President Jacob Zuma's approval ratings have steadily improved and more than half of South Africans believe he is doing a good job, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

The poll conducted in the last half of June among 2000 South Africans in metropolitan areas showed that 57 percent thought he was a capable president.

TNS Research Studies said the survey was part of a series done since last year and showed his popularity has increased steadily.

In a poll conducted around the time of the April elections, 52 percent of respondents said they thought he would make a good president while in February this was the case for only 40 percent.

In November 2008, only 36 percent of those questioned were positive about Zuma.

The release of the latest data comes just after Zuma marked his first 100 days in office and received kudos from some observers for appearing more accessible to the population than previous president Thabo Mbeki did.

The study found that 13 percent of people said they did not think Zuma was doing a good job, while 31 percent said they did not know.

A break-down of the perceptions of Zuma's performance according to the respondents' race showed that his approval ratings amongst whites improved following the elections.

"For all race groups except blacks, however, there is a strong 'wait and see' sentiment," TNS Research Studies said.

It pointed out that Mbeki's approval ratings had showed a markedly different curve.

"Mr Mbeki's approval ratings were in the mid to low 30s from 1999 to 2002, only beginning to rise in 2003 before hitting a high of 66 percent in both 2004 and 2005. He ended his term on a rating of 34 percent."