₦airaland Forum

IronGalaxy:
You're spamming my mentions over what? Common sense?
You have a country invaded by illegal immigrants, who pass our porous borders undetected and unaccounted for, yet you still want fight for official government numbers? The same government that doesnt even know how many people come in out of the country?

You are trying to pull a fast one IronGalaxy. Please quantify what you are referring to otherwise your point is meaningless.

You can't come here and say the official numbers are "incorrect" and in the same breath tell us there is an invasion.

If I am to accept your arguement then all those stats published by Randdigital about SA progress are equally nonsensical since your government is in the business of fabricating data, no?

IronGalaxy:
How is saying, true numbers of immigrants is not accurate because of mass illegal migration "anti- foreign" ? You cannot argue the point presented.. that's why I find engaging you a waste of time.

You are reaching here. If its higher than the official numbers then by how much?

Any statistician leaves room when exact numbers cannot be determined but also works within a "confidence interval" before any numbers are published.

Accept the facts my dear boy.


https://www.citizen.co.za/network-news/lnn/article/sa-migration-what-do-the-numbers-actually-show/



What the evidence shows: This narrative relies on uncertain or false information that inflates the number of migrants in South Africa, legally or otherwise. The figures may vary, but by international standards, migrants do not make up an unusually large share of South Africa’s population. This does not rule out higher migrant concentration in cities such as Johannesburg.
The 2022 census is the latest conducted by Statistics South Africa. It estimated that 2.4 million migrants lived in the country. That was about 3.9% of a population of 62 million, close to the global average of 3.7% estimated by the United Nations for 2024.

Yet much higher figures continue to circulate.

In 2020, then Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba falsely claimed that South Africa had 15 million “undocumented foreigners”. He withdrew the figure days later, but it continued to spread under the hashtag “#15MillionIllegalMigrants”.



Africa Check has also debunked the claim that South Africa has 26 million migrants, [b]which would mean that 43%, or more than two in every five people in the country, were migrants.

Undocumented migrants are not automatically excluded
In its surveys, StatsSA only asks whether a person has moved, not whether they complied with immigration laws in doing so. This means undocumented migrants are not excluded from the census by definition.

Census workers visit every home in a set area and also count the homeless and mobile populations. This helps to ensure that people who are not in a home on the night of the census are not excluded. A “post-enumeration survey” is then used to adjust for people or households that may have been missed.

“Because we do not collect information on migratory status, we cannot say what proportion of these are irregular migrants, but we can say that they are a subset of these total migrant stock numbers that have been referenced,” Diego Itarrulde, Stats SA’s chief director for demography and population statistics, told Africa Check.

The 2022 census had limitations, partly because the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted data collection. But, Itarrulde said, migrants were not undercounted “to the extent of tens of millions”.

Other official data points in the same direction. Stats SA’s 2022/23 income and expenditure survey estimated a migrant population of 3.1 million, or 5.1% of the country’s population.

All population estimates carry some uncertainty. But no credible evidence shows that several independent estimates have missed tens of millions of migrants.

Figures of 15 million or more also do not reconcile with continental data. The United Nations estimated that 29 million international migrants lived in the whole of Africa in 2024. As Itarrulde put it, “to suggest that there are an additional half or more of this amount in South Africa”, in addition to the migrants recorded by official statistics, “is not a credible claim”....

IronGalaxy:
South Africa has more than the official estimate because of illegal migration..
Call this, lies, propaganda.. whatever makes your stomach fuzzy..

My stance wont change

Your stance is not different from anti-foreigner vigilantes who only want to spread propaganda to advance their world view.

The facts remain resolute.

IronGalaxy:
Keep denying the obvious..its what you excel in

The obvious is in your head.

Here are the facts on ground;

https://www.citizen.co.za/network-news/lnn/article/sa-migration-what-do-the-numbers-actually-show/

SA migration: What do the numbers actually show?
Fact-checkers examined claims that foreign-born residents dominate the job market, drive crime or overwhelm public infrastructure.


False information has flourished in this climate, and Africa Check has been tracking it live.


After more than a decade of fact-checking claims about migration, we’ve seen the same broad narratives return in different forms. They shape public debate, deepen social divisions and reduce South Africa’s complex problems to simple explanations.

South Africa does face real migration challenges, including weak border management, asylum backlogs and poor enforcement of labour and business laws.

