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Just four in 10 South Africans feel that the current economic situation in the country is good, while most believe that the country’s children will grow up financially worse off than their parents.
This is according to a Global Publics report published by Pew Research Center yesterday.
And judging by the continued threat of junk status and the recent announcement that South Africa is in a recession, they are not wrong.
52% of South Africans believe that the current economic situation is bad, while among the older citizens (50 and above) only 39% see the economy as doing well.
Globally, sentiment seems to be upbeat with more countries who see their economic situation as better than a year
“More broadly, in 11 of 18 countries from across the globe that were surveyed in both 2016 and 2017, publics feel more positive about their economy than they did a year ago,” the report reads.
In South Africa, the sentiment is more positive than a year ago but still pessimistic. In 2016 a measly 28% of the country thought the economic situation was good.
Compiled by Bruce Stokes, director of global economic attitudes at Pew, the report found that on average 47% of North Americans and Europeans are upbeat about their economies while 52% of Africans hold largely negative economic assessments.
The worst sentiment is from Latin Americans, with 72% feeling very negative about their economic affairs.
The only nation in Africa with a positive outlook is Senegal, with more than three quarters feeling like the current economic conditions are good.
Even with societies more upbeat about their economies, most tend to take a dim view when it comes to their children’s future. On average only 41% believe that a child in their country will be financially better off than their parents.
In South Africa that figure increases to 44%, with the younger generation (18-29) feeling more optimistic about the economic prospects of future. This view is shared with younger generations across the world.
The report, conducted between February 16 and April 28 2017, also noted that while so-called advanced nations such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom feel good about their current economic situation, “few are very optimistic about the financial future for their children”. Only 30% think that today’s children will be better off than their parents.
But even though most African nations believe that their economies are not in good standing, they are more hopeful than their European and American counterparts. On average, 54% feel that the economic tide will change once their children grow up.
Of particular note is Nigeria, second only to India in their hopefulness for the future, with more than 70% who feel like things will change for the better.
South Africans are less optimistic compared with the rest of Africa with only 44% who believe that children today will grow up to be better off financially.
