Top 5 reasons to be a proud South African

·21 Jul 2015

Despite recent reports of a spike in South Africans applying to emigrate, recent research points to a country with proud citizens planning to stay put.

A number of emigration experts have recently reported a spike – up to 10 times – in the number of South Africans enquiring about immigrating to countries including Australia and the UK in recent weeks.

However, research compiled by AC Nielsen for Brand South Africa entitled: A Brand Of Optimism, reveals that only 1% of 2,524 respondents indicated that they are planning to leave the country with no intention of returning.

“Only 74% of respondents indicate that they will ‘continue to live & work in SA regardless
of social, economic and political situations,” the report said.

Read: Why more South Africans are leaving the country

Six in 10 (61%) respondents ‘are extremely proud to be South African’, with 35% being somewhat proud, according to the report’s author, Dr. Petrus de Kock.

The top 5 drivers for pride in the country include:

The beautiful landscape (56%)
The cultural diversity (49%)
The people in general (49%)
Achievements of our democracy (41%)
national sports teams

The top factors detracting from national pride however, included many of the forces that are driving South Africans to want to leave including:

Corruption (27%)
Too much crime (26%)
Lack of job opportunities (17%)
Country is in a downward spiral (15%)

“It is also interesting to note that 56% of respondents to the survey indicate that citizens should focus on solutions, rather than only the problems confronting the country,” de Kock said.

Three quarters (76%) of respondents believe that this is a country where it is possible for your dreams to come true.