Africa · Friday, 6 November 2026
South Africa
No written brief today: there’s too little data for one, or the draft didn’t pass our checks.
Rising
Rising
Breakout
East_London_Town_Hall.JPG : Original photographer and uploader was Tim giddings…, Public domain New
Rising
Top today
Rising
Breakout
Breakout
New
East_London_Town_Hall.JPG : Original photographer and uploader was Tim giddings…, Public domain Rising
US Embassy South Africa, Public domain New
Rising
Everyday apps here: Google Maps · GoTyme Bank ZA (TymeBank) · Capitec Bank · Bolt · Sasol eBirds Southern Africa. Apps that top the charts every day. They’re listed after what’s new or in the news.
What the news is talking about
How much of the news here is about each issue today, and how it sounds, compared with the past 4 weeks. From 771 articles by the country’s own news sites today. How we read the news
Share of the coverage
- Democracy and elections More than usual
- Collen Malatji | South Africans did not vote for the ANC to take an 'L' (citizen.co.za)
- Stop the fearmongering, it's not democracy: FF Plus chair (timeslive.co.za)
- TOBY SHAPSHAK | Is Google's $500bn blowout the AI bubble bursting? (businessday.co.za)
- AI drives demand for specialised ICT skills in South Africa (bizcommunity.com)
- African climate voices demand fair funding and influence (dailymaverick.co.za)
- WEATHER TODAY: Level 4 hail storms for Johannesburg and Newcastle, Musina 39°C (thesouthafrican.com)
Survey · 2023 76% Worried about climate change (Climate Change Opinion Survey (Meta, Yale), survey of Facebook users)
- Somali refugee loses court bid over status withdrawal (thesouthafrican.com)
- Home Affairs cuts red tape for companies to attract investment and create jobs - DHA (politicsweb.co.za)
- Mother appeals for help as son battles kidney failure (namibian.com.na)
- Bio Farma paparkan riset kandidat vaksin TB generasi baru (antaranews.com)
- Economists predict unchanged interest rate (sanews.gov.za)
- Sappi's full-year loss widens as a stronger rand, higher costs weigh on earnings (businessday.co.za)
How the news sounds
- Tone+0.0positive minus negative words per 100usually −0.7The GDELT Project
- Anxiety0.8× usual2.4 words per 1,000usually 3.1The GDELT Project
- Fear0.8× usual0.5 words per 1,000usually 0.6The GDELT Project
- Anger0.9× usual4.9 words per 1,000usually 5.3The GDELT Project
- Sadness0.9× usual6.5 words per 1,000usually 7.2The GDELT Project
- Happiness1.0× usual5.4 words per 1,000usually 5.4The GDELT Project
- Financial uncertainty0.9× usual6.6 words per 1,000usually 7.2The GDELT Project
News coverage in more than 100 languages, machine-translated and counted with English word lists, from The GDELT Project.
Pro The news mood day by day for the last 90 days, with each issue’s share, as CSV and PDF. Try Pro free for 7 days →
Issues people are looking up
The top topics in politics, the economy, tech, science, health, climate, education and society that people here read and search about today.
US Embassy South Africa, Public domain New
New
eNCA, CC BY 3.0 Rising
Helen Zille, Public domain Rising
Conlan Houston, CC BY-SA 4.0 Rising
Staff photographer in the employ of the Democratic Alliance, CC BY-SA 3.0 za New
Rising on Google
Searches that grew the most in the week from Sunday, 25 October 2026, in most of the country’s regions.
By category
Business & economy
US Embassy South Africa, CC BY 2.0 Rising
Rising
Cars & transport
Everyday app
Everyday app
Falling Everyday app
Crime & justice
Aruba Police Force (KPA, #13234), Public domain Rising
Books, arts & history
J. Malcolm Greany, Public domain Rising
Rising
Fashion & beauty
SkinGlow by Kimmarie / Dr. Billy Ingram [1], CC BY 4.0 FLOTUS – Melania Trump, Public domain
Food & drink
Dorota Trupp, CC BY-SA 2.0 Everyday app
Money & crypto
Everyday app
Everyday app
Movies & TV
Breakout
Breakout
New
Music
Rising
Rising
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0 Breakout
Politics & world affairs
US Embassy South Africa, Public domain New
New
Science & space
NASA/JPL, Public domain Falling
Sports
Estevoaei, CC BY-SA 4.0 Rising
File:Ayrton Senna 2.jpg : Instituto Ayrton Senna derivative work: F1fans, CC BY 2.0 Rising
Tech & AI
Rising
Rising
Rising
Travel & places
East_London_Town_Hall.JPG : Original photographer and uploader was Tim giddings…, Public domain Johnmars3, CC BY-SA 4.0 Rising
Industries here
Government & public sector 24Media & entertainment 19Music 18Travel & tourism 8Sports & fitness 4Tech & software 4Education 3
The numbers behind the mood
The latest official figures, with the period each one covers. Yearly numbers can be a year or more old.
