Remote Work Reality: South Africans Have Fewer Job Opportunities Than Other Africans
- A global study by Remitly analysed 7.8 million LinkedIn job listings to rank countries by remote work availability
- South Africa recorded the lowest share of remote vacancies among all African countries examined in the research
- Despite trailing other African nations, South Africa still outperformed several major global economies on remote work listings
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SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa may be falling behind its African neighbours when it comes to remote work. A new global study has found that the country recorded the lowest proportion of remote job listings among all African nations included in the research.
The study, conducted by digital financial services company Remitly, analysed roughly 7.8 million LinkedIn job listings published in May 2026. Researchers filtered vacancies by country and calculated what percentage of listings in each market were tagged as remote positions.
SA trails Ghana and Egypt on remote listings
South Africa came in last among the African countries assessed, with only 17.6% of its LinkedIn vacancies advertised as remote. That figure placed it below Ghana, where 19.5% of listings were remote, and Egypt, which recorded 21.8%.
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Further up the continent, the numbers were dramatically different. Equatorial Guinea led the African rankings at 98.5%, followed by the Republic of the Congo at 95.4% and Cape Verde at 94.7%. Sierra Leone reached 92.4% and Ethiopia hit 83.5%.
The findings carry weight in a country where unemployment remains a persistent challenge and interest in flexible work continues to grow. For South Africans hoping to skip the daily commute, the data suggests that locally advertised remote opportunities are comparatively scarce.
It is worth noting that the research measures job advertisements labelled as remote, not the actual proportion of workers operating from home. The study also looked at entry-level positions and applicant volumes to gauge how competitive remote roles are in each market.
SA beats the US, UK and Australia
South Africa's position shifts considerably when compared to some of the world's largest economies. The United States had only 8.4% of its vacancies classified as remote, while the United Kingdom stood at 10.1% and Australia at 7.6%. Germany recorded 6%, France 4.7% and the Netherlands 4.6%. China had the lowest proportion globally at just 2.7%.
Globally, Remitly found that 31 countries had more than half of their LinkedIn vacancies classified as remote.
For South African jobseekers, the picture is mixed. Remote work is available, but the limited local supply means competition for those positions is likely to be fierce.
SA ranks top ten in AI skills
Previously, Briefly News reported that South Africa broke into the top 10 countries worldwide for AI outsourcing readiness, claiming the number one spot on the African continent. The milestone comes from Ataraxis' 2026 Global Outsourcing AI Readiness Index, where the country finished eighth globally with an overall score of 66.5 points. India led the ranking with 84.55 points, followed by Brazil and Malaysia. South Africa finished ahead of countries including Bulgaria and Argentina.
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Source: Briefly News