But they do not prove the narratives examined in this explainer: that migrants are present in vastly greater numbers than official estimates show, dominate the economy or are chiefly responsible for crime and failing public services.

Narrative: Tens of millions of migrants live in South Africa but aren’t counted in official statistics because they are undocumented.

What the evidence shows: This narrative relies on uncertain or false information that inflates the number of migrants in South Africa, legally or otherwise. The figures may vary, but by international standards, migrants do not make up an unusually large share of South Africa’s population. This does not rule out higher migrant concentration in cities such as Johannesburg.
The 2022 census is the latest conducted by Statistics South Africa. It estimated that 2.4 million migrants lived in the country. That was about 3.9% of a population of 62 million, close to the global average of 3.7% estimated by the United Nations for 2024.

Yet much higher figures continue to circulate.

[b]In 2020, then Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba falsely claimed that South Africa had 15 million “undocumented foreigners”. He withdrew the figure days later, but it continued to spread under the hashtag “#15MillionIllegalMigrants”.

In July 2026, Mashaba said there were “3.1 million undocumented illegal foreign immigrants” in the country and attributed the figure to Stats SA. But the number he cited refers to people without “proof of legal identity”, a category that includes many South African citizens.

Africa Check has also debunked the claim that South Africa has 26 million migrants, which would mean that 43%, or more than two in every five people in the country, were migrants.

Undocumented migrants are not automatically excluded
In its surveys, StatsSA only asks whether a person has moved, not whether they complied with immigration laws in doing so. This means undocumented migrants are not excluded from the census by definition.

Census workers visit every home in a set area and also count the homeless and mobile populations. This helps to ensure that people who are not in a home on the night of the census are not excluded. A “post-enumeration survey” is then used to adjust for people or households that may have been missed.

“Because we do not collect information on migratory status, we cannot say what proportion of these are irregular migrants, but we can say that they are a subset of these total migrant stock numbers that have been referenced,” Diego Itarrulde, Stats SA’s chief director for demography and population statistics, told Africa Check.

The 2022 census had limitations, partly because the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted data collection. But, Itarrulde said, migrants were not undercounted “to the extent of tens of millions”.

Other official data points in the same direction. Stats SA’s 2022/23 income and expenditure survey estimated a migrant population of 3.1 million, or 5.1% of the country’s population.

All population estimates carry some uncertainty. But no credible evidence shows that several independent estimates have missed tens of millions of migrants.

Figures of 15 million or more also do not reconcile with continental data. The United Nations estimated that 29 million international migrants lived in the whole of Africa in 2024. As Itarrulde put it, “to suggest that there are an additional half or more of this amount in South Africa”, in addition to the migrants recorded by official statistics, “is not a credible claim”..........

IronGalaxy:
Didn't even bother reading this.. ita pointless

The facts are there for ALL to see whether you read them or not.

You still have not given us any number of foreigners legal and illegal in South Africa.

Keep spreading propaganda. Keep the lie alive.

RandDigital:
You're Nigerians, you only understand tough love. So SA is serving you just that.

No, you are spreading propaganda that politicians are using to gain your votes.

Fighting criminality has nothing to do with nationality.

RandDigital:
They don't see it as a crime. They say wherever there's a market of vulnerable children they will supply. They're businessmen and developers after all.

I wonder why they're wailing now that we no longer wanna be the market. Can't they move to India and Thailand without wailing 🇳🇬💩💩💩

Selling drugs is a crime. Don't you see how we swiftly jailed that onyibo woman.

You should borrow a leaf from us and do the needful instead of advertising drug dealers on national tv to get paid by sponsors.

RandDigital:
So our police should shoot to kill and president be in power for 40 years like Cameroon?

You can't have it both ways. As a democratic country, You apply the law judiciously to all persons or you change the law such as the white paper being presented to pass as law.

Your march and march till we win are just vigilantes looking to usurp power from the state.

IronGalaxy:
Sizokthola showed us what we always knew.. that Nigerians pose a drug nuisance.. everyone with a working brain knows its impossible that every Nigerian is a drug dealer.. its a case of "not every Nigerian but always a Nigerian, .wear your medal with pride

This is assuming most of your people are intelligent enough to discern the difference. I highly doubt they do.

