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Countries/South Africa

Institutional trust

South Africa · 6 indicators

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Institutional trust

South Africa · Voter turnout

Share of voters who cast a ballot in the country's reference national election: lower house of parliament in parliamentary systems, first round of the presidential election in presidential systems, the European Parliament for the EU. Official figures from the electoral authorities, relative to registered voters. United States: Census self-reported survey (CPS) relative to voting-age citizens, which slightly over-states turnout.· Not comparable across countries: the election differs (parliament or president), voting is compulsory in some countries (Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Türkiye), and the base differs (registered voters; US: voting-age citizens, self-reported)
58.6%
2024
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC)· Data 2024
National Assembly electionUpd. 11/2026Y-axis truncated
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Institutional trust

South Africa · Control of corruption (World Bank indicator)

Perceived use of public power for private gain: petty and grand corruption, capture of the state by elites and private interests. Aggregate estimate of perceptions (surveys, NGOs, analysts), in standard deviations: about −2.5 to +2.5, 0 = world average; higher = better.· Aggregate of perception sources (surveys, NGOs, analysts)· Comparable across countries and years, but each value carries a margin of error: small year-to-year moves are often not significant
-0.13score
2025
Source: World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators· Data 2025
Estimate, about −2.5 to +2.5 (0 = world average)Aggregate of perception sources (surveys, NGOs, analysts)Upd. 09/2026
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Institutional trust

South Africa · Voice and accountability (World Bank indicator)

Perceived ability of citizens to choose their government (electoral integrity) and hold it to account: access to information, oversight bodies, media. Aggregate estimate of perceptions (surveys, NGOs, analysts), in standard deviations: about −2.5 to +2.5, 0 = world average; higher = better.· Aggregate of perception sources (surveys, NGOs, analysts)· Comparable across countries and years, but each value carries a margin of error: small year-to-year moves are often not significant
0.68score
2025
Source: World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators· Data 2025
Estimate, about −2.5 to +2.5 (0 = world average)Aggregate of perception sources (surveys, NGOs, analysts)Upd. 09/2026Y-axis truncated
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Institutional trust

South Africa · Political stability and absence of violence (World Bank indicator)

Perceived likelihood that the government is destabilised or overthrown by violent, coercive or unconstitutional means, terrorism included. Aggregate estimate of perceptions (surveys, NGOs, analysts), in standard deviations: about −2.5 to +2.5, 0 = world average; higher = better.· Aggregate of perception sources (surveys, NGOs, analysts)· Comparable across countries and years, but each value carries a margin of error: small year-to-year moves are often not significant
-0.38score
2025
Source: World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators· Data 2025
Estimate, about −2.5 to +2.5 (0 = world average)Aggregate of perception sources (surveys, NGOs, analysts)Upd. 09/2026
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Institutional trust

South Africa · Women in parliament

Share of seats in the lower (or single) chamber of the national parliament held by women.
44.9%
2025
Source: World Bank, Inter-Parliamentary Union (via the WDI)· Data 2025
Lower or single chamberUpd. 10/2026Y-axis truncated
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Institutional trust

South Africa · Liberal democracy index (V-Dem)

Index from the V-Dem Institute (University of Gothenburg), from 0 to 1: it combines the right to vote, free and fair elections, freedoms of expression and association, individual rights, equality before the law, and judicial and legislative checks on the executive. It rests mainly on the ratings of several thousand country experts, aggregated by a statistical model: it is an expert judgement, not a direct measurement, and a gap of a few hundredths between two countries or two years is not significant.· Expert judgement aggregated by a model, not a direct measurement; V-Dem dataset under CC BY-SA 4.0
0.63score
2025
Source: Our World in Data, V-Dem Institute · Democracy Report (via Our World in Data)· Data 2025Source type : Research
Expert assessment from 0 to 1 of elections, freedoms, the rule of law and checks on the executiveExpert judgement aggregated by a model, not a direct measurement; V-Dem dataset under CC BY-SA 4.0Upd. 03/2026Y-axis truncated
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