A new report released by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), a Johannesburg-based think tank, reveals that most South Africans favour a future centred on non-racialism, coexistence, and opportunity-driven policies. It further found that South Africans reject the continued use of apartheid-era racial categories in government allocations and are seeking a future focused on economic upliftment and co-operation across racial lines.

The survey* revealed seven key findings:

The first was that the public remains strongly committed to interracial cooperation. Eighty-nine percent of respondents agreed that the different races need each other for progress and that there should be full opportunity for people of all colours, up from 84% in the IRR’s previous survey, conducted in 2025.

The second was that most South Africans reject the continued use of race-based classification by the state. Seventy percent of respondents said the government should not continue using apartheid-era race categories to decide who qualifies for business and job opportunities, while 27% say it should. This includes 64% of black respondents, 85% of coloured respondents, 74% of Indians, and 97% of whites.

The third was that economic upliftment is seen as the route beyond racial inequality. Seventy-six percent agreed that better education and more jobs will steadily reduce inequality between the races, up from 73% in 2025. Agreement stands at 75% among black respondents, 76% among coloured respondents, 80% among Indians, and 87% among whites.

The fourth was that most people are not concerned about the race of the president. Forty-seven percent thought most other South Africans believe the president must be black, but only 34% themselves say they would only or preferably support a black president. Fully 66% say they would support the best person regardless of race.

The fifth was that experiences of racism were more heavily reported among richer people rather than poorer people. Overall, 44% report personal experience of racism, down from 48% in 2025. Yet only 30% of households earning under R2 000 report it, compared with 54% of those earning R20 000 or more.

A sixth was that South Africans reject extreme racial-threat narratives. Trump’s “white genocide” claim was rejected by 72% and accepted by only 19%. Even among whites, 50% disagree and 37% agree.

A seventh was that the public remains deeply sceptical of elite race rhetoric. Seventy percent agreed that politicians use racism and colonialism to excuse their failures, including 67% of black respondents, 73% of African National Congress supporters, and 71% of Democratic Alliance supporters.

In its commentary, the IRR said, “Most South Africans do not want the state to keep allocating opportunity through apartheid-era racial categories. Most think the races need each other. Most think better education and more jobs can reduce racial inequality. Most reject extreme racial-threat narratives. Most say politicians overuse race and colonialism as excuses. Most also say they themselves would support the best person for president regardless of race, even while suspecting that the wider political culture is more racially restrictive than they are.”

“The task ahead is not to manufacture a desire for coexistence that does not yet exist. That desire is already visible in the data. The task is to align policy and leadership with a public that appears more ready for a less racialised, more opportunity-driven, and more competence-focused future than much of its political rhetoric and governance offerings admit.”

*The poll was conducted between 9 and 20 March among 1 038 registered voters. The survey has a design effect of 2.4018. On a simple-random-sample basis, a poll of this size carries a conventional margin of error of approximately plus or minus 3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. (More detail on the methodology is provided in the report.)