State of the Nation

The mood among South Africans has soured. The latest findings from the representative survey that’s done every year by the country’s Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) shows some disturbing new trends. The most marked are:

• As the survey shows, as despondency increases, so too does a sense of hopelessness.
• The 2021 survey – with the most recent available results – consisted of 2,996 South Africans aged 16 years and older living in private residences.
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  South Africans hold contradictory views about their democracy

  Based on our two decade involvement in social attitudes research in South Africa, we argued that while South Africans were increasingly unhappy with democracy, their levels of life satisfaction remained stable.

What are people are saying

• Conducted annually since 2003, it measures underlying public perceptions, values and social fabric in South African society.
• The survey represents a notable tool for monitoring evolving social, economic and political values among South Africans.
• We also believe it shows promising use as a predictive mechanism that could inform decision makers and policy-making processes.
• But from a age profile perspective, older people held more negative views on future life optimism (Figure 3).

The drivers

• Those with a more positive outlook were also more satisfied with government efforts at delivering a range of serives.
• These included the provision of water, sanitation and electricity, tackling crime and corruption, as well as job creation and social grants.

Democracy outlook

• However, as democratic despondency increases, so too does a sense of hopelessness in South Africans.
• Joleen Steyn Kotze receives funding from National Research Foundation