- South Africa topped the list of the friendliest nations out of the 25 countries in a survey by Remitly
- Recall that the country was involved in xenophobic attacks years ago
- This sparked debate among people from various countries over the outcome of the research
South Africa has topped the list of the friendliest nations out of the 25 countries in a survey by Remitly, scoring 34.63 out of 40 on the ‘agreeableness’ trait of the Big 5 Personality Test.
Based on the survey, the Big 5 personality test measures five key traits: agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism. Higher scores indicate that the country is perceived as more friendly, generous, helpful, and willing to compromise its interests with others.
The Remitly survey has, however, sparked debate and controversy among netizens from various countries who argued on the outcome of the research.
Recall that in 2008, a surge of attacks targeting refugees and migrants swept through South Africa, resulting in the reported deaths of over 60 people and the displacement of thousands.
According to a BBC report, outbreaks of violence targeting non-South Africans, primarily in Durban and Johannesburg, prompted the deployment of the army to prevent further unrest in 2015.
Relatedly in 2019, There were incidents where mobs targeted businesses owned by foreigners, mainly in Johannesburg.
TheRadar understands that this is why many questioned the Remitly survey.
Reactions trail list of friendliest countries
Below are some of the reactions from netizens on social media.
“I’m a South African and it is obvious that this is a lie. With the way South Africans behave to Nigerians I don’t think the country should even be put into consideration when we’re talking about countries that are friendly,” Ooni of twitta tweeted.
“But it's not a secret...we don't really like Nigerians🤷♂️,” M’zoo stated.
“The people who rated South Africa as the friendliest country in the world must be white. They are very friendly to white-skinned individuals but hostile toward other Africans,” Ogbeni Abbey commented.
“Drug dealers, child traffickers, Road Spikers, CITHeist, yes we're not friendly to those. Generally South Africans are warm and friendly but illegal foreigners have spoilt all that,” Mambi expressed.
“The ranking must be a joke. Perhaps what SA got was most UNfriendly nation. South Africa!,” Kbad added.
“Lol this is not true! Only Africans can tell not American remitly lol
I like SA for so many reasons but friendliness is not part of it,” Rarebreed tweeted.
“You must be a human trafficker or drug dealers, we hate those,” Maria not Zakharova commented.
“Well, if I say "Xenophobia" every African knows the country I'm talking about. I don't have to mention the country. That's my point! It's not a debate,” Rarebreed added.
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The report further listed countries that have either been suspended from the ECOWAS or left the bloc since 1975.