How is One of the Most Broken Countries in the World also the Friendliest?
According to a new global
study by UK bank Remitly, South Africa has been crowned the friendliest country
in the world. (World’s
friendliest country? South Africa leads the way)
Yes, you read that
correctly. Not Switzerland. Not Canada. Not that town in Japan where even the
vending machines bow to you. South Africa.
This is the same South
Africa where the power grid is about as reliable as a politician’s promise,
where potholes outnumber speed bumps, and where “service delivery” is something
you hear about in fantasy novels. And yet, and yet, we’ve been told we’re the
nicest bunch of people on the planet.
On the surface, it seems
impossible. But maybe the contradiction is the answer.
Welcome to the Paradox
Every day, South Africans
face some pretty intense challenges: rolling blackouts, rising costs, worrying
crime stats, dysfunctional infrastructure, and political turmoil that would
make a Shakespearean tragedy look like a bedtime story. It’s no wonder that
people are exhausted, frustrated, and often deeply cynical.
And still, somehow, we
smile.
We laugh with strangers in
queues that stretch into next week. We ask the petrol attendant how their day
is going. We greet each other in lifts, wave when we’re let into traffic, and
offer directions like we’re being paid for it. We find humour in chaos and
connection in crisis.
There’s something
beautifully absurd about how we can live through so much nonsense and still
offer a warm “howzit” to anyone who crosses our path. It’s not just
friendliness. It’s resilience, community, and an unshakable instinct to find
the human in each moment.
Charlie Chaplin once said, "Life
is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but comedy in long-shot". We are very
good at looking at the nation’s tragedy from afar and finding the humour.
Agreeably Unshaken
The “agreeableness” factor
in the Big Five Personality Test, where South Africa scored a stellar 34.63 out
of 40, is about kindness, empathy, and warmth. It’s the trait that makes someone
check on a neighbour, ask how your mom is doing, and bring you a plate of food
when you’re having a bad day.
And we’ve got it in spades.
Why? Because hardship forces people to lean into one another. When the system
fails, the people step up. We become each other’s infrastructure.
It’s not that we’re in spite
of the mess, it’s that we’re friendly because of it. Because we know what it’s
like to struggle. Because we’ve had to survive on laughter, humour, and shared
humanity more times than we can count.
The Braai and the Broken
Pavement
There’s no greater metaphor
for South Africa than a braai during loadshedding. No power? No problem. The
fire’s already lit. The drinks are cold. The conversation flows. Neighbours pop
in. Someone’s brought salad. And just like that, a power outage becomes a
gathering. A problem becomes a party.
This is not to romanticise
our issues, far from it. But it is to acknowledge that our strength is not in
what we have, but in who we are. A melting pot of cultures and stories, each
with a joke at the ready and a willingness to make someone feel seen.
The Secret Sauce
Maybe the secret is this:
South Africans see people. Genuinely. We know what it’s like to be overlooked,
underserved, and unheard. So, we greet, we joke, we engage, not because
everything’s okay, but because it isn’t.
And still, we go on.
Together.
Final Thought: The World Can
Learn a Thing or Two
So yes, the roads might be a
mess. The news might be grim. The power might flicker out mid-sentence. But
there is something radiant that still burns bright in South Africa, its people.
The friendliest, funniest, warmest bunch you’ll ever meet.
We’re proof that
friendliness isn’t about comfort. It’s about character. And we’ve got that in
bucketloads.
Welcome to South Africa. We
may not have electricity, but we do have each other.
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