Study shows South Africans’ trust in government and president at an all-time low

A new study by Ipsos, called “What Worries the World” revealed that South Africans are most worried about  financial and political corruption, followed by unemployment and crime. Globally, the biggest concern is unemployment.

The study was conducted online across 25 countries, including South Africa. It also reveals that overall, the people think their countries are going in the wrong direction with 63% of respondents. The French were the most pessimistic, 88% think things are going to pot.

The countries who were most optimistic were China (90%) Saudi Arabia (71%), and India (67%).

Almost 80% of South Africans who took part in the survey believe things are going badly, compared to 53% from the previous survey.

Mari Harris, head of Public Affairs at Ipsos, said: “South Africans have moved from optimism to pessimism, especially over the last year or so. We can see the effect of this despondency in the unrest in the country, both in terms of service delivery protests and the issues in higher education and the results of the recent local government elections. Trust in the government and in the president is at an all-time low.”

Full list of South African worries, according to the survey.