South Africa’s outsourcing industry ranks number five in the world, according to Ataraxis’s 2026 Global Outsourcing Talent Index.
The data-backed audit of all 193 UN-recognised countries scored across five variables: labour cost, English proficiency, talent availability, digital infrastructure, and political stability.
Some highlights from the study include:
- Seven African countries sit within the global top 25 outsourcing destinations. Leading the charge are South Africa (5) and Nigeria (6), followed by Kenya (11), Egypt (15), Ghana (17), Ethiopia (23), and Uganda (24). This means African countries account for 28% of the world’s top 25 outsourcing destinations.
- South Africa ranks number one in Africa for outsourcing competitiveness.
- South Africa ranks among the most balanced outsourcing markets globally, pairing perfect English proficiency (100/100) with strong talent availability (70/100) and solid business stability (60/100).
- South Africa, Romania and Poland are the only countries with perfect English proficiency scores out of countries that rank in the top 20 for outsourcing competitiveness.
- South Africa outranks 39 European countries, including Romania (10), Poland (14), the UK (29), France (73), Germany (84), Spain (49), Italy (56), the Netherlands (#02), Switzerland (188) and all of the Scandinavian nations.
The full index and methodology and methodology can be see here: https://ataraxismgmt.com/outsourcing-statistics/ and https://ataraxismgmt.com/global-outsourcing-talent-index/