Ilse Eigelaar-Meets is a sociologist who currently lectures at the Sociology and Social Anthropology department at Stellenbosch University. She has served as a researcher and project manager in various institutions, including National and Provincial Government (National Advisory Council for Innovation, Department of Social Development Western Cape Provincial Government, and as Deputy Director for research at the Department of Local Government and Housing Western Cape Provincial Government).

In 2025, Ilse published a new book titled “Internal Migration and Development Planning in South Africa,” which emphasises the necessity of incorporating internal migration data into development planning initiatives to better understand both short- and long-term social changes.

Her research interests include community and rural development, migration (including its demographic and social impacts), population studies, and local governance.

Books:

Eigelaar-Meets, I. 2025. Internal migration and development planning in South Africa. AOSIS: Cape Town.

Marais, S., Eigelaar-Meets, I., Poole, C., 2017. Risk Behaviour among Teenagers: Understanding the social context of teenage pregnancies in two rural schools in the Cape Winelands District, South Africa In: Clarke, L.C., Rhynas, S, Schannauer, M, Taylor, J. (eds). <Risk and Resilience. Global Learning Across the Age Span, Dunedin: London, pp.100-115.

Bekker SB, Eigelaar-Meets I, Eva G. Citizenship and xenophobic violence in South Africa: May and June 2008. In: Uys T, Patel S (eds). Exclusion, Social Capital and Citizenship, Orient BlackSwan, New Dehli, India, 2012: 348-374.

Bekker, S. B & Eigelaar – Meets, I (2012). Migration and Resource Conflicts in South Africa – four illustrative case studies, Conference paper delivered Cologne: Germany.

Eigelaar-Meets, I., Gomulia C., Geldenhuys, E., 2010, An emerging strategy for social capital formation – Opportunity and challenge for the religious sector In: Swart, I., Rocher, H., Green, S., Erasmus, J., (eds.), Religion and Social Development in Post-Apartheid South Africa , SUN MeDIA: Stellenbosch, pp.45-59.