Ethnic groups in South Africa

Ethnic groups in South Africa have a variety of origins. The racial categories introduced by the colonial apartheid regime remain ingrained in South African society 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, Coloureds 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".

Population change by SSA census category
Category 1996 2001 2011 2022 Change
Black African 76.7% 68.4% 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%
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.

Racial groups in South Africa (2022 census)
  1. Black (81.45%)
  2. Coloured (8.15%)
  3. White (7.3%)
  4. Indian (2.74%)
  5. Others (0.39%)
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