent per annum (1). However, the number of expats in Africa is unclear and tough to determine.
Europeans, North Americans, Asians, and Australians tend to be frequent expats in Africa. Although several local languages are spoken in African countries, English is the national language in many Sub-Saharan countries because of British colonialism until the 1960s. This works to the advantage of English-speaking expatriates and helps to eliminate communication barriers. This is not to disregard French, the second official language across the continent, which is followed by Spanish and Portuguese.
Students make up a significant proportion of the immigrants in Africa. Resident permits are granted to these adults continuing their education. As a result, foreign student populations are growing throughout Africa.
Many foreigners who live and work in Africa are professionals relocated by their multinational employer involved in oil/gas exploration or mining (gold, diamond, and copper). While others work for international organizations in health services and conservation. The most popular career fields in Africa for expats are: business, trade, education, telecommunication, banking, healthcare, and sustainable development. Meanwhile, it has been reported that there are an increasing number of Chinese expatriates in Africa establishing companies for themselves.
Some African governments have created incentives for foreign professionals to come and work in Africa. For example, South Africa has a quota system for many professional groups, such as teachers, physicians, and engineers, which allows foreign professionals to obtain work permits. South Africa is one of Africa’s most developed country and makes it a popular African destination for expatriates, many of them from the United Kingdom. Based on InterNations‘ research, Nigeria has the highest number of high-income-earning expats (2).
South Africa also happens to be Africa’s most attractive retirement destination because of its nice climate, low cost of living, great natural beauty, good healthcare, and an adequate infrastructure (3). There are several other destinations in West Africa that are attractive to foreign retirees, such as Gambia, Ghana, and Cape Verde (4). Some Western African governments have introduced several incentives to attract expat retirees from outside Africa. For example, Ghana is actively attracting an African-American community of retirees thanks to their relatively easy immigration rules and regulations, especially with its upcoming Year of Return 2019 initiative.
With thousands to millions of ethnicities, students, professionals, retirees, and so on becoming expats in Africa, there’s a present and future generation of folks who are very much interested and connected to African culture and tradition. Although they may not all have good intentions behind their endeavors, Africa is about to most likely become a melting pot full of colorful diversity. As the world shifts to more and more people being of browner complexion, the more humanity shall feel compelled to migrate back to their original roots in Africa, especially the African Diaspora.
References:
1. http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/migrationreport/docs/MigrationReport2017_Highlights.pdf
2. https://expatfinancial.com/expats-in-africa/
3. https://www.transitionsabroad.com/tazine/0910/living-and-working-in-africa.shtml
4. https://www.transitionsabroad.com/tazine/0910/living-and-working-in-africa.shtml
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tony K Ansah, Jr., M.P.A. is a self-published author and a social entrepreneur based in Rhode Island, U.S.A. He has written and published several books and content via poems, quotes, fiction, non-fiction, blogs and articles. Tony is also the founder and owner of Ansah Africa, a consulting and marketing startup that connects donors in the U.S.A. with nonprofits in Africa to solve global problems, which was established in 2017.
Copyright © 2019 by Tony Kwame Ansah Jr
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