Issued by: Ipsos Markinor


Nelson Mandela maintained a rating of between 7.2 and 8.2 out of 10 during the entire term of his presidency. After his presidency, Madiba's popularity continued to grow; today he scores an average rating of 9.2 out of 10, making him South Africa's most beloved leader.

Markinor conducts public opinion studies bi-annually as part of the Pulse of the People series. For each study, a total of 3 500 respondents are scientifically selected to represent South Africa's adult population (16 years and older). Only respondents 18 years and older are asked the question: “How would you rate Nelson Mandela's on a scale from 10 to 0, where 10 means you are totally in favour of him and 0 means you are totally against him?” The sample size is reliable at a 95% confidence level. This means that the maximum sample error that can occur is 1.7%.

During his last year as president, Nelson Mandela's popularity grew from a rating of 7.2 (May 1998) to 8.2 (May 1999) out of 10. This was a growth of about 14% in one year. Looking at the results in detail, Madiba was favoured highly among the black population. The minority groups in South Africa – whites, coloureds and Indians - were not as favourably inclined towards him, but ratings still remained high. When the ex-president was compared to various political leaders in South Africa at the time, he was clearly the most popular politician.

According to the latest results from May this year, Nelson Mandela received an average popularity rating of 9.2 out of 10. About 7 out of every 10 South African adults (71%) were totally in favour of him, meaning they gave him a rating of 10 out of 10.

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Over the years Nelson Mandela's popularity grew most among white South Africans, from a rating of 3.2 in 1992 to 5.7 by the end of his presidency in May 1999 to where it currently sits at 7.8 out of 10. His popularity among most race groups, except Indians, did not vary much once he became president. The lowest average rating by black South Africans was 8.2 out of 10 in May 1998 and the highest was 9.6 out of 10 in May 2005.

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Looking retrospectively at Nelson Mandela's term as president, the public opinion study included a question on “How well do you think Nelson Mandela is performing his job?” The results showed that by his first year, three-quarters of South Africans adults (75%) believed Nelson Mandela was leading South Africa very or fairly well. By the end of his presidency, 17 out of every 20 South Africans (85%) believed he was leading the country very or fairly well.

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Both these questions point to the fact that Nelson Mandela succeeded in making a massive contribution to unifying South Africans of different backgrounds.

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” – Nelson Mandela

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[18 Jul 2007 14:58]

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