IronGalaxy:
South African borders are porous, this is a fact.. people troop in and out of South Africa like is a mall, what are the chances that South Africa is not overflowing with illegal migrants? So please take your "scientific methods " and shov them.. there are now areas in our country where you are outnumbered by these people

1. A concentration of migrants in specific locations within a city/location does not constitute an invasion.

2. You have no facts just anecdotal stories and emotional blackmail. The usual "lived experience" story.

3. I on the other hand have lived in your country, traversed border towns, assisted asylum seekers, worked with non governmental agencies that have to do with migrant issues and I put it to you that you are spreading propaganda.

Here are the facts on ground. Counter them with your evidence.

https://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=18042

Migration is reshaping South Africa’s social and economic landscape, yet behind the statistics are real people—families seeking stability, workers driving industries, and vulnerable groups at risk.

South Africa’s immigrant population has seen a steady rise over the past few decades, increasing from 2,1% of the total population in 1996 to 3,9% in 2022. By 2022, the number of immigrants in the country had reached 2,4 million, with women making up just over one million of that total.

According to the Report on migration statistics based on various data sources including census 2022, released by Statistics South Africa, most immigrants in South Africa come from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, with men making up 47,0% and women 36,5%. Notably, immigration from the rest of Africa is male-dominated, with three men for every one woman.

Distribution of the immigrant population final

Gauteng remains the top destination, with 28,4% of male immigrants and 21,8% of female immigrants calling it home. The Western Cape follows as the second most preferred province, attracting 9,1% of male immigrants and 6,8% of female immigrants...........

RandDigital:
There's no freedoms there - you people have abused ours🇿🇦

Cameroonian police shoot to kill.

So the problem is actually your government and its policies.

Now we are getting somewhere.

IronGalaxy:
This proves what exactly? Do you know how freaked out South Africans were seeing the number of illegal Malawians alone...
The number of foreigners in SA exceed official figures.. we can argue this till the Jesus comes..

Yes, the large number of Malawians that were presented on your tv screens boarding those buses gives you a clear indicator of the migrant crisis just like that T.V show Sizokuthola has convinced you that a majority of Nigerians are drug dealers.

How scientific of your methods.

RandDigital:
Add disrespectful to host countries to that list. That's why SA recently kicked you out after you pulled the same B S in Ghana and they were also protesting.

And then your FM dances with convicts in Ethiopia.

Nigeria thy name is criminal 🇳🇬🚔🚓🚨 and you all wanna gaslight SA.

The Cameroonians must be more tolerant people than you guys since they live with them and have not killed any of them.

IronGalaxy:
You can" you can " you can"..
Except, that is not happening is it? .. our government is not doing that, so?🤷‍♂️

The number of immigrants in South Africa exceed the documented number because of immigrants that are not unaccounted for.. these are facts, not propaganda

Present your facts.

Here are mine

https://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=1854&PPN=Report-03-04-05&SCH=74539

IronGalaxy:
Look, this is where my participation on this threads ends, im not interested in meaningless back & forth..

I have that defeatist effect on people who are for the most part just yapping their mouths.

IronGalaxy:
The bottom line is they regret leaving Cannan, the land of milk & honey for Israel

Its temporary that's what really counts at the end of the day.

IronGalaxy:
Read my comment again, read for understanding

Yes I understood you very clearly, they ran away from the areas where there is a heavy presence of Xenophobia.

IronGalaxy:
they fight tooth and nail to remain in SA, despite the lies that we're "killing" them en masse.. a lot of Ghanaians are even regretting going back to Ghana.. the truth is they have it good in Mzansi.. thats why they even make demands, something they cant even do in their countries

Don't worry the Ghanaians will be fine. Its general stockholm syndrome that will wear off in a while.

IronGalaxy:
Lol.. an overwhelming majority of foreigners in South Africans have not left South Africa at all...
The rest of the gibberish is not even worth responding

They have left KZN though.

RandDigital:
Just checking... Coz it feels like I'm living in the future 🇿🇦🏆

Are there self checkouts at KFC and McDonald's in 🇳🇬 or you still pay at the til? 🫤🫤🫤

(IronGalaxy Seppuku check this out - troll's gonna run) 😁😁😁

You are a very jobless man aren't you.

I no get your time today.

IronGalaxy:
Kenya has carried a much much smaller burden than us, they are hosting Ugandans, Somalians and Burundians, we are carrying the whole continent..plus Sri Lankans, Nepalese, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi... the scale is just not the same ... Does Kenya have porous borders? Does Kenya have organized mafia like the "Blek Axe" running their streets? Are Kenyans sleeping on floors in their own hospitals to make way for foreigners? Our situation is not the same.. not even close

The official number of foreigners in your country stands at 4% out a population of 65million. The propaganda that some of your right wing influenced anti globalist propagandist continue to push does not match the facts. Simply because these numbers are concentrated within major cities and adjourning townships does not translate to an immigration crisis.

