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Madiba: SA's best-loved figure
18/07/2007 10:10 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Like a good wine, former president Nelson Mandela is becoming more popular with age, according to a survey released on Wednesday.
On his 89th birthday, he was still the most loved public figure amongst South Africans.
Madiba scored an average rating of 9.2 out of 10, making him the country's most beloved leader, indicated a Markinor poll.
A total of 3 500 people representing South Africa's adult population were asked the question: "How would you rate Nelson Mandela on a scale from 10 to zero, where 10 means you are totally in favour of him and zero means you are totally against him?"
About seven 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.
During his last year as president, Mandela's popularity grew from a rating of 7.2 in May 1998 to 8.2 in May 1999 - a growth of about 14% in one year.
Over the years Nelson Mandela's popularity grew most among whites, from a rating of 3.2 in 1992 to 5.7 by the end of his presidency in May 1999. It was currently 7.8 out of 10 in this group.
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.
The poll also included a retrospective look at how well people thought Mandela performed during his tenure as president.
By the end of his first year, 75% of South African adults believed Mandela was leading South Africa very or fairly well. By the end of his presidency this figure grew to 85%.
- SAPA
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