Politics in the news
- Protests in the news1reports of events, mostly in English6 Nov 2026 · usually 6 a dayThe GDELT Project
- Violence in the news16reports of events, mostly in English6 Nov 2026 · usually 26 a dayThe GDELT Project
Economy
- Inflation4.1%Jul 2026 · −0.7 pts since Jun 2026World Bank GEM · CC BY 4.0
- Unemployment32.9%Jun 2026 · +0.0 pts since May 2026World Bank GEM · CC BY 4.0
- Consumer confidence99.3100 = long-run averageMar 2026 · +0.1 since Feb 2026OECD
- Central bank rate7.25%Oct 2026 · ±0.00 pts since Sept 2026BIS
- Real house prices1.3%Q2 2026 · −1.4 pts since Q1 2026BIS
- GDP growth1.1%2025 · +0.6 pts since 2024World Bank · CC BY 4.0
- Youth unemployment59.9%2025 · −0.3 pts since 2024World Bank (ILO estimate) · CC BY 4.0
- Currency vs the euro18.465ZAR per euro6 Nov 2026 · euro −1.0% since 30 Oct 2026European Central Bank · available free of charge from the ECB
Business
- Business confidence100.4100 = long-run averageMar 2026 · +0.1 since Feb 2026OECD
Research
Most-published fields last month
- Education
- Sociology and Political Science
- Infectious Diseases
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
Society
- People online78.4%2024 · +0.0 pts since 2023World Bank (ITU) · CC BY 4.0
- Say humans mainly cause climate change27.8%survey of Facebook users2023Meta Data for Good and Yale Program on Climate Change Communication · CC0 (public domain)
- Want climate made a high government priority67.1%survey of Facebook users2023Meta Data for Good and Yale Program on Climate Change Communication · CC0 (public domain)
Charts
Netflix · TV
1How to Ruin Diwali
Breakout
2Black Gold
Falling
3The One About Matthew Perry
New
4Nobody Wants This
5Lupin
Rising
7The Four of Us
Falling
9A Couple of Lies
10Unforgettable
Netflix Top 10 · 2026-11-01
Netflix · Films
1Surviving Hurricane Otis
Breakout
2Collision Course
New
3Seriously Single Too
Falling
4Despicable Me 4
Falling
5Nowhere to Run
6Animals
Falling
7Which Brings Me to You
8Blackout
9Doing Life
10Money Train
Netflix Top 10 · 2026-11-01
Apple Music · Artists
1DJ Zinhle, Nayvee Womculo & Young Stunna
2Tman Xpress & Mellow & Sleazy
3Darque, Atmos Blaq, Zawadi Yamungu & Tycoon
4Thatohatsi & Sjava
5Stixx & Babalwa M
7Mihlali The Guy, Dankie Boi, Mr Thela & Cairo CPT
9Dlala Thukzin & Zeh McGeba
Falling
Apple Music · 2026-11-07
Apple Podcasts · Shows
1Somnyama Sunsets
Rising
2The Diary of a CEO
Falling
3Global News Podcast
Falling
4Djy Jaivane
Rising
5The Joe Rogan Experience
6Podcast and Chill with MacG
7BizNews Radio
Falling
8The Mel Robbins Podcast
9Crime Junkie
10Rotten Mango
Show the top 100
Apple Podcasts · 2026-11-07
App Store · Free apps
1Temu
2GoTyme Bank ZA (TymeBank)
Rising
3ChatGPT
4Capitec Bank
Rising
5Facebook app
6Google Maps
Rising
7bash™
Rising
8SHEIN - Compras Online
9Tiktok
10CapCut
Show the top 100
App Store · 2026-11-07
App Store · Paid apps
1Grade 12 Life Sciences
2Difela Tsa Sione by ZolApps
Rising
3Grade 10 Life Sciences
Rising
4Grade 11 Mathematics
Rising
5Pedi STAT
6Sasol eBirds Southern Africa
Rising
7Shadowrocket
Falling
8Grade 10 Mathematics
Falling
9Chromagraph Camera
Falling
10Voice Recorder - Audio Record
Rising
Show the top 50
App Store · 2026-11-07
Data credits: App Store · Apple Music · Apple Podcasts · Google Trends · Netflix Top 10 · Wikipedia. These signals show what people look up, watch, play and buy online. How it works.