Brand South Africa today released two landmark research studies before 120 business, government and media leaders at Houghton Hotel, Johannesburg: the Global Reputation Study 2026 and the Domestic Perceptions Study 2025. Together they present the most comprehensive paired view yet of how the world sees South Africa and how South Africa sees itself.
The Global Reputation Study 2026, conducted by Bloom Consulting across 17 countries and 10,139 respondents, records South Africa’s overall international reputation at 3.16 on a 0-to-5 scale, up from 3.04 in 2022, placing the country fourth in its competitor set and rising two positions since 2025. The Domestic Perceptions Study 2025, a nationally representative survey of 3,027 South Africans conducted in November 2025 by Brand South Africa and MarkData, records a Nation Brand Index of 61.9, with 2025’s defining quality named by the research as endurance.
Read together, the studies chart a country whose standing with the world continues to grow and whose people continue to hold.
“These two studies give South Africa something it has long deserved: a precise, evidence-based picture of where we stand, seen from both directions at once. What they show is a country whose reputation is rising because its character is real. The world is discovering South Africa at the pace we earn its trust, and our people are doing the quiet, determined work that a strong nation is built from. That is the foundation we take into the world, and it is one we can stand on with genuine confidence.”
IPELENG SELELE · CHAIRPERSON, BRAND SOUTH AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICA: LOVED WHEN ENCOUNTERED
The global study’s defining insight for South Africa’s reputation strategy is direct: familiarity produces admiration. Among international audiences with direct experience of the country, South Africa scores 3.70, placing it second in the world and above the Bloom Consulting Love Mark, the threshold at which a nation brand is considered genuinely loved. Among audiences with less direct exposure, the score is 2.83, sixth in the field. The gap of 0.87 between those two scores is among the widest in the study and defines the direction of Brand South Africa’s global communication work.
South Africa’s three strongest reputation dimensions all sit above the Love Mark: Natural Assets and Scenery at 3.79 (the highest-rated dimension across all thirteen measured), Sports at 3.63, and Culture, Heritage and Art at 3.55. Eighty-four per cent of open word associations with the name “South Africa” are positive or neutral, led by wildlife, Nelson Mandela, natural wonder, safari and culture. Sixty-nine per cent of international audiences would consider visiting South Africa; 67% would consider purchasing South African products; and 51% would consider investing.
Business decision-makers, those who determine where capital moves and where supply chains are built, hold South Africa closest to the Love Mark of any audience in the study, with both exports and investment rated at 3.32.
“The data tells a story every South African should carry with pride. We are second in the world among audiences who know this country. The people who have encountered South Africa, its landscape, its culture, its people, its economy, rate it among the most admired nations on earth. The mandate from that finding is plain: grow the encounter. We have world-class assets, a reform story with measurable proof, and a G20 platform that 77% of international audiences registered. This country has earned the right to a louder and more confident story, and Brand South Africa is committed to telling it.”
NEVILLE MATJIE · CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BRAND SOUTH AFRICA
The safety and crime dimension, at 2.58, remains the study’s lowest-rated and is identified as the primary factor cited by audiences against visiting, investing and relocating. For the first time across four consecutive waves of measurement, the score has climbed above 2.5, continuing a steady upward trend. The economic stakes are specific: each tenth of a point on the perception scale carries approximately $1.1 billion in tourism receipts and $1.45 billion in net foreign direct investment.
THE G20 MOMENT AND THE DIGITAL FOOTPRINT
South Africa’s G20 Presidency, 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025, the first G20 Leaders’ Summit hosted on African soil, registered with 77% of global audiences. Eighty-one per cent of those aware of the Presidency now associate South Africa with global leadership as a direct result, and 87% found the summit’s outcomes meaningful. South Africa attracted 18 million international searches in 2025, with the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and India leading global interest.
ENDURANCE AT HOME
The Domestic Perceptions Study 2025 traces the interior portrait. National Pride settled at 68.0, easing from an all-time high of 75.0 in 2024. Active Citizenship moved from 64.9 to 61.2. Social Cohesion, the most enduring of the four constructs tracked, held at 63.8. Natural beauty rose to first place as South Africans’ single strongest source of national pride, ahead of sport, history and any institutional achievement. Trust in the private sector leads all measured institutions; trust in civil society and the media is rising.
Belief in the founding vision of 1994 eased from 74% to 61% between 2024 and 2025. Satisfaction with life since democracy shifted from 49% to 39%. Government of National Unity performance, rated good or very good by 49% of South Africans in 2024, stands at 40% in 2025, still well above the 24% rating of 2023. Awareness of the African Continental Free Trade Area has more than doubled from 15% in 2022 to 36% in 2025.
“The research gives 2025 one word: endurance. When South Africans tell us they are holding, they are telling us this country is worth holding for. That conviction is the most powerful raw material a nation brand can have, and Play Your Part exists to channel it into action. The 2026 Local Government Election brings a fresh moment for participation and pride. In every election year on record, South African optimism lifts. The platform is ready and the people are ready.”
MMAPHUTI RANKAPOLE-TSHIFULARO · CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, BRAND SOUTH AFRICA
Brand South Africa’s own awareness has doubled from 20% in 2022 to 40% in 2025. The Play Your Part programme has reached its strongest awareness level since launch.
KEYNOTE — PERCEPTION AS ECONOMIC PROOF
Deputy Minister in The Presidency, Kenny Morolong, delivered the keynote address at the morning’s launch.
“South Africa’s reputation is an economic asset built on real delivery. The S&P credit upgrade in November 2025, the first by any major rating agency in over sixteen years; South Africa’s exit from the FATF greylist in October 2025; the removal from the EU high-risk list in January 2026: these are proof points, and today’s study has recorded their effect on international perception. The work of every institution and citizen of this country is to keep building the delivery that this reputation requires and deserves. We go forward with evidence, with pride, and with purpose.”
KENNY MOROLONG · DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY
Both studies are available at www.brandsouthafrica.com.
