The Population Registration Act of 1950 required that each inhabitant of South Africa be classified and registered in accordance with their racial characteristics as part of the system of apartheid.

Indians (that is, South Asians from the former British India, and their descendants) were later added as a separate classification as they were seen as having "no historical right to the country".

Classification into groups was carried out using criteria such as outer appearance, general acceptance and social standing.

Because some aspects of the profile were of a social nature,[2] reclassification was not uncommon, and a board was established to conduct that process.

However, the racial categories defined in the act remain ingrained in South African culture[6][7][8][9] and they still form the basis of some official policies and statistics aimed at redressing past economic imbalances (Black Economic Empowerment and Employment Equity).