South African racial groups are of many origins. Apartheid’s racial classifications remain embedded in South African society, with South Africans and the South African government still classifying themselves and each other as belonging to one of the four established race groupings (Blacks, Whites, Coloureds and Indians). Statistics In South Africa, people are asked to characterize themselves in terms of five racial population categories during the census. According to the 2011 census, Black South Africans made up 76.4% of the population, White South Africans made up 9.1%, Colored South Africans made up 8.9%, Indian South Africans made up 2.5%, and Other/Unspecified South Africans made up 0.5%.
Statistics South Africa offered five racial categories into which people may categorize themselves, the last of which, “unspecified/other,” garnered insignificant responses and was eliminated. The predicted midyear estimates for the other categories in 2010 were Black at 78.4%, White at 10.2%, Colored at 8.8%, and Indian/Asian at 2.6%. In 1911, whites made up 22% of the population in South Africa; by 1980, that figure had dropped to 16%.
The majority of South Africans identify as Black or indigenous South Africans, Africans, or Black South Africans, yet they are neither culturally or linguistically homogeneous. The Zulu, Xhosa, Bapedi (North Sotho), Tswana, South Ndebele, Basotho (South Sotho), Venda, Tsonga, and Swazi are the principal ethnic groups, all of whom speak Southern Bantu languages.
The natural spread of the Black South African ethnicity can also be found in neighboring nations. Lesotho’s majority ethnic group is the Basotho. The Tswana ethnic group constitutes the bulk of Botswana’s population. The Swazi ethnic group is Swaziland’s majority ethnic group. The Tsonga ethnic group, commonly known as the Shangaan, is also found in Southern Mozambique (Shangana, Shangane or Shangani).
White Africans (also known as “Afrikaners” or “English South Africans”) are the descendants of Dutch, German, French Huguenot, English, Portuguese, and other European settlers in South Africa. They are separated culturally and linguistically into Afrikaners, who speak Afrikaans, and English-speaking populations. The White population shrank in the 1990s and 2000s as a result of low birth rates and emigration. Many cite high crime rates, affirmative action programs, and racial prejudice as factors in their decision to flee. Between 1994 and 2010, roughly 400,000 Whites immigrated permanently. Despite high emigration rates, European immigrants have settled in the country. By 2005, there were an estimated 212,000 British citizens living in South Africa. By 2011, this figure could have risen to 500,000. Some European Zimbabweans have moved to South Africa. Because of their nostalgia for their existence in Rhodesia “when we were in Rhodesia,” some of the community’s more sentimental members are known in popular culture as “Whenwes.” In the 2000s and 2010s, white South Africans also returned in huge numbers. Homecoming Revolution reported in May 2014 that over 340,000 White South Africans have returned to South Africa in the previous decade.
In South Africa, what are the three types of people?
This Act classified South Africans into three racial groups: Whites, Natives (Blacks), Indians, and Coloured people (people of mixed race).
Who are the people in South Africa?
Black South Africans account up around 81% of the total, with colored people accounting for 9%, whites accounting for 8%, and Indians accounting for 3%. The country has the fourth-largest population in Africa, after Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Egypt, and the world’s 25th-largest.
