Pretoria - Young South Africans are feeling more optimistic about their future.
This as the country celebrates Youth Month, this month, and Youth Day on Sunday16 June.
According to the latest Youth Hope Index, a survey conducted at regular intervals by consumer insights company Pondering Panda, 56% of young people feel that South Africa will be a better place for them to live in, 10 years from now. This equals the highest figure recorded previously, which was in January this year.
The latest survey polled 8349 respondents, the majority of whom were between the ages of 15 and 34. It found that optimism for South Africa’s future grew from 53% in March to 56% in June. Those who had a negative outlook fell by the same number, from 47% in March to 44% in June.
According to the latest survey, younger respondents were more likely to be optimistic than older ones. 64% of 15 to 17 year olds felt South Africa would be a better place to live in 10 years from now, compared to 57% of 18 to 24 year olds, and 51% in the 25 to 34 age group.
Men were more optimistic about South Africa’s future than women. 60% of male respondents felt positive about the country’s future, compared to 53% of women. Optimism also differed according to race – young black South Africans were most likely to be positive about their future, with 58% feeling the country would be a better place in 10 years. In contrast, less than half of respondents from all other race groups were positive about their future. Only 49% of whites, 48% of Coloureds, and 36% of Indians felt South Africa would be a better place in which to live a decade from now.
The survey, which also asked young people what worried them most about South Africa’s future, found that unemployment remained their biggest concern. 23% of respondents said it worried them more than any other issue when it came to the next 10 years. Crime (20%) and politics (11%) ranked second and third, respectively.
Shirley Wakefield, spokesperson for Pondering Panda said: “As we approach Youth Day, it is positive to see that young South Africans are feeling relatively more optimistic about their future in SA, with optimism levels having improved slightly in the last couple of months. We saw it fall last year after Marikana, and dip again in March after the farmworker strikes, but has recovered slightly since then.”
All interviews were carried out on cellphones between the 6th and 10th of June, and the 18th and 27th of March, across South Africa. Responses were weighted to be nationally representative in terms of age, gender and race. – SAnews.gov.za
