{"id":279224,"date":"2025-11-13T11:48:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T16:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=279224"},"modified":"2026-07-09T18:25:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T22:25:58","slug":"how-south-africans-see-their-countrys-global-standing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2025\/11\/13\/how-south-africans-see-their-countrys-global-standing\/","title":{"rendered":"1. How South Africans see their country\u2019s global standing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"key-findings\">Key findings<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>On balance, South Africans see their country\u2019s influence in the world as waning rather than growing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Those on the ideological left and those who do not favor the African National Congress (ANC) are especially likely to say their country\u2019s influence is weakening.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A plurality of South African adults (41%) say that their country\u2019s influence has been getting weaker in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=279264\"><img data-dominant-color=\"d5dada\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d5dada;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_1_01.png?resize=480,494 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_1_01.png?resize=782,804 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_1_01.png?resize=840,864 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"432\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_1_01.png?w=420\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that More South Africans say their country\u2019s influence is getting weaker than stronger or staying the same\" class=\"wp-image-279264 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About a quarter say that South Africa\u2019s influence has been getting stronger while roughly one-third say it has stayed about the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perceptions about South Africa\u2019s influence vary somewhat by political ideology. Those on the ideological left (51%) are more likely than those on the right (35%) to say South Africa\u2019s influence is waning. At the same time, those on the right and center are more likely than those on the left to say the country\u2019s influence is growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similarly, more South Africans with an unfavorable opinion of the African National Congress (ANC) say their country is getting weaker than those with a favorable view of the party (46% vs. 38%, respectively).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A plurality of South Africans say their country\u2019s influence has been getting weaker in recent years, but views vary somewhat by political ideology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":648,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_api_pending":"","apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_auto_publish":"","relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0},"categories":[121,446,125,408],"tags":[],"bylines":[591,633,701],"datasets":[3043],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[514,511],"research-teams":[525],"workflow-status":[],"collection":[],"class_list":["post-279224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-european-union","category-global-balance-power","category-global-economy-trade","category-united-nations","bylines-jordan-lippert","bylines-laura-clancy","bylines-manolo-corichi","datasets-spring-2025-survey-data","formats-report","regions-countries-international","regions-countries-sub-saharan-africa","research-teams-global"],"label":"Report","post_parent":279221,"word_count":177,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2025\/11\/13\/how-south-africans-see-their-countrys-global-standing\/","charts":[],"art_direction":{"A2":{"id":279240,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/SR_25.11.13_G20SouthAfrica_featured@2x.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/SR_25.11.13_G20SouthAfrica_featured@2x.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"National flags adorn the hallway of the venue for the G20 First Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Feb. 21, 2025, in Johannesburg. (Sharon Seretlo\/Gallo Images via Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":279240,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/SR_25.11.13_G20SouthAfrica_featured@2x.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/SR_25.11.13_G20SouthAfrica_featured@2x.png?w=720&h=405&crop=1","width":720,"height":405,"caption":"National flags adorn the hallway of the venue for the G20 First Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Feb. 21, 2025, in Johannesburg. (Sharon Seretlo\/Gallo Images via Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":279240,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/SR_25.11.13_G20SouthAfrica_featured@2x.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/SR_25.11.13_G20SouthAfrica_featured@2x.png?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"caption":"National flags adorn the hallway of the venue for the G20 First Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Feb. 21, 2025, in Johannesburg. (Sharon Seretlo\/Gallo Images via Getty Images)","chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":279240,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/SR_25.11.13_G20SouthAfrica_featured@2x.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/SR_25.11.13_G20SouthAfrica_featured@2x.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"National flags adorn the hallway of the venue for the G20 First Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Feb. 21, 2025, in Johannesburg. 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(Sharon Seretlo\/Gallo Images via Getty Images)","chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"prc_checklist":{"prc-image-alt-text":{"status":"complete","message":"All images have alt text.","data":null},"prc-about-this-research":{"status":"incomplete","message":"Add an \"About this research\" details block.","data":null},"prc-paragraph-count":{"status":"complete","message":"Found 4 paragraphs.","data":{"count":4}},"prc-internal-link":{"status":"complete","message":"Found 1 internal link.","data":{"count":1}},"prc-environment-link":{"status":"complete","message":"No links to other Pew Research environments.","data":{"count":0,"hosts":[]}}},"watchChildPosts":false,"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[{"id":279221,"title":"South Africans See Their Country\u2019s Influence Weakening Ahead of G20","slug":"south-africans-see-their-countrys-influence-weakening-ahead-of-g20","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2025\/11\/13\/south-africans-see-their-countrys-influence-weakening-ahead-of-g20\/","is_active":false},{"id":279224,"title":"1. 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