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Following recent anti-immigrant marches held in Tshwane, Johannesburg and Durban, the media is once again drawing attention to concerns about xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa. While President Ramaphosa has called on South Africans to embrace solidarity with their African neighbours and the police have been active in curtailing violence, social tensions remain palpable. Are the recent outbreaks of anti-immigrant activism a signal of a broader rise in anti-migrant sentiment amongst the South African public? 

Recent public opinion data from the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) suggests that this may indeed be the case. This media briefing examines how public attitudes towards foreign nationals have changed between 2003 and 2025.  The data seems to point to a marked increase in hostility towards immigrants since the late 2010s, particularly in the post-COVID period. This trend has potentially far-reaching implications for social cohesion and the upcoming 2026 Local Government Elections.

Data

To gain an appreciation of what ordinary South Africans think about international migration, the HSRC has analysed data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS). The SASAS series consists of nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional surveys that have been conducted annually by the HSRC since 2003. Designed as a time series, SASAS is increasingly providing a unique, long-term account of the speed and direction of change in underlying public opinion in contemporary South Africa. 

The survey samples cover adults aged 16 years and older living in private households across all nine provinces. The realised sample size typically slightly exceeds 3000 respondents, with interviewing generally conducted between mid-November and mid-December. Some rounds were fielded at different times, including the 2025 survey round, which was conducted between December 2025 and February 2026. Using this long-running series, it is possible to closely examine anti-immigrant attitudes and how they have changed over time. All results presented are weighted to be nationally representative of the population aged 16 and older.

Declining Hospitality

Since 2003, SASAS has included the following question to measure public attitudes towards international migrants: “Please indicate which of the following statements applies to you? I generally welcome to South Africa… (i) All immigrants; (ii) Some immigrants; (iii) No immigrants; and (iv) Do not know”. Responses to this question between 2003 and 2025 are presented in Figure 1. In 2003, about a third (34%) of the South African adult population reported that they would welcome all immigrants, while the remainder indicated that they would accept either some immigrants (35%) or no immigrants (32%). Over the 2003-2017 period, attitudes tended to fluctuate within a narrow range, though there was a modest surge in xenophobic sentiment ahead of the widespread anti-immigrant violence of 2008.

For most of the period, the results depicted in Figure 1 demonstrate the persistent and durable nature of anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa. However, beginning around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can observe an upswing in anti-immigrant sentiment. In 2020, approximately a quarter (24%) of the general public reported that they would welcome all immigrants; a level broadly similar to that observed in 2018. Thereafter, the share supporting this welcoming stance declined steadily

Figure 1: Public hospitality and hostility towards international migrants living in South Africa, 2003-2025

Source: HSRC South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) 2003-2025.

across subsequent survey rounds, reaching a low of only 15% of adults in 2025. Conversely, the share of the public expressing outright hostility towards immigrants (i.e., ‘welcome no immigrants’) increased from 28% in 2020 to 42% in 2025.

SASAS data shows that the South African public, which already displayed relatively unfavourable attitudes towards foreign nationals, has become considerably more antagonistic towards immigrants over the last five years. In fact, the data shows that the levels of hostility towards immigrants recorded in 2025 are the highest observed since the start of measurement in 2003.

One of the reasons for this increase in hostility in recent years is that immigrants are increasingly being perceived as an economic threat. Additional analysis confirms that South Africans in 2025 are more likely than before the COVID-19 pandemic to associate immigrants with crime and economic competition. For instance, 77% of the public agreed in 2025 that immigrants increase crime rates; a figure that is 13 percentage points higher than the level recorded in 2018. 

Geographic and Class Concentrations

The rise in anti-immigrant sentiment has not occurred evenly across the country, with evidence of geographic concentration. In recent years, hostility towards immigrants has become particularly pronounced in four provinces, especially in KwaZulu-Natal. The share of adults in that province who stated that they would welcome no immigrants increased from 23% in 2021 to 45% in 2023 and then rose further to 60% in 2025. The public in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo have also become substantially less welcoming towards foreigners over this same period, albeit to a somewhat lesser degree. 

Perhaps even more concerning than the geographic concentration of anti-immigrant sentiment outlined above is its increasing prevalence among poorer and working-class adults. South Africa remains a highly unequal nation, characterised by stark socio-economic divisions and persistently high levels of unemployment and poverty. Historically, anti-immigrant sentiment in the country tended to cut across class divisions; research consistently showed that it was common among rich and poor alike. However, in the post-COVID-19 period, this finding no longer appears to hold true.  Anti-immigrant sentiment has risen faster among the economically disadvantaged than the better-off in society. 

In Table 1, a clear attitudinal shift can be seen in the changing pattern of hospitality and hostility towards foreign nationals across different socio-economic status (SES) groups between 2018 and 2025.[1] Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2018, there was no clear linear relationship between economic disadvantage and anti-immigrant sentiment based on SES group variance. This all began to change in the years following the pandemic. As the lockdowns ended and the post-pandemic economic recovery began, all SES groups became less welcoming of immigrants. However, the rise in antipathy was particularly steep among the Low and Lower Middle SES groups. In 2025, economically disadvantaged South Africans were substantially more likely to express hostility towards foreign nationals than those in the Upper Middle and High SES groups.

Table 1: Public hospitality and hostility towards international migrants living in South Africa across different socio-economic status (SES) groups, 2018-2025 (%)

Source: HSRC South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) 2018; 2020; 2023; 2025.

Conclusion

The SASAS evidence appears to suggest that people in South Africa have become more antagonistic towards immigrants over the last five years. One important dimension of this change has been an attitudinal shift among poorer and working-class adults. It could be argued that these groups are scapegoating foreign nationals for the failures and inequalities of the post-pandemic economic recovery. Indeed, the national economy has struggled in the last few years, characterised by high unemployment and crime rates, a cost of living crisis and persistent deindustrialisation.  As experts have argued again, none of these structural challenges can be attributed directly to immigrants living in South Africa. But it would appear that foreign nationals are getting blamed anyway for broader frustrations relating to economic hardship and government performance.

The date for the 2026 Local Government Elections has been announced, and these November elections may potentially serve as a catalyst for xenophobia. Political parties and candidates could attempt to exploit and mobilise anti-immigrant sentiment in an effort to maintain or gain electoral advantage. Given the growth in hostility documented in this media brief and the sobering short- to medium-term global and domestic economic outlook, the potential risk of xenophobic mobilisation (and even violence) during the 2026 elections is a real concern and must be taken seriously. 

The findings presented in this media brief point to an urgent need for political, civic and community leaders to address legitimate socio-economic grievances without allowing immigrants to become scapegoats for deeper structural failures in society. Efforts to strengthen social cohesion, improve economic inclusion, enhance public trust in governance and promote responsible political leadership will be crucial if South Africa is to avoid a further deterioration in intergroup relations.

Ends.

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Notes to the editor

About the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)

The HSRC was established in 1968 as South Africa’s statutory research agency and has grown to become the largest dedicated research institute in the social sciences and humanities on the African continent, doing cutting-edge public research in areas that are crucial to development.

Our mandate is to inform the effective formulation and monitoring of government policy; to evaluate policy implementation; to stimulate public debate through the effective dissemination of research-based data and fact-based research results; to foster research collaboration; and to help build research capacity and infrastructure for the human sciences.

The Council conducts large-scale, policy-relevant, social-scientific research for public sector users, non-governmental organisations and international development agencies. Research activities and structures are closely aligned with South Africa’s national development priorities.