Johannesburg - A survey conducted last month showed that 49% of those polled approved of the way President Jacob Zuma was doing his job, with the highest level of support among black isiZulu speakers aged 18 to 34.
At the same time, his approval rating among coloureds and whites slipped, but increased among Indians, the results of the survey, released on Tuesday, showed.
"By language group, the most positive are those whose home language is isiZulu at 70%. Of the black language groups, those whose home language is Xhosa have the lowest approval level at 53%."
Peak
The latest results follow a "volatile" 2010, where ratings dropped to 43% last February when service delivery protests were taking place and details emerged that the polygamous president had had a child with a woman he is not married to.
The February 2011 ratings are the same as November 2010.
He peaked at 51% last May, ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and with service delivery protests not gaining as much prominence.
In December 2009, the year he was inaugurated, his approval rating was 58%.
Compared with November 2010, there was a drop in the East Rand but a rise the South Rand/Vaal Triangle and in Soweto.
Overall, Gauteng has the highest approval levels, along with Durban and Bloemfontein.
The Eastern Cape and Cape Town have the lowest.
Female support
Sixteen percent said they "don't know".
Overall, the results showed an approval rating of 48% for male, and 50% for female.
Last week the ANC Youth League dismissed TNA as a company of right-wingers conducting bogus research because it was not happy with a survey on whether the alliance - the ANC, Congress of SA Trade Unions and SA Communist Party - should split for the election.
Two thousand people in seven metropolitan areas were interviewed in their homes for the quarterly survey, which carries a margin of error of under 2.5%.
- SAPA
