Based on exclusive YouGov Profiles+ data accessed through KLA, the only authorised YouGov partner in sub-Saharan Africa.
There is a tension sitting at the heart of South African consumer sentiment right now, and it is one that brands cannot afford to misread. According to YouGov Profiles+ data accessed exclusively through KLA, 67% of South Africans agree that they often experience anxiety about their lives, a figure that has climbed 7 percentage points since 2021, when it stood at 60%. On the face of it, that is a story of a population under pressure, navigating economic uncertainty, global instability, and the lingering aftershocks of a particularly difficult few years. But the data does not stop there. Over exactly the same period, the proportion of South Africans who say they feel happy with their lives has risen by 10 percentage points, from 69% in 2021 to 79% in 2026. Both numbers are moving upward at the same time, and understanding why is the key to understanding what South African consumers actually need from brands right now.
The instinct might be to treat these two data points as contradictory, but they are not. What they reveal, when read together, is that joy has undergone a quiet but significant transformation in how people relate to it. It is no longer positioned as the opposite of anxiety, something to be achieved once the hard times have passed. For most South Africans, joy has become a coping mechanism, something actively cultivated within difficult circumstances rather than deferred until conditions improve. This is resilience expressed not through stoicism, but through deliberate, daily investment in things that feel good, feel manageable, and feel true to who people are.
Where Joy Actually Lives
The data makes clear where that investment is going. 82% of South Africans say they are trying to become a better person, and 77% say they are always looking for new ideas to inspire them, both figures pointing to a population that is finding meaning in personal growth and curiosity rather than waiting for external validation. 77% agree that the things that make them unique make them beautiful, a statement of self-acceptance that speaks to a quiet pride in individuality as a source of everyday joy. Nearly three-quarters (73%) say they like being creative and expressing themselves through their hobbies, and 74% say they are confident and excited about their future, a proportion that has grown from 71% in 2021. What emerges from this cluster of responses is a portrait of joy that is deeply personal,
rooted in identity, creativity, and a genuine sense of forward motion, even when the world outside feels uncertain.
Spontaneity Is Not the Same as Risk
Perhaps the most nuanced finding in the data concerns how South Africans are relating to spontaneity and risk. 69% describe themselves as spontaneous decision makers who follow their instincts, which might suggest a population embracing boldness and change. But the risk-taking data tells a more careful story. The proportion of people who say they enjoy taking risks has remained perfectly flat at 69% since 2021, and the proportion who say they are not afraid of change has actually declined, from 74% in 2021 to 70% in 2026. Spontaneity, then, is not the same as risk appetite. What it more likely reflects is a shortened planning horizon: when the future feels genuinely uncertain, people lean into the present, making decisions based on how they feel now rather than committing to long-term plans. This is an important distinction because it reframes what appears to be confidence as something closer to practicality, a preference for experiences and rewards that can be felt today over promises that may or may not materialise tomorrow.
The Rising Value of Friendship
The same shift toward the immediate and the personal is visible in how South Africans are relating to their closest relationships. Family remains the bedrock, with 86% agreeing that family comes before everything else and 67% saying family is more important to them than their career, up from 65% in 2021. But friendship has grown in significance at a remarkable pace. In 2021, 20% of South Africans said their friends were more important to them than their family. By 2026, that figure has risen to 30%, a 10 percentage point increase that represents one of the largest shifts in the entire dataset. This is not a rejection of family values. It is evidence that, in a period of collective stress, people are actively broadening the network of relationships from which they draw support, meaning, and moments of genuine joy. Friendships are becoming a far more prominent part of how people stay well.
What This Means for Brands
For brands and business leaders, these findings carry a clear strategic implication. South African consumers are not looking for reassurance about a better future that may feel abstract or distant. They are investing in the present, in creativity, in self-expression, in the people around them, and in small but meaningful experiences of enjoyment. The 61% who say they are happy with their standard of living, up from 58% in 2021, are not telling brands that everything is fine. They are telling brands that they have found a way to feel content within their current circumstances, and that they are doing it largely without the help of grand promises or aspirational messaging. Brands that continue to market transformation, achievement, and long-term payoffs are speaking to a version of consumer psychology that the data suggests is receding. Those who instead show up authentically in the everyday, who celebrate the small win, who make their value felt in the moment rather than deferred to some imagined future, are the ones most likely to connect with where South Africans actually are.
Methodology
Data sourced from YouGov Profiles+ South Africa. YouGov Profiles is a segmentation and media planning tool. With data collected daily, it provides a comprehensive view of consumers’ worlds. KLA is the exclusive authorised YouGov partner in sub-Saharan Africa.
Dataset: 17 May 2026, Nationally representative sample (n = 20,543).
2021 comparison data extracted: 16 May 2021, Nationally representative sample (n = 5,777).
