Property Talk

Are you considering greener pastures

Emigration selling has recently peaked and with negative sentiment dominating our national psyche it has become the norm for many South Africans to consider greener pastures.

This is a luxury most of us will not realistically be able to afford as it would in most cases mean a significant drop in our standard of living. In many cases, however, young adults leave South Africa to either study or work abroad, and although they may not have formally emigrated the chances of them returning to South Africa remains small and ageing parents then typically migrate in the years to come.

The choices available to most South Africans considering emigrating tend to be the usual obvious destinations which include the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and in some instances a leading European country such as Germany, France or the Netherlands.

The attraction of each country may be skewed for each individual based on ease of access, the existence of family and friends or possibly just a business or professional opportunity.

I like to think of countries in terms of economic status and the key metrics presented by Trading Economics, an excellent online portal for world economic data, gives an interesting insight into each country listed above.

Allow me to describe some of the key metrics across a selection of the preferred countries and you can then formulate your opinion on the relative attractiveness of these.

Firstly, at the top of the ranking measured by annual Gross Domestic Production (GDP) - an excellent single statistic that measures the success of a country, is the US. This is a US$20,494trillion economy eclipsing every other country on the planet by an impressive margin. This amazing productivity is achieved by only 327 million people.

GDP growth is still being recorded in the US at 2,3% p.a. As a quick comparative China's GDP is a somewhat distant second at US$13,61 trillion with a current growth rate at 6,2% p.a.

The unemployment rate in the US is 3,7% and inflation is at 1,8%. A litre of petrol will cost you 69 cents in the US. The average US mortgage rate is currently 3,94% and the homeownership rate is 64,1%.

The UK is the world's 5th largest economy with a GDP of US$2,8 trillion produced by 66,19 million people. GDP growth is currently 1,2% and the unemployment rate is 3,9%.

The UK inflation rate is currently 2,1%. The UK Corporate Tax rate is 19% and the top personal income tax rate is 45%. The social security tax rate is 25,8% split between the company at 13,8% and the employee at 12%. A litre of petrol is going to cost you US$1,57 in the UK.

Australia is 13th on the list of largest economies with GDP at US$1,432trillion growing at 1,8% p.a. and produced by only 25 million people. The Australian unemployment rate is 5,2%. Inflation down-under is a mere 1,6%. The Corporate Tax rate is 30% and the top personal income tax rate is 45%.

Australia has a sales tax of 10% and the Social Security Tax rate is 11,5%. A litre of petrol in Australia will cost you US 96 cents. The US remains the land of opportunity and it is therefore not surprising why migration to the US is so desired.