{"id":279227,"date":"2025-11-13T11:48:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T16:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=279227"},"modified":"2026-03-25T17:52:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T21:52:23","slug":"how-south-africans-view-their-countrys-leaders-parties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2025\/11\/13\/how-south-africans-view-their-countrys-leaders-parties\/","title":{"rendered":"2. How South Africans view their country\u2019s leaders, parties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This survey was conducted less than a year after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/06\/01\/nx-s1-4987616\/south-africa-election-results\">2024 election<\/a> in which the African National Congress (ANC) lost a majority of seats for the first time since the end of apartheid. At the time of fielding, the country was facing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cd92z3823qyo\">persistent failed budget negotiations<\/a> between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA), the second-largest party in the governing coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"key-findings\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key findings<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As of early 2025, the governing African National Congress (ANC) had the highest favorability of any political party asked about in the country, and its leader Cyril Ramaphosa was the most popular among the major party leaders we asked about.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Views of the ANC and Ramaphosa improved between 2024 and 2025. During that period, the ANC lost its majority government for the first time since the end of apartheid.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assessments of South Africa\u2019s economy (<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2025\/06\/30\/dissatisfaction-with-democracy-remains-widespread-in-many-nations\/\">and democracy<\/a>) also improved since the election, though relatively few South Africans rated either positively earlier this year.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;south-africans-views-of-their-parties-and-leaders-in-spring-2025&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"south-africans-views-of-their-parties-and-leaders-in-spring-2025\">South Africans\u2019 views of their parties and leaders in spring 2025<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even after the ANC performed relatively weakly in the 2024 election and had to form a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cw9yx5w9577o\">coalition government<\/a>, it still tested as the most popular political party in South Africa in early 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=279266\"><img data-dominant-color=\"dfe2df\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dfe2df;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" height=\"494\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png?w=420\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that Nearly two-thirds of South Africans viewed the ANC and its leader Ramaphosa favorably in spring 2025\" class=\"wp-image-279266 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png 840w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png?resize=255,300 255w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png?resize=768,903 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png?resize=344,405 344w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png?resize=200,235 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png?resize=260,306 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png?resize=310,365 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png?resize=420,494 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png?resize=640,753 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png?resize=740,870 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png?resize=160,188 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_01.png?resize=320,376 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Nearly two-thirds of South Africans (63%) expressed a favorable opinion of the ANC in early spring 2025.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By comparison, around half or fewer of adults said the same about the Democratic Alliance (48%), the Economic Freedom Fighters (45%) or the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (43%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(The Democratic Alliance is part of the governing coalition.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC\u2019s leader, was also the most popular of the major party leaders in the survey, with 63% of South Africans expressing a favorable view of him and just 36% sharing a negative view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Opinions are less favorable for the leaders of other parties:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>John Steenhuisen, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-africa-68835238\">leader of the center-right<\/a> DA party, was viewed favorably by 41% of South Africans \u2013 the lowest favorability of any party leader despite his party\u2019s presence in the governing coalition. About one-in-five adults did not provide an answer for Steenhuisen.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Around half of adults had a favorable view of Julius Malema, the leader of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Economic-Freedom-Fighters\">left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jacob Zuma, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/south-africas-divisive-ex-president-zumas-many-scandals-2021-06-29\/\">controversial former ANC president<\/a> who founded the left-wing uMkhonto weSizwe Party to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cg33rlzxgnxo\">contest the 2024 election<\/a>, was viewed favorably by 52% of South Africans. More viewed him than his party (43%) positively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"views-by-age\">Views by age<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Age differences appear in support for national leaders. Younger adults were more likely to support certain party leaders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>56% of South Africans under 35 had a favorable view of Julius Malema, compared with 34% among those ages 50 and older.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>58% of younger South Africans had a favorable view of Jacob Zuma, compared with 41% of older South Africans.