Johannesburg - More than four million people entered and left South Africa between 1 December 2013 and 1 January this year, the home affairs department said on Wednesday.
Of the total of 4.2 million people, 1.9 million were arrivals and 2.3 million were departures, spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said in a statement.
The OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and the Beitbridge border post to Zimbabwe were among the busiest ports of entry.
The busiest SADC country destinations included Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The top destinations outside the SADC region were the UK, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, France, India, China, Nigeria, Sweden and Canada.