Report: South Africa Social Tensions Survey 2026

• 77% report having heard of or witnessed incidents previously 12 months, exhibiting that migration-related tensions are extremely seen in on a regular basis life and public discourse.
• 75% say violence towards international nationals isn’t acceptable, reflecting a robust normative rejection of violence regardless of ongoing tensions.
• 54% disagree with assaults on international nationals, indicating basic opposition to violence but additionally a notable stage of uncertainty or weaker conviction amongst some respondents.
• 41% maintain a impartial total perspective towards international nationals, suggesting many individuals are neither strongly supportive nor strongly opposed, however as an alternative ambivalent.
• 63% say social media is their major supply of data on incidents, underscoring its robust affect in shaping perceptions and narratives.
• 43% imagine all ranges of society are liable for enhancing relations, indicating solely partial settlement on shared accountability for addressing tensions.

Consciousness of Incidents Involving Overseas Nationals

In South Africa, points involving international nationals are broadly identified and skilled. About 77% of respondents say they’ve heard of or personally witnessed incidents or tensions involving international nationals previously yr, whereas solely 19% say they haven’t.

This exhibits that such experiences will not be uncommon or restricted to sure areas. As an alternative, they’re generally seen or heard about throughout cities, cities, and rural communities, making them a part of on a regular basis public consciousness fairly than remoted occasions.

Supply of data

Social media is, by a transparent margin, the dominant channel by way of which South Africans encounter details about incidents involving international nationals. 63% of respondents say they primarily get information and accounts of such tensions from platforms like Fb, X (Twitter), TikTok, WhatsApp teams, and different social media platforms. These platforms mix official information, private testimonies, commentary, and viral content material, that means that data is commonly fast-moving, extremely seen, and formed by each verified reporting and user-generated narratives.

Conventional media corresponding to tv and radio account for under 21% as a major supply, highlighting a major shift away from standard broadcast journalism. Far fewer respondents depend on direct or interpersonal channels, with private expertise cited by 8% and mates or household by simply 3%. This distribution suggests that the majority perceptions are shaped not by way of shut private networks or direct encounters, however by way of mediated digital environments the place data spreads shortly and is commonly formed by amplification, framing, and repetition.

Total attitudes towards international nationals

When requested to explain their total perspective towards international nationals residing in South Africa, the biggest share of respondents, 41% determine as impartial. This is a crucial sign, suggesting that a good portion of the inhabitants has not shaped agency opinions and should be open to affect, data, and altering circumstances.

Amongst those that do categorical a clearer place, optimistic sentiment (32% mixed) barely outweighs destructive sentiment (27% mixed). Somewhat than a strongly polarized society, the outcomes level to a public that’s divided however not fastened, the place many views are nonetheless forming and are formed by ongoing experiences, data flows, and prevailing narratives.

At a look

The information paints an image of a nation grappling with a posh social problem fairly than one pushed by hostility. A major majority of respondents (77%) report having heard of or witnessed incidents involving international nationals throughout the previous yr. This stage of consciousness means that tensions surrounding migration will not be distant or remoted occasions; they’re a part of on a regular basis conversations, media protection, group experiences, and, for some, direct private encounters.

But, regardless of this widespread publicity, most South Africans reject violence as a response. Three-quarters (75%) say that violence towards international nationals isn’t acceptable, whereas 54% explicitly oppose assaults concentrating on them. This distinction is likely one of the survey’s most necessary findings. It reveals a society that’s extremely conscious of migration-related tensions however largely unwilling to endorse violent motion. The coexistence of concern and restraint, frustration and rejection of violence, underscores the nuanced nature of public sentiment and highlights the excellence between recognizing an issue and supporting dangerous responses to it.