Ethnic groups in South Africa
The racial categories introduced by the colonial apartheid regime remain ingrained in South African society[1][2][3][4] 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.
[4][3] 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.
The Tsonga are also found in Southern Mozambique.The term African in South Africa generally refers to individuals who can trace their ancestral lineage exclusively on the continent, excluding Europe, Oceania, the Americas or Asia.
[16] The 'Coloured' population include people of mixed heritage who are concentrated in the Cape region, who can have as many as 140 or more ethnicities identified in their DNA.
Some individuals of mixed heritage prefer to identify as 'Black, 'White', Indian or indigenous[18] South Africans for example, as they are now free to choose.
[citation needed] This cultural group doesn't have a particular language or traditions because their identity stems from their shared history and sense of community.
[citation needed] The Cape 'Coloureds' originally descended sexual unions of European colonists with indigenous, African and Asian (ie: Javanese, Malay, Indian, Malagasy) slaves or indentured labourers.
[citation needed] In 2008, the Pretoria High Court ruled that the descendants of mainland Chinese who arrived before 1994, and had been classified as a subgroup of 'Coloured' by the apartheid government, were eligible for redress.
[20] However, other Asian cultural groups such as Hong Kongers, Taiwanese and Japanese South Africans were categorised as honorary whites during apartheid.
[22] This group consists predominantly of Dutch, German, French Huguenot, English, Portuguese and other European descendants.
[citation needed] As a factor in their decision to emigrate, many cite the high crime rate, affirmative action policies and racial discrimination.
[10] Despite high emigration levels among South Africans of European descent, new immigrants from Europe or the diaspora have desired to settle in the country.
In the 1970s, many European descendants living in Portuguese colonies such as Angola and Mozambique moved to South Africa after the independence of those nations.
[citation needed] Many Zimbabweans and Kenyans of British descent also immigrated to South Africa - many of whom lament the loss of their colonial lifestyles are called "Whenwees" because they’re always talking about "When we were in..."[27] In the 1980s and early 1990s the apartheid regime encouraged immigration particularly from Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.
[citation needed] Descendants of migrants from British India in the late 19th and early 20th century[17] have an estimated population of 1,2 million or 2,5% of the South African population; many of whom descended from indentured workers brought in the nineteenth century to work on the sugar plantations of the eastern coastal area of Natal and adhered to different religions and spoke different languages.
[17] A smaller group, referred to as Passenger Indians came independently for work purposes and business interests at around the same time.
[18]There is a small but notable population of Lemba people who live primarily in the north eastern regions of South Africa who have Bantu and Semitic origins.
[citation needed] A small population of Kalderash Roma people have also made South Africa their home.
[30][31] Zimbabweans, Somalis, Ethiopians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Nigerians constitute the largest migrant communities in the last two decades.
