People

The population of South Africa is 75% black (African) and 13% white (European), with about 9% people of mixed white, Malay, and black descent (formerly called “Coloured”), and 3% of Asian (mostly Indian) background. Although these ethnic divisions were rigidly enforced under the policy of apartheid [Afrikaans,=apartness], racial distinctions are often arbitrary. People of African descent fall into several groups, based on their first language.

South Africa has 11 official languages, nine of which are indigenous—Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, Sotho, Swazi, Venda, Ndebele, Pedi, and Tsonga. Many blacks also speak Afrikaans (the first language of about 60% of the whites and the majority of those of mixed race) or English (the first language of most of the rest of the nonblacks). A lingua franca called Fanagalo developed in the mining areas, but it is not widely used today. About 68% of the population is Christian; major groups include the Dutch Reformed, Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, and Zionist churches. Over 28% of the population follows traditional African religions, and there are small minorities of Muslims, Hindus, and Jews.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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