Eleven percent of South Africans are considering leaving the country, according to a survey published on Tuesday.

The study conducted in February by TNS Research Surveys found that 15 percent of the white population wanted to leave, compared to nine percent of blacks and 12 percent of Indian, Asian and coloured correspondents.

All in all some 60 percent of citizens were confident about the future of the country, while 26 percent were negative and 14 percent unsure, TNS said in a statement.

Their survey indicated that sentiment varied considerably depending on the race of respondents, with whites, coloureds and Indians/Asians feeling far less positive about the country than black citizens.

Of those who felt pessimistic about the future, only 15 percent were black, while 48 percent were white, 42 percent of Indian or Asian origin, and 39 percent coloured.

"The much higher negativity... correlates with a great lack of confidence in the current leadership ? these groups are much more negative about both President (Kgalema) Motlanthe (approval levels average 20 percent for these three groups compared to 54 percent for blacks) and Jacob Zuma," the survey found.

Only 10 percent of whites, coloureds and Indians felt Zuma would make a good president, compared to 58 percent of blacks canvassed.

In a breakdown of the ethnic Black population groups, the survey found that Zulus and Tswanas were the most positive about the future of South Africa, at some 78 percent.

For those of all races considering emigrating, the lack of job prospects in South Africa was one of the main motivating factors.

However, black people who are thinking of emigrating listed their concerns as purely economic while whites were also concerned about the quality of political leadership in the country.

But the survey also found that of those blacks who were considering leaving, a greater percentage did not intend voting in this month's elections ? 28 percent compared to 15 percent of the whites thinking of leaving.

Economic optimism was also closely linked to race, with 33 percent of whites worried about the economic forecast for the next six months, compared to 21 percent of blacks.

Seventy percent of whites think jobs will be more difficult to find compared to 47 percent of blacks.

TNS said its survey was conducted among 2000 people in the country's seven major metropolitan areas in face-to-face interviews and had a margin of error of under 2.5 percent.

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