Despite a wave of optimism following the appointment of Cyril Rampahosa, the return of load shedding and a number of high-profile corruption scandals means that the outlook for growth in South Africa over the next few years is bleak, while the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high.

As the country heads towards national elections in May, data shows that many South Africans are looking abroad for alternative lifestyles, whether to pursue a better career option, or to avoid rising crime, increasing corruption levels, and declining education standards.

The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Visual Capitalist, has released a new report looking at the countries which are best at attracting high-skilled workers.

Using data from the United Nations and the Global Talent Competitive Index, the two bodies have released a list of the top 10 countries that are the best at attracting and retaining highly-skilled workers.

They are ordered by overall rank, but their sub-category ranks are also displayed:

The subcategory ranks are defined as follows:

Enable: Status of regulatory and market landscapes in country;

Status of regulatory and market landscapes in country; Attract: Ability to attract companies and people with needed competencies;

Ability to attract companies and people with needed competencies; Grow: Ability to offer high-quality education, apprenticeships, and training;

Ability to offer high-quality education, apprenticeships, and training; Retain: Indicates quality of life in country.

According to the data, Switzerland (1st) and Singapore (2nd) are the two best countries for attaining and keeping high-skilled workers.

“While the regulatory environments in both of these countries are well-known by reputation, perhaps what’s more surprising is that Singapore scores the #1 rank in the “Attract” subcategory, while Switzerland is the #1 country for retaining talent based on quality of life,” Visual Capital said.

Read: Here’s how many work permits were granted to South Africans by the UK government last year