Levels of optimism about South Africa have dropped, according to survey results released on Wednesday.
”After reaching a June high of 73%, the proportion of people who agree that they are positive about South Africa and its future has taken two successive knocks in September [68%] and November [66%],” said TNS Research Surveys.
The company has conducted a series of surveys since 2004 to ascertain whether people feel positive about South Africa and, since February 2009, whether they are thinking of leaving, it said.
These surveys are conducted among a sample of 2 000 South African adults from the seven major metropolitan areas of South Africa, interviewing them face-to-face in their homes, with a margin of error of less than 2,5%.
The November results indicate that 66% of respondents agreed that they were positive about South Africa and its future, 26% disagreed, and 8% said that they don’t know.
This figure of 66% compares with the February figure of 60%, the May figure of 68%, the June figure of 73%, and the September figure of 68%.
Although this does represent a drop from the June high, it is still better than the 56% achieved in November 2008 and the all-time low of 49% seen in mid-2008.
Twelve percent said they were thinking of leaving South Africa. — Sapa