How many Somalis in South Africa
Introduction
South Africa has a small but prominent Somali community, descended from people who came as immigrants during the colonial era and as refugees more recently. The people of the ethnic group also refer to themselves as Somali, though their language is a standardized dialect of Oromo. Some have retained their own distinctive identity.
South Africa has a small but prominent Somali community, descended from people who came as immigrants during the colonial era and as refugees more recently.
The Somali community in South Africa is a small but prominent one, descended from people who came as immigrants during the colonial era and as refugees more recently.
Somalis are mainly concentrated in Cape Town and Gauteng (Johannesburg / Pretoria).
The people of the ethnic group also refer to themselves as Somali, though their language is a standardized dialect of Oromo.
The Somali people are ethnically related to the Oromo people, and their language is a standardized dialect of Oromo. In other words, it has the same linguistic roots as other languages spoken by ethnic Somalis: Afar, Amharic, Tigrinya and Sidamo. The language is most commonly referred to as Somali or Soomaali (comprising two separate words). It’s also sometimes referred to as Xawaash (which translates to “people”), but this term is not used in everyday use.
The Somali language is the most widely spoken language in Somalia because it’s used by almost everyone there—even those who don’t identify themselves as ethnic Somalis. It’s also used across much of eastern Africa by members of other ethnic groups who live near borders with Somalia or have migrated from there over time (though these regional populations may have their own distinct variations on this common tongue).
Some have retained their own distinctive identity.
Somalis are a small but prominent community in South Africa. They are mainly concentrated in Cape Town and Gauteng (Johannesburg / Pretoria).
The Somali ethnic group consists of people descending from immigrants to Southern Africa from the Horn of Africa during the colonial era, generally classified as “Swahili” people. These Swahili people belonged to the Bantu group of peoples who had their roots on the African mainland. They were part of a larger migration that also included other Bantu speaking groups like Zulus, Xhosas, Tswanas and Vendas.
South African Somalis are mainly concentrated in Cape Town and Gauteng (Johannesburg / Pretoria).
Although South Africa’s Somali population is mostly concentrated in Cape Town and Gauteng (Johannesburg / Pretoria), the country has a large Somali community overall.
The city of Cape Town has the largest percentage of Somalis in South Africa, followed by Gauteng.
According to data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), there were close to 60 000 Somalis in the country as at 2016.
Conclusion
The Somali community in South Africa is diverse, with members belonging to different ethnic groups and speaking different languages.
