This document provides a summary of popular attitudes regarding the demand for and supply of democracy in South Africa as revealed over the course of five Afrobarometer surveys conducted between 2000 and 2008 (July-Aug. 2000, N=2200; Sept.-Oct. 2002, N=2400; Oct.-Nov. 2004, N=2400; Feb. 2006, N=2400; Oct.-Nov. 2008, N=2400). Samples of this size yield a margin of error of +/- 2 percent at a confidence level of 95 percent. The charts that follow capture perceptions of:
- The meaning of democracy;
- The demand for democracy (including individual support for democracy, patience with democracy and rejection of military rule, one-party rule, and one-man rule);
- Support for democratic institutions (including attitudes towards elections, term limits, multiparty rule, and checks on presidential powers); and
- The supply of democracy (including satisfaction with democracy and the perceived extent of democracy, quality of elections and the protection of key freedoms).
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