A new survey by the Statistics South Africa has revealed the level of familiarity and trust that South Africans have with their neighbors. The survey found that an average of 92% of South Africans know their neighbors by name. The proportion is even higher in rural areas where 97% of South African rural areas dwellers know their neighbor by name.
This is remarkably high as compared to western countries namely the UK and USA. A recent UK poll revealed that only 27% of UK dwellers know their neighbors names. In the USA, a recent poll showed that only half of the Americans have this level of familiarity with their neighbors.
In the South African poll, Eastern Cape recorded the highest level of familiarity with the survey showing 96% of the dwellers know their neighbors by name. The lowest level was recorded in Gauteng at 86%.
The survey also tested the level of trust that South Africans have for their neighbors by asking if they would trust their neighbor to look after their child. It was revealed that 79% of South Africans would be willing to leave their neighbor with their children. The proportion was even higher at 90% in rural areas.
The highest proportion was recorded in KwaZulu- Natal where 87% of respondents said they would trust their neighbor to look after their child. The lowest proportions were recored in Western Cape and Gauteng at 72% and 70% respectively.
