Share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified in South Africa

South Africa: Share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified was 52.8% in 2014. ▼ Falling

Latest (2014)
52.8%
World rank
16th
of 38 countries
All-time high
76.4%
in 1993
All-time low
52.8%
in 2014
Years of data
6
1984–2014

Share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified in South Africa, 1984–2014

0204060801984199920141984: 76.2 %1993: 76.4 %1998: 71.9 %2004: 64.9 %2010: 69.6 %2014: 52.8 %

Source: Integrated Values Surveys (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified in South Africa is 52.8%, measured in 2014. That is the lowest value across all 6 years on record.

That represents a change of down 18.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified in South Africa peaked at 76.4% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 52.8%, in 2014.

South Africa ranks 16th of 38 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified in South Africa, 1984 to 2014.
Year % Change
1984 76.2%
1993 76.4% +0.3%
1998 71.9% -5.9%
2004 64.9% -9.6%
2010 69.6% +7.1%
2014 52.8% -24.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 76.2% 76.2% 76.2% 1
1990s 74.1% 71.9% 76.4% 2
2000s 64.9% 64.9% 64.9% 1
2010s 61.2% 52.8% 69.6% 2

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 13 Hungary 58.0% compare
  2. 14 Poland 56.1% compare
  3. 15 Estonia 53.5% compare
  4. 17 Mexico 47.8% compare
  5. 18 Chile 40.1% compare
  6. 19 Slovakia 36.4% compare

See the full ranking of 38 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified in South Africa?
Share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified in South Africa was 52.8% in 2014, according to Integrated Values Surveys (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 76.4% in 1993.
What is the lowest share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 52.8% in 2014.
How does South Africa rank for share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified?
South Africa ranks 16th out of 38 countries with data for 2014.
Is share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 18.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Integrated Values Surveys (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Integrated Values Surveys (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-people-who-think-homosexuality-is-never-justified/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of people who think homosexuality is never or rarely justified
Unit
%
Source
Integrated Values Surveys (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
38 places, 220 data points, 1984–2022
Last refreshed

% of respondents replying 1 to 4 in a scale from 1 to 10 when asked "Please tell me for each of the following statements whether you think it can always be justified, never be justified, or something in between, using this card", when the statement was "Homosexuality". In the scale, 1 means "never justifiable" and 10 means "always justifiable".