• General information

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is composed of 14 countries: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Kingdom of Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The most populous countries are the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa, while the countries with higher per capita GDP are Mauritius, Botswana and South Africa. The study of migration flows within SADC is very complex, since a wide range of phenomena exist in the region. Those countries that receive the most remittances are Mozambique and Lesotho, followed by Swaziland, Botswana, Malawi and South Africa. Moreover, available data on the number of crossings made in a year to South Africa, (irrespective of the reasons for the crossing), allow us to appreciate the level of circular migration within SADC, with Lesotho well above the rest of the countries in the region, followed by Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. At the same time, the proportion of people born abroad in each country indicates that several countries are both sending and receiving migrants. Namibia (7.1%), Botswana (4.5%), Swaziland (4.4%) and Zimbabwe (3.9%) have a higher proportion of people born abroad than South Africa (2.3%). We can note also that countries like Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia are the largest recipients of refugees and asylum-seekers.

Within this complex migration map, South Africa records the highest overall number of foreign born population (1,106,000) and represents the largest source of remittances within the region (R 6.1 billion or $ 820 million), that means more than 98%.

SADC Countries ordered by GDP per cápita
	Area km2 (000)	Population (000)	GDP/cápita USD	Remittances Rm (000)	Number of border crossings with SA 2006	Porcentage of foreign born population
Mozambique	799	18961.5	313	2241.71	923496	2.1%
Lesotho	30	2333.8	598	1678.43	1919889	3.0%
Swaziland	17	1105.0	1629	432.29	993030	4.4%
Botswana	582	1711.0	4959	134.46	765705	4.5%
Malawi	118	11938.0	157	60.84	124914	2.2%
South Africa	1219	46596.6	4574	29.64		2.3%
Mauritius	2	1233.0	5099		17047	1.7%
Namibia	824	2001.0	2749		225020	7.1%
Angola	1247	15116.0	1264		29005	4.0%
Zambia	753	10987.5	492		160984	2.4%
Madagascar	587	16900.0	346			3.0%
Tanzania	945	35300.0	294			2.1%
Zimbabwe	391	11892.0	256		989614	3.9%
Democratic Republic of Congo	2345	59554.0	111			0.9%
Total SADC	9859	235619.4

It is estimated that 47% of migrants (from SADC and other countries) in the region are women, with differences depending on the country. If we take into account only the regular migrant population, migrant women represent slightly more than half of the overseas-born population in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, which is explained by the job opportunities in agriculture, for example in the tea and coffee industries in Malawi and Tanzania. Women are far more numerous on the island Mauritius for instance because of the textile sector, which has been developed by hiring women operators, mostly women from India. In South Africa, women account for 39.9% of the foreign-born population, with variations depending on the region of birth: 37.4% of those born in SADC, 33.8% of those born in Europe, 42.1% of those born in Asia and 50.2% of women born elsewhere.

• Gender

With the exception of Mauritius, which stands at position 62 (with an index of 0.796) in the gender-related development index, the other countries occupy positions between 107 (with an index of 0.645 in Namibia) and 149 (with an index of 0.373 in Mozambique). Women are less literate than men in all countries except Botswana and Lesotho. In Lesotho, this difference is explained by the massive migration of men. Finally, the female activity rate ranges from 31.2% in Swaziland to 85.8% in Tanzania. Note that in South Africa, the gender-related development index is among the highest in SADC (0.667), that the literacy rate for women is almost equal to that of men, but that the rate of economic activity is only 45.9%, among the lowest in the region.

