How Many White People Are There In South Africa?

   
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How Many White People Are There In South Africa?

Life in South Africa in The Apartheid Era
How Many White People Are There In South Africa

According to the Statistics South Africa Census 2011, there were 4,586,838 white individuals living in South Africa, or 8.9% of the total population. There has been a rise of 6.8% from the 2001 census. South African English is the first language of 36% of the white population group, whereas Afrikaans is the first language of 61% of the white population group, according to the Census of 2011. Regardless of their original language or heritage, the majority of white South Africans identify as predominantly South African.

 

Origins Of White People In South Africa

 

Those who identify as white in South Africa are mostly of European ancestry. They can be broadly split between the Anglophone descendants of the British immigrants of South Africa and the Afrikaners, who speak the Afrikaans language, the descendants of the initial settlers of the Dutch East India Company. In 2016, 57.9% of people were native Afrikaans speakers, followed by 40.2% of people who were native English speakers, and 1.9% of people who were native speakers of another language, such as Portuguese, Greek, or German The majority of white Africans come from South Africa, by far. During apartheid, the term “white” was a legally recognized racial designation.

 

Ancestry

In South Africa, the majority of people who identify as white have European origin. They may be roughly divided into the Afrikaners, who speak the Afrikaans language and are descended from the first settlers of the Dutch East India Company, and the Anglophone descendants of the British immigrants to South Africa. Native Afrikaans speakers made up 57.9% of the population in 2016, while native English speakers made up 40.2% of the population and native speakers of other languages like Portuguese, Greek, or German made up 1.9%. South Africa is by far the country from where most white Africans originate. The word “white” was a legal racial classification during apartheid.

 

Are White People Majority or Minority In South Africa

Whites in South Africa (5.5 million of the 40 million population) are just now beginning to grasp that they are a minority. Until fairly recently, they not only controlled the political, financial, and military sectors (a feat only majorities are able to achieve) but also felt that they were somehow more authentically South African than black or brown people (South Africa’s population is 40 million). There was a wide range of indications of this viewpoint. Even English-speaking whites would declare, “So-and-so’s a real South African—he loves rugby, boerewors, and speaking die taal,” making it obvious that real South Africans conformed to a white Afrikaner stereotype.

 

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