<\/p>\n
HSRC Chief Research Specialist Dr Steven Gordon, based in the Developmental, Capable plus Ethical State research division, said the SA Social Attitudes Survey has tracked views on immigration since 2003. Early findings showed a relatively even division, with roughly one-third of respondents welcoming all immigrants, one-third welcoming some immigrants, plus one-third welcoming no immigrants.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Survey results since the pandemic indicate a sharp shift. Only 15% of respondents said a willingness to welcome all immigrants in 2025, while 42% said a willingness to welcome no immigrants, with the remainder occupying the middle position. Gordon said the trend reflects a year-on-year decline in openness plus a year-on-year rise in exclusionary sentiment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Gordon said hostility is concentrated in specific provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Limpopo, plus Mpumalanga, with the steepest shift recorded among poorer plus working-class households. Gordon said attitudes among economically advantaged groups have remained more stable over time, while poorer groups have become more hostile during a difficult post-pandemic recovery marked by cost-of-living pressure, unemployment, crime, plus de-industrialisation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Gordon warned that scapegoating migrants for structural problems risks fuelling social conflict, particularly ahead of the 2026 local government elections, described as potentially among the most contested in decades.
\nPolicy response was a key focus of the HSRC assessment. Gordon said SA has a National Action Plan aimed at addressing xenophobia, racism, plus related intolerance, but current data suggest the plan has not reversed negative trends. Gordon called for stronger resourcing, clearer implementation, plus additional strategies to address the root drivers of public anger.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe key to solving any problem is to address its root cause,\u201d Gordon said, arguing that improved institutions plus better service delivery are central to reducing tensions rather than blaming migrants.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":34073,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-34072","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Public opinion data from the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) suggests anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa (SA) has intensified since the COVID-19 pandemic, as recent anti-immigrant marches in the country's Tshwane, Johannesburg, plus Durban metropolises renew concern about xenophobia in post-apartheid SA.\r\n","published_date":"","news_description":"Public opinion data from the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) suggests anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa (SA) has intensified since the COVID-19 pandemic, as recent anti-immigrant marches in the country's Tshwane, Johannesburg, plus Durban metropolises renew concern about xenophobia in post-apartheid SA.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34074,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34072\/revisions\/34074"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=34072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}