South Africans and migrants: study tracks the barriers to being good neighbours

South Africa has made strides in integrating immigrants into local communities .

The country is home to an estimated 2.4 million to 3.1 million foreign-born residents.

This represents roughly 4% to 5.1% of the total population.

Acceptance of immigrants as neighbours in the neighbourhoods where they live and work is, however, not a given.

Suspicion and tensions between locals and immigrants remain common.

Evidence of this was the sharp surge in xenophobic violence and anti-immigrant protests in mid-2026.

I am an African art historian.

My research focuses on issues of representation and re-representation of history in museums and public spaces.

It also extends to issues of migration and social integration in South Africa.

In a recent study , I assessed residents’ levels of satisfaction with their neighbours and neighbourhoods.

My research involved collecting data through dialogues conducted in three areas with a high concentration of South Africans and immigrants living and working together.

My research has been published as a chapter in a book which covers subjects like social integration and the political economy of xenophobia.

I conducted my research in two established urban areas: Arcadia in Pretoria and Yeoville in Johannesburg.

The third was an informal area called Plastic City, in Pretoria East.