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New data reveals just how happy or, rather, unhappy South Africans really are and just how likely we are to leave our country’s borders.
The data gathered by BrandMapp, a uniquely South African dataset using a mega-sample of more than 30 000 respondents, to profile the 12 million adults living in mid to top-income households earning in excess of R10 000 per month. Now in its eighth year, the BrandMapp survey is a bespoke, independent survey created by WhyFive Insights in partnership with the digital platform marketing and research group, SilverstoneCIS.
When looking at just how happy South Africans are and the fears keeping them awake at night, Brandon de Kock, BrandMapp Director of storytelling, says, “Clearly, we are a traumatised society. So much so that our anxieties over crime and corruption could not even be eclipsed by an infectious novel virus spreading across the world and upending every aspect of our lives. How many other countries in the world do you think could claim the same?”
Furthermore, BrandMapp points out that less than half (45%) of the respondents reported that COVID kept them up at night, which was on the same level as government incompetence (45%) and marginally more worrisome than weak economic growth (43%). Only 30% of people said they were optimistic about the country’s future, but that’s just 6% down from 2019.
“That’s a milder than expected reaction to living through the first pandemic year. It would have been understandable to see a more dramatic rise in a pessimistic outlook. Could it be that due to all the stress we habitually cope with, South Africans may have some extra layers of resilience when it comes to their mental health as compared to our counterparts living in safer and more peaceful countries? This speaks to the fact that before COVID, life in South Africa was no picnic, even for the more privileged, and it’s been that way for a long time. So, it’s going to take more than a virus and a pandemic to alter our collective mindset. It’s worth noting that almost the same percentage of educated, tax-paying South Africans said they were definitely planning to emigrate in the next five years, which highlights the real urgency of improving safety, governance, and prosperity in the country. These are issues as or more important to us than COVID, and most likely even more top of mind given the recent rioting and looting,” declares De Kock.
Despite all of this, surprisingly, the vast majority of mid-income South Africans are actually happy – with less than 10% of respondents admitting to being unhappy. De Kock says, “What we see here is that over 50% of the respondents in the moment identified as happy or very happy, with a slim majority saying they are okay.”
Image credit: BrandMapp 
Image credit: BrandMapp 
Image credit: BrandMapp 
Image credit: BrandMapp 
Image credit: BrandMapp
Adding to this, he says, “So, in the midst of all this stress, we can take stock and see the positives. People may worry terribly about violent crime, but they can be happy that they haven’t yet fallen victim to it. COVID may be totally disrupting life, but we can be happy it hasn’t killed us or a loved one yet. Only 3% of our respondents for BrandMapp 2021 were unemployed at the time, so having a job or being a student or retired are other reasons to be happy with life. Lockdown restrictions and prohibition suck but being at home enjoying so much quality time with our loved ones have had its real pleasures. So, it’s perhaps not surprising to see how happy we have been: perhaps it’s further proof of our emotional resilience.”
Nevertheless, de Kock explains it’s not all doom and gloom. “When we look at the Treasury figures for 2020/2021, it shows that South Africa’s middle-class has been surprisingly resilient in the face of COVID with less than 5% of the total 5 million-odd individual earners in the R10K+ segment falling out of that tax bracket. The worst pain has been felt by those earning less than R10K per month and that’s where the big job losses have come from. This can be seen as testimony to the stability and resourcefulness of our middle-class; it’s been bruised by the pandemic but not broken. Which is a good thing because those 5 million people are responsible for more than 90% of all personal Tax!”
Released in mid-2021, BrandMapp is the first study to accurately measure the real impact on this vital consumer segment of our economy, and the results align with the Treasury report.
According to BrandMapp, a mere 13% of respondents said they had lost ‘most of my income’ due to lockdown, and only 6% said they had lost their job. “But there’s more to that story,” de Kock explains, “because of those people who lost their jobs, 75% are already back in the workforce! And almost a third of them have started their own thing and joined the ranks of the entrepreneurs. That’s a direct result of being privileged enough to be well-educated, which is definitely the boarding pass you need to travel middle-class-and-up in this country.”
When considering the above-mentioned, what are your thoughts?
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