Why would you want to leave ?

Quick STATS for those who want to leave and those who have (sorry to hear) already left

• "South Africa is probably the leading economy in the world." (CNBC Europe)
• South Africa’s Rand is the second best-performing emerging market currency of the 26 monitored by Bloomberg in 2009
• South Africa sold $1.8 billion worth of cars to the US last year, putting us ahead of Sweden and Italy as suppliers to the US market.
• In 2009, the Springboks become the first international team to be World Champions in both 15-a-side and Sevens rugby.
• The International Monetary Forum's World Economic Outlook ranks us in the top 10% of counties in respect of Real GDP Growth Projections for 2010.
• In the Economist Intelligence Unit's Survey of Democratic Freedom we rank 31st of of 184 countries.
• South Africa ranks second worldwide in terms of the transparency surrounding its budgets - just behind the United Kingdom, tie with France, and ahead of New Zealand and the United States - according to the Open Budget Index.
• The number of 'dollar millionaires' in South Africa has increased from less than 25,000 in 2004 to over 55,000 in 2007, according to the World Wealth Report
• According to the World Pay Report, South African managers are earning disposable incomes that are higher than those in many developed countries.
• Johannesburg ranks 2nd among countries from Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa in dealing with urbanisation and environmental challenges, in the MasterCard Insights Report on Urbanisation and Environmental Challenges.
• South Africa ranked 44th out of 131 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2007/8.
• South Africa was ranked as the 18th most attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment by global strategic management consulting firm AT Kearney. 
• Three South African cities were voted amongst the world's top 100 Most Liveable Cities in a study conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Cape Town was ranked in 85th place, Johannesburg 90th and Port Elizabeth 97th.
• Since the 1940s, South African golfers have won more golf majors than any other nation, apart from the United States.
• South Africa has been ranked 28th among 108 countries measured for responsible competitiveness, according to the global think tank AccountAbility.
• Johannesburg has been ranked as the eighth cheapest city in the world for expatriates, according to the most recent Cost of Living Standards Survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
• South Africa is ranked 20th out of a total of 128 economies in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2007, ahead of many developed nations, including, the United States (31), Switzerland (40), Austria (27) and France (51).
• South Africa ranks 57th out of 157 countries in the world in terms of economic freedom, ahead of Italy (64), Brazil (101), the United Arab Emirates (63), Greece (94th), India (104th) and China (126), according to the Index of Economic Freedom 2007
• South Africa is ranked 35th out of 178 countries for ease of doing business - ahead of Spain, Brazil and India - according to Doing Business 2008, a joint publication of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.
• Cape Town has the fifth-best blue sky in the world according to the UK's National Physical Laboratory
• South African media ranks 26th out of 167 countries in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007, higher than any country in Asia, the Middle East or South America, and ahead of Japan, Spain, Italy and the United States.
• The Johannesburg Stock Exchange was the 7th best performing stock market in 2005, according to the World Federation of Exchanges
• Pretoria has the second largest number of embassies in the world after Washington, D.C.
• In 2005, interest rates were at a 25-year low
• South Africa accounts for almost 45% of the GDP of the entire African continent, with an economy three times the size of the second biggest (Egypt)
• Almost a quarter of South Africa’s non-interest budget is spent on education
• The University of South Africa UNISA is a pioneer of tertiary distance education and is the largest correspondence university in the world with 250,000 students
• In 1991, South Africa became the first country in the world to provide full protection status for the Great White shark within its jurisidictional waters. Countries including USA, Australia, Malta and Namibia follwed suit later.
• Afrikaans is the youngest official language in the world
• According to the Economic Freedom of the World 2005 Annual Report, South Africa ranks 38th out of 127 countries in terms of ecomomic freedom, tied with France and ahead of Israel, India, Italy, China, Brazil and Russia.
• The rand, the world's most actively traded emerging market currency, has joined an elite club of 16 currencies - the Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS) - where forex transactions are settled immediately, lowering the risks of transacting across time zones. Standard Bank is the only African bank to be a shareholder partner of CLS.
• The Singita Private Game Reserve in the Kruger National Park was voted the best hotel in the world by the readers of travel publication, Conde Nast Traveller
• The South African Rand was the best performing currency against the US Dollar between 2002 and 2005, according to the Bloomberg's Currency Scorecard
• South Africa's per capita GDP, corrected for purchasing power parity, positions the country as one of the 50 wealthiest in the world
• Worldaudit.org ranks South Africa as the 40th most democratic country out of 150 nations
• Stellenbosch University was the first university in the world to design and launch a microsatellite
• South Africa is the 35th best place in the world to do e-business, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2007 E-Readiness Report.
• South Africa is the best-ranked country in terms of price stability, our fiscal policy is ranked 11th, our international trade competitiveness 21st, and we are the 28th most-attractive destination for foreign direct investment, according to the World Competiveness Yearbook 2005
• South African business owners of mid-size companies are the second most optimistic worldwide about their economic prospects of the year ahead, according to the annual Grant Thornton International Business Owners Survey for 2005.
• South Africa is the first, and to date only, country to build nuclear weapons and then voluntarily dismantle its entire nuclear weapons programme
• The value of South African real estate improved by 30% over the past 5 years
• Tax revenue in SA has increased by 220% over the past 10 years
• In 2005, 10 million South Africans benefited from access to social grants
• The number of tourists visiting South Africa has grown by 116% since 1994
• Over the past 5 years, Consumer Confidence in SA has improved by 43%.
• In the global measure of women in Parliament, South Africa ranks 8th in the world.
• Of the 10 LSM levels ( LSM1=poorest; LSM10 wealthiest ), the average SA family located in LSM6
•  Source  :     South Africa: The Good News www.sagoodnews.co.za  Full list available on their website