A Mixed Reception, Mozambican and Congolese Refugees in South Africa

This research monograph reviews literature on two distinct waves of forced migration to South Africa: Mozambicans fleeing civil war in the 1980s and people from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) arriving from the early 1990s onwards. It highlights the legal ambiguities and social marginalization faced by Mozambican refugees, as well as the significant socio-economic decline and lack of integration experienced by Congolese refugees.

• Between 250,000 and 350,000 Mozambicans fled to South Africa during their country's civil war in the 1980s. They existed in an ambivalent legal state: while the Shangaan-speaking homeland administration of Gazankulu provided them with land and assistance, the apartheid government did not grant them refugee status, making their presence de jure illegal until the mid-1990s.
• Although most Mozambican refugees gained permanent residence status by mid-2000 and the right to social grants by the end of 2004, a gap persists between their legal status and social reality. State officials often refuse to recognize their identity documents, and local governments fail to provide infrastructure to their villages.
• Forced migration from the DRC to South Africa, starting in the early 1990s, consists primarily of young, urban, middle-class males, with nearly 50% possessing tertiary education. However, these migrants experience a sharp decline in socio-economic status upon arrival: unemployment rose from 4% in the DRC to 29% in South Africa, and 50% are employed in unskilled work such as street vending and car guarding.
• Congolese refugees in South Africa face frail integration, often remaining in defensive ethnic networks characterized by low trust and limited reciprocity. Their economic situation is precarious, with a mean monthly income of R618 and a median monthly income of R500.

APA

Steinberg, J. (n.d.). A Mixed Reception, Mozambican and Congolese Refugees in South Africa. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-117-a-mixed-reception-mozambican-and-congolese-refugees-in-south-africa-jonny-steinberg

Chicago

Steinberg, Jonny. A Mixed Reception, Mozambican and Congolese Refugees in South Africa. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-117-a-mixed-reception-mozambican-and-congolese-refugees-in-south-africa-jonny-steinberg.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Steinberg |first1=Jonny |title=A Mixed Reception, Mozambican and Congolese Refugees in South Africa |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-117-a-mixed-reception-mozambican-and-congolese-refugees-in-south-africa-jonny-steinberg |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{steinbergndmixed, author = {Steinberg, Jonny}, title = {{A Mixed Reception, Mozambican and Congolese Refugees in South Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-117-a-mixed-reception-mozambican-and-congolese-refugees-in-south-africa-jonny-steinberg}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }