- Corruption ranks fifth on South Africans’ list of priorities that government should address, cited by 21% of citizens, following unemployment (55%), crime and security (35%), water supply (31%), and infrastructure/roads (28%) (Figure 1).
- More than three-fourths (77%) of citizens think that corruption in the country increased “somewhat” or “a lot” in the past year, down slightly since 2022 (82%) (Figure 2).
- Majorities of respondents say that “most” or “all” officials in the office of the presidency (73%), members of Parliament (68%), police officers (68%), local government councillors (67%), and civil servants (53%) are corrupt (Figure 3).
- Most South Africans (92%) say the government is handling the fight against corruption “fairly badly” or “very badly,” the largest share among 38 countries surveyed by Afrobarometer in 2024/2025 (Figure 4).
- More than eight in 10 citizens (83%) say ordinary people risk retaliation or other negative consequences if they report graft, up by 20 percentage points since 2018 (63%) (Figure 5).
Corruption is cited as one of the top concerns requiring government intervention by South Africans, trailing only unemployment, crime and security, water supply, and infrastructure, the latest Afrobarometer survey shows.
More than nine in 10 citizens think the government is performing poorly on fighting corruption, the largest share of negative ratings among 38 African countries surveyed by Afrobarometer.
Over three-quarters of South Africans see corruption as having increased over the past year, while majorities suspect widespread corruption among staff in the office of the Presidency, members of Parliament, police officers, local government councillors, and civil servants.
Most respondents say ordinary citizens risk retaliation or other negative consequences if they report graft.