South Africans Prioritise Jobs and Crime Over Race IRR Survey Shows

A new nationwide survey by the Institute of Race Relations, a Johannesburg-based think tank, finds that South Africans remain focused on practical challenges rather than racial grievances, pointing to a firmly deracialised public mood.

In the 2025 poll, 38% of respondents named jobs as the country’s most urgent issue, followed by corruption at 10%, and crime at 9%. Only 2% mentioned racism and 4% cited Black Economic Empowerment.

According to the IRR, these results were consistent across all racial groups, reflecting broad agreement on shared priorities.

Hermann Pretorius, the IRR’s Head of Strategic Communications and author of the polling reports, said South Africans continue to show moderation and pragmatism despite political attempts to inflame racial tension. He argues that the data underscores a public demand for solutions to joblessness, crime, and corruption.

Pretorius said the full findings were part of a new IRR report, Pro Growth or Pro Poverty: Findings of IRR Polling 2025, and would be released in two weeks.