Common perceptions about why South Africans choose to uproot themselves and their families to move to other parts of the country could be wrong.
Statistics from a new Wise Move Migration Report, based on almost 15 000 digitally-facilitated moves, shows economic opportunity is the driving factor behind most moves.
The top reason for moving in the pursuit of paid work (22,9%), followed by people moving closer to a spouse or for family reasons (15,5%).
The reasons for moving that many people expect to be major drivers feature surprisingly low in the ranks of why people move. Crime comes in at just 0,6%, divorce at 0,5% and political instability at 0,1%.
The school calendar is a major motivator for when people move; and the beginning of the work week is when most people plan a move – 09h00 on a Monday morning being the most popular time for planning.
Young professionals dominate the moving landscape, with the 25 to 34 age group making up the largest share at 31,9%, followed closely by 35 to 44 year olds at 24,39% – further reinforcing the suggestion that moves are largely driven by career changes, lifestyle upgrades and family growth.
Wise Move connects users to vetted and verified movers nationwide via a digital platform that uses AI-powered quoting, algorithms mover-matching and route optimisation to manage household moves, vehicle and pet transport.
“Through our platform, we’re simplifying moving, but we’re also generating interesting migration data,” says Chante Venter, co-founder and CEO of Wise Move. “The inaugural 2025 Migration Report reflects millions of kilometres travelled, thousands of property changes and real insight into how South Africans are moving – and why.”