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;change-in-views-of-parties-and-leaders-since-the-2024-election&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"change-in-views-of-parties-and-leaders-since-the-2024-election\">Change in views of parties and leaders since the 2024 election<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=279268\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f2f2f2\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f2f2f2;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" height=\"468\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_02.png?w=310\" alt=\"A line chart showing that Favorability of the ANC is up in the year after historically poor election for party\" class=\"wp-image-279268 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_02.png 620w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_02.png?resize=199,300 199w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_02.png?resize=268,405 268w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_02.png?resize=200,302 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_02.png?resize=260,393 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_02.png?resize=310,468 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_02.png?resize=420,634 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_02.png?resize=160,242 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_02.png?resize=320,483 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Public opinion of the ANC rebounded in early 2025 following the 2024 general election. Nearly two-thirds of South Africans (63%) expressed a favorable view of the party, while 35% shared an unfavorable opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This marks a turnaround from recent years, when support for the ANC steadily declined. Favorability fell from 67% in 2019 to 54% in 2023 and 45% in 2024. In fact, 2024 was the first year since we began asking the question that the party was not seen favorably by a majority of adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(The 2024 survey was conducted several weeks prior to the election.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/south-africa-election-vote-anc-d9da7582ca98a4e00fec2da6a5fe1e91\">2024 election<\/a> was the party\u2019s weakest electoral performance since the end of apartheid, and the first time that the ANC has not held an absolute majority since coming to power <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/south-africa-ramaphosa-speech-parliament-b138bd6880b9651b696573ce0e53b853\">more than 30 years ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Public opinion of President Cyril Ramphosa also improved in recent years. Nearly two-thirds of South Africans (63%) expressed a favorable opinion of the ANC\u2019s leader in this year\u2019s survey, while around a third (36%) viewed him unfavorably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This represents a moderate increase from 2023, when 53% of South Africans held a favorable view of Ramaphosa and 45% expressed an unfavorable opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;south-africans-views-of-their-economy&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"south-africans-views-of-their-economy\">South Africans\u2019 views of their economy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Optimism about South Africa\u2019s economy also increased following the 2024 election but remains low. In February and March of this year, 35% of adults said the economic situation in the country was good, up from 27% in 2024 and 22% in 2023. But in surveys from 2013 to 2015, roughly half or more rated the economy positively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=279267\"><img data-dominant-color=\"efeff0\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #efeff0;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" height=\"404\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png?w=420\" alt=\"A line chart showing that South Africans\u2019 views of the economy are closely tied to the national unemployment rate \" class=\"wp-image-279267 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png 840w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png?resize=300,289 300w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png?resize=768,739 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png?resize=421,405 421w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png?resize=200,192 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png?resize=260,250 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png?resize=310,298 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png?resize=420,404 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png?resize=640,616 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png?resize=740,712 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png?resize=160,154 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/pg_2025.11.13_south-africa_2_03.png?resize=320,308 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">South Africa has received recent international attention due to persistent economic challenges, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/south-africas-inflation-pushed-10-month-high-by-food-fuel-prices-2025-08-20\/\">increasing inflation<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/econrsa.org\/publications\/why-south-africas-economic-growth-is-stalled\/\">stagnant growth<\/a>. The growing dissatisfaction with the economy over the last decade also tracks with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/south-africas-unemployment-rate-rises-329-first-quarter-2025-05-13\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">rising national unemployment<\/a>. (Notably, as unemployment spiked during <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/topic\/coronavirus-disease-covid-19\/\">the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, we were unable to survey in the country due to health safety concerns.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2025, public sentiment turned somewhat more optimistic, with more South Africans saying the economic situation is good than in 2024. This change could reflect a post-election bump, as indicators <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/south-africas-first-quarter-gdp-rises-01-qq-2025-06-03\/\">point to ongoing<\/a> economic challenges, though the country faced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cd92z3823qyo\">stalled budget negotiations<\/a> at the time of the survey. The positive ratings seen early in the year were more common among adults under 35 (38%) than among those ages 50 and older (28%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"h-\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As of early 2025, favorability of the governing African National Congress and optimism about the economy are both up since before the 2024 election.<\/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":"","_crdt_document":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"bylines":[],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,446,125,408],"tags":[],"bylines":[591,633,701],"collection":[],"datasets":[3043],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[514,511],"research-teams":[525],"class_list":["post-279227","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":false,"post_parent":279221,"word_count":800,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2025\/11\/13\/how-south-africans-view-their-countrys-leaders-parties\/","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. 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