Ethnic groups in South Africa
Ethnic groups in South Africa have a variety of origins. The racial categories were introduced by the post-colonial apartheid regime and served to alienate the native peoples lawfully from their lands and rights by legally classifying them as something other than their organic identities. with the governing party of South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) continuing to classify the population as belonging to one of the four colonial-era constructed racial groups: Whites, Indians/South Asians, Coloureds (mixed race) and Blacks.
The ANC government claims that using these categories is essential in order to identify and track the progress of Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDI) which are people who, before democratisation and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993 (Act No. 200 of 1993), came into operation, were disadvantaged by unfair discrimination on the basis of race under the former colonial apartheid regime.
The National Census of 1996 was the 1st comprehensive national census by the ANC government, after the democratic transition. Statistics South Africa (SSA) provides the limited categories based on the classifications of the previous regime by which people must use to classify themselves, including a fifth category of "unspecified/other".
| Category | 1996 | 2001 | 2011 | 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 76.7% | 78.4% | 79.2% | 81.4% | 2.2% |
| Coloured | 10.9% | 7.7% | 8.9% | 8.2% | −0.72% |
| White | 8.9% | 8.3% | 8.9% | 7.3% | −1.6% |
| South Asian or Indian | 2.6% | 2.2% | 2.5% | 2.7% | 0.2% |
| Other | No Data | No Data | 0.5% | 0.4% | −0.1% |
| Total population | 40,600,000 | 44,819,778 | 51,770,560 | 62,027,503 | 14, 39% |
Note: The 2022 South African census has been criticised for its inaccuracies, such as the overestimation of the Indian and White population.