Social Attitudes Survey

The South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) series charts and explains the interaction between the country’s changing institutions, its political and economic structures, and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of its diverse populations.

SASAS is a nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional survey that has been conducted annually by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) since 2003. Designed as a time series, SASAS is increasingly providing a unique, long-term account of the speed and direction of change in underlying public values and the social fabric of modern South Africa. SASAS thus represents a notable tool for monitoring evolving social, economic and political values among South Africans, but it also demonstrates promising utility as an anticipatory, or predictive, mechanism that can inform decision- and policy-making processes.

The latest SASAS report, focusing on family cohesion, values and well-being, is available for download on the HSRC Press website. Data from the SASAS surveys can be accessed here.