Do you need to curtail illegal migrants crossing borders, Yes just like any other sovereign nation, but to come here and justify your xenophobic anti migrant agenda with claims that you are losing your country to a herd of millions of marauding foreigners is sinister.

FYI, there are many cyber gangs that operate out of Kenya from many countries, but the difference is that the Kenyan government is handling it and yours are connected or indirectly involved in these devious crimes.

IronGalaxy:
If Kenyans, are cool with being killed and attacked by foreigners in their country thats the choice, they are not our standard, we are South Africans not Kenyans, we're not gonna tolerate that nonsense..

Yes we know you are special Patriots.

IronGalaxy:
Yes, we know the hate, we know it's longstanding, and we know its masked as "xenophobia" concern.. we ve reach a point of not caring.

Which is more plausible, 20 random strangers point out to a madman that he is completely naked and the mad man insisting he is clothed in the finest designer wear there is out there.

IronGalaxy:
Kenya is not being gaslit precisely because Africans are hypocrites ive said it before and im saying it again and Kenya is not South Africa, and we all know, whatever South Africa does its measured on a different standard..

Lastly Kenya is not facing anything close to what we are facing... there's no an equivalent of a "Zama Zama" in Kenya, for example..

Kenya has carried the burden of settling refugees for a much longer period of time than you.

Kenya has had issues of foreigners committing all sorts of crimes

A majority of their people have been attacked and killed by foreign terrorist gangs. They have suffered similar losses yet they are have not are not being gas lighted.

Its only you guys, the special Africans that we all hate.

If your write up is to justify your actions based on "quantification" of pain then spare me the dribble.

IronGalaxy:
Listen.. you can deflect all you want, call us "xenophobic" a thousand times, it doesnt change the fact that your people are a problem in South Africa.. always have been

Let's put the Nigerians on the side shall we. cause we are often used to justify your xenophobic tendencies.

Kenya is dealing with illegal Burundians in their informal sectors. Why is the whole of Africa not gaslighting them?

Kenya has communities from different African countries living peacefully with them with no issues and their economy is not as potent as yours.

Please my friend you people have a deep-seated "issue" that you need to deal with which everyone is aware of that is why it is pointed out.

IronGalaxy:
Call me by any name other the sun, I don't give a f.... facts are facts..

We've been on this for the longest of time because weve been tolerating your nonsense for the longest of time..we are now gatvol!.

You are gatvol because your own government has embezzeled all your wealth and left a majority of your citizens all the poorer where you are having to compete with "foreigners" who are undercutting your salaries and outsmarting you in most fields.

The whole "crime" thing is simply an excuse to cry wolf. The majority of your people are the criminals and law breakers. Those are the facts my 'Brather"

FSBoperator:
My patriotism does not extend to defending criminals .

No one asked you to defend criminals because they all come in different tribes but we see what you are doing.

FSBoperator:
And where was your own patriotism when you were calling on Trump to come and invade and balkanize Nigeria ?

The assumption that I am Igbo, christian or a Biafran sympathizer when we have over 350 ethnic groups exposes more of your bigotry my Blother.

Peterobiisathie:
you guys have been disgracing this country even before Tinubu became president

And your job is to be exposing it on nairaland.

Negative news draws more attention doesn't it.

As you post one negative why you balance am with post positive as well like this.

https://nairametrics.com/2025/09/21/meet-15-nigerian-actors-making-waves-in-hollywoodss-49-billion-film-industry/

princemol:
I can't blame SA, they're trying their best to sanitize their country. Why should one of our blothers be pushing drugs

At least you recognize say dem be your Blother.

Elusive001:
I never see hypocrite like una. People whose god forfeited drug related money now spite drug dealers. People who defend a drug lord now spite drug dealers.

Tell dem o!

FSBoperator:
Pls be advised that the attacks on your country are being waged by the tribes people of those selling drugs in your country.

Stop licking his behind and stand up for your country.

BLO**Y TRIBALIST!

IronGalaxy:
When we say we're sick and tired of these people they say we're "xenophobic"..

You are xenphobic, stop fooling yourself.

You have been on this for 20+years.

It did not start today.

If you want me to post evidence then just let me know.