Development index relating to gender (rank) Angola……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Botswana………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Lesotho…………………………………………………………………………………………………………....... Madagascar……………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Malawi……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Mauricio…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Mozambique…………………………………………………………………………………………………........ Namibia…………………………………………………………………………………………………………....... República Democrática del Congo…………………………………………………………………….... Sudáfrica………………………………………………………………………………………….................. Swazilandia…………………………………………………………......................................... Tanzania…………………………………………………………............................................. Zambia……………………………………………………………………….................................... Zimbabwe……………………………………………………………………………………….....	141 108 118 121 142 062 149 107 147 106 122 137 143 129
Development index relating to gender (index) Angola……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Botswana………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Lesotho…………………………………………………………………………………………………………....... Madagascar……………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Malawi……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Mauricio…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Mozambique…………………………………………………………………………………………………........ Namibia…………………………………………………………………………………………………………....... República Democrática del Congo…………………………………………………………………….... Sudáfrica………………………………………………………………………………………….................. Swazilandia…………………………………………………………......................................... Tanzania…………………………………………………………............................................. Zambia……………………………………………………………………….................................... Zimbabwe……………………………………………………………………………………….....	0.439 0.639 0.541 0.530 0.432 0.796 0.373 0.645 0.398 0.667 0.529 0.464 0.425 0.505
Gender inequality in education (female literacy rate as a % of the male rate), 2004 Angola……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Botswana………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Lesotho…………………………………………………………………………………………………………....... Madagascar……………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Malawi……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Mauricio…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Mozambique…………………………………………………………………………………………………........ Namibia…………………………………………………………………………………………………………....... República Democrática del Congo…………………………………………………………………….... Sudáfrica………………………………………………………………………………………….................. Swazilandia…………………………………………………………......................................... Tanzania…………………………………………………………............................................. Zambia……………………………………………………………………….................................... Zimbabwe………………………………………………………………………………………...................	0.65 1.02 1.23 0.85 0.72 0.91 0.46 0.96 0.67 0.96 0.97 0.80 0.78 0.93
Female economic activity rate (% between 15 years and more), 2004 Angola……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Botswana………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Lesotho…………………………………………………………………………………………………………....... Madagascar……………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Malawi……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Mauricio…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... Mozambique…………………………………………………………………………………………………........ Namibia…………………………………………………………………………………………………………....... República Democrática del Congo…………………………………………………………………….... Sudáfrica………………………………………………………………………………………….................. Swazilandia…………………………………………………………......................................... Tanzania…………………………………………………………............................................. Zambia……………………………………………………………………….................................... Zimbabwe………………………………………………………………………………………...................	73.7 45.3 45.7 78.9 85.4 42.7 84.5 46.6 61.2 45.9 31.2 85.8 66.0 64.0

• Countries sending remittances to SADC

Remittances sent from South Africa accounted for 98% of total remittances received in SADC countries. In the specific cases of Mozambique and Lesotho, migrants who work in the mines in South Africa have part of their salaries automatically transferred to their homes on a compulsory basis. This system, unpopular among migrant workers themselves, is highly valued by the wives of the workers and by the governments of recipient countries, since it ensures the receipt of remittances by the wives, as well as domestic consumption. In fact, other countries that do not implement this system, such as Botswana and Swaziland, received less transfers.

• Evolution of remittances

It is estimated that remittances rose from $2 billion in 1990 to $8 billion in 2005. It should be noted that on the one hand, formal channels for sending remittances are strictly controlled, but on the other hand, is very complicated to estimate the value of remittances because most remittances within the region do not go through formal channels, and are therefore not counted. Access to banking services, both in the destination country and country of origin is very low, and women are even more excluded from the banking system than men. In addition, cash remittances are only a portion of overall remittances, which also include goods. For example, in Zimbabwe, 84% of households receive remittances as cash and 68% as goods (some households receive a mixture of both). Most of these goods are brought directly by a migrant person.

• SADC countries’ income from remittances and in comparison to other sources of income

Remittances account for 4.2% of GDP in Swaziland. In the case of Lesotho, the proportion of remittances in relation to GDP has declined since labour migration to the mines has decreased by 50% between 1993 and 2006. In 1989, remittances represented 63% of GDP, 46% in 1993, and have fallen to 22.5% in 2005.

• Characteristics of remittance-receiving households

There are more married migrants among men than women, and they generally hold the position as head of the household, in the sense that they decide on the utilization of remittances from their destination country. On average, remittances benefit 6.4 persons per migrant. The average size of households receiving remittances from rural SADC is 5 people in Botswana, 5.5 people in Lesotho, 5.9 in Namibia, 6.7 in Swaziland, and the average number of urban households is 4 in Botswana, 4.6 in Lesotho, 5.1 in Namibia and 4.3 in Swaziland. A household may also have several sources of remittances, sometimes from different countries. In general, migration and remittances correspond to a strategy of the household rather than the individual migrant, which results from the lack of opportunities at home.

For detailed results of the investigation “Gender, Remittances and Development: Preliminary Findings From Selected SADC Countries,” see the complete report at our Publication Section.