South Africans Embrace Diversity, but Trust Between Citizens Is Lacking

15 November 2024
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Asafika Mpako and Stephen Ndoma

Tolerance is high for religious, ethnic, political, and sexual differences, but lower for immigrants.

Key findings

  • Nearly three-quarters (73%) of South Africans say they trust their relatives "somewhat" or "a lot," but only half (51%) express trust in their neighbours. o Fewer than four in 10 respondents say they trust other South Africans (39%), people of other religions (39%), people from other ethnic groups (37%), and other people they know (36%). o Differences in trust levels across key demographic groups are fairly modest, although youth tend to be somewhat less trusting than their elders.
  • Most South Africans express tolerant attitudes toward people of different religions (86%), ethnicities (85%), political affiliations (83%), and sexual orientations (71%). o About eight in 10 (79%) say they would like it or would not mind it if a member of their family married someone from a different ethnic group. o But a much slimmer majority (57%) would welcome a foreign worker or immigrant as a neighbour, while a significant minority (39%) express dislike.
  • More than half (53%) of respondents say they feel equally attached to their South African and ethnic or cultural identities. o One-fifth (19%) say they feel "only South African" or value their national identity more than their ethnic identity, while one-quarter (26%) place greater value on their ethnic than their national identity.
  • Roughly two in 10 citizens (21%) say the government "often" or "always" treats their ethnic group unfairly. Another 29% say this happens "sometimes," while 44% say it "never" happens. o Among the major ethnic groups in South Africa, Xhosa and Coloured people are most likely to feel frequently discriminated against by the government: Half (50%) of the members of each group say unfair treatment occurs "often" or "always."

Every year on Heritage Day (24 September), South Africans celebrate the country's rich cultural tapestry, woven over centuries. Affectionately known as the "Rainbow Nation," South Africa boasts a multitude of varied and dynamic languages, traditions, and cultures that reflect its long, complex history and diverse population. According to the 2022 South African National Census, 81.4% of South Africans are Black Africans, 8.2% are Coloured, 7.3% are White or of European descent, and 2.7% are Indian or Asian (Statistics South Africa, 2023).

But while its multicultural society is a source of national pride, South Africa continues to grapple with racial and ethnic tensions stretching back to the colonial era (South African History Online, 2015). These tensions reflect a country that has yet to fully address the scars of its history: unequal access to quality education, unequal pay, segregated communities, large economic disparities, and a lack of racial transformation in land ownership, to name a few (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2024; Pikoli, 2021).

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, a group of Khoisan activists camped outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria for several months, demanding that the government recognise their people as the indigenous inhabitants of South Africa, remove the "Coloured" label in reference to people of mixed race and replace it with "Khoisan," make Kwadi-Khoe an official language, and grant the Khoisan people access to land and resources (Mitchley, 2019). Coloured citizens, many of whom embrace the "Coloured" label, have also been vocal about their marginalisation and economic exclusion, accusing the government of turning a blind eye to the high unemployment, gangsterism, and drugs in their communities (Parkinson, 2018).

In light of the ongoing discourse on nation building, and ahead of International Day for Tolerance (16 November), this dispatch looks at the state of social cohesion and identities in the country based on citizens' views collected by the 2022 Afrobarometer survey.

Survey findings show that majorities of South Africans express tolerance for differences in religion, ethnicity, political affiliation, sexual orientation, and, to a smaller degree, nationality. But while most say they trust their relatives, far fewer think they can trust other people. A majority value their identity as South Africans at least as highly as their ethnic identity. But fully half of citizens also say the government at least "sometimes" treats their ethnic group unfairly.

Asafika Mpako Asafika is the communications coordinator for Southern Africa

Stephen Ndoma Stephen is the assistant project manager for Southern Africa

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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