South Africans expect these 6 things to get better this year

Despite a tough 2023 for many, a new survey has revealed what everyday South Africans expect will get better in 2024 – including social cohesion, specific infrastructure, their lifestyle, marriage, and even the educational system, among other things.

During 2023, South Africans had to deal with several difficulties, including economic instability, political tensions, and ongoing electricity problems.

Despite this, there are many things that are anticipated to improve in the next 12 months, as highlighted in a new survey by prominent South African online research company infoQuest, which interviewed thousands of South Africans across all demographic groups.

According to the survey, more South Africans believe our education system will improve in 2024 than those who think it will worsen.

Additionally, one in two expect sports infrastructure and governance to improve, while there was almost an equal split on whether South Africa’s healthcare system would improve or not.

40% believe that press freedom in South Africa will improve in 2024, while 31% expect it to worsen. Similar proportions also expect judicial independence to get better and worse in the coming year.

Another interesting note is that about one in two South Africans expect social cohesion (people from different backgrounds and ethnicities getting along) to improve, and younger South Africans tend to be more positive.

The survey also highlighted that South Africans are quite optimistic that their lifestyles, marriages, and leisure time will improve in 2024, but unfortunately, they are less optimistic about job security and their finances keeping up with the cost of living.

This is because the country still struggles with high levels of unemployment, which were worsened by both global economic downturns and domestic issues, while energy shortages added to the nation’s problems.

Despite resilient efforts by communities, the convergence of these factors has created a harsh environment for South African households, testing their resilience and prompting a collective bleak outlook for other areas of life in South Africa.

The main findings are that South Africans expect the economy, job security, water and electricity, safety, security, and crime to worsen in 2024.

Additionally, the state of the country’s leadership and the health of democracy is expected to worsen in 2024 as the national election approaches.

The survey further highlighted that three in four South Africans expect corruption to worsen, while only 16% believe or are hopeful that the state of corruption will improve.

Read: The best countries in the world – and where South Africa fits in