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Whites in South Africa
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White South Africans is a term which refers to people from South Africa who are of Afrikaner, British or other continental European descent. In linguistic, cultural and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendents of Boere-Afrikaner settlers, Afrikaners and the English-speaking Anglo-Africans who share an Anglophone background.
Background
Demographics
Statistics South Africa estimates that there are about 4.3 million Whites in South Africa (2007)—down from an all-time high of 5,068,300 in the 1991 census.
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Encyclopedia
White South Africans is a term which refers to people from South Africa who are of Afrikaner, British or other continental European descent. In linguistic, cultural and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendents of Boere-Afrikaner settlers, Afrikaners and the English-speaking Anglo-Africans who share an Anglophone background.
Background
Demographics
Statistics South Africa estimates that there are about 4.3 million Whites in South Africa (2007)—down from an all-time high of 5,068,300 in the 1991 census. It is likely that the group was undercounted in the 2001 census, as many live in private gated neighbourhoods in cities, and on isolated farms which did not receive census forms. The undercount may be as much as 10%, which would bring the white population to about 4.8 million. Roughly 60% of white South Africans speak Afrikaans as their mother language and about 39% speak English. 1% of the white population speak other European languages as their mother tongue, such as German, Portuguese or Greek. Speakers of Afrikaans refer to themselves as Afrikaners. Unlike the Afrikaners, the English speakers have not constituted a coherent political or cultural entity in South Africa. Hence, the absence of a commonly accepted term to designate them, although 'English South African' or 'English-speaking South African' is used (see Anglo-African). Many whites have immigrated to South Africa from other parts of Africa following the independence of those African nations. Many Portuguese from Mozambique and Angola and white Zimbabweans emigrated to South Africa when their respective countries became independent. South Africa also remains a prime destination amongst British expats. Meanwhile, many white South Africans also emigrated to First World, Occidental countries over the past two decades, mainly to The Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, Britain, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.
By Province
Because of most White people living in cities, densely populated provinces like Gauteng have the highest white percentage. There is no pattern as they are scattered over the country.
Distribution
According to Statistics South Africa, white Africans make up about 9.2% (July 2006) of the total population in South Africa and are large minorities in many cities and provinces in South Africa; in Pretoria they are roughly 23.9%, East Rand 19.4%, in Cape Town 18.7%, in Port Elizabeth 16.5%, in Johannesburg 16%, and in Durban 8.9%. Their actual proportional share is likely to be higher, given the undercount in the 2001 census.
Politics
White South Africans continue to participate in politics, having a presence across the whole political spectrum from left to right. In general, whites consider themselves to be just as African as the non-white majority in South Africa. Former president Thabo Mbeki stated in one his speeches to the nation that: "South Africa belongs to everyone who lives in it. Black and White." The history of whites in South Africa dates back to the 17th century.
There has been some rivalry and bitter feeling between Afrikaners and English-speaking Anglo-Africans. This is due in part to the Second Boer War, Britain's attempt to anglicize the country during the first half of the 20th century, and Afrikaner nationalism.
Prior to 1994, the white minority held