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Nearly three-quarters of white South Africans believe that while Afrikaners are affected by unemployment and violent crime, these are problems that affect all South Africans, and are not unique to Afrikaners.

This is according to a survey* conducted by The Common Sense, in conjunction with the Social Research Foundation, in July.

The following was put to respondents: “The United States of America (US) says that it has introduced this policy [the refugee policy] because it believes Afrikaners are disproportionally subjected to violent crime and policies that prevent them finding employment. Which of the following comes closest to your position on the United States of America’s reasoning?”

Respondents were offered one of three options.

The first was “I agree with it completely”.

The second was “I agree that all South Africans are impacted by violent crime and unemployment, including Afrikaners, but I disagree that these problems only effect Afrikaners, or are any worse for them”.

The third was “I disagree with it completely”.

Only 13% of white South Africans took the first option.

Seventy-three percent took the second option: that all South Africans are impacted by violent crime and unemployment, including Afrikaners, but that they disagreed that these problems only affect Afrikaners, or are any worse for them.

Nine percent took the third option: that they disagreed with it [the US reasoning] completely.

The chart below shows the responses among white South Africans together with those of all South Africans, black South Africans, and supporters of the four largest political parties in the country on the US reasoning.

The results show that the view that Afrikaners are uniquely affected by violent crime and unemployment has relatively little support, including among white South Africans themselves. Instead, there is a broad consensus that these are national problems affecting South Africans across racial lines.

One of the mistakes of Western foreign policy towards South Africa, a mistake that has been repeated time and again for several decades, is to see the country through a prism of a conflict that pits black against white. The extent to which that is true has diluted considerably over the past four decades and South Africans across its historical racial divide today have far more in common in terms of their beliefs, values, and aspirations for the future than many Western observers believe or understand. Read today's editorial on American policy towards South Africa as a case in point.

* The Social Research Foundation’s Q2 2026 Market Survey was conducted in conjunction with The Common Sense and carried out by Victory Research among 2 214 registered voters between 8 and 31 July 2026 using telephonic CATI interviews. National results are based on the full sample of 2 214 respondents. Metro results are based on samples of 504 respondents in Johannesburg, 508 in Tshwane, and 500 in eThekwini. A single frame random digit dialling design was used, drawing from all possible South African mobile numbers to ensure that every number had an equal probability of selection. National SIM card penetration exceeds 250.0%, more than 90.0% of adults own a phone, and mobile networks cover 99.8% of the population, providing universal practical coverage. The samples were fully weighted to match the relevant registered voter populations across all key demographics, including language, age, race, gender, education, income, and urban or rural location. Turnout modelling assigned each respondent a probability of voting based on questions measuring their likelihood of participation, with the primary turnout model set at 56.0%. The national results carry a margin of error of 2.1% at a 95.0% confidence level, while the Johannesburg, Tshwane, and eThekwini results each carry a margin of error of 4.4%. The survey has a design effect of 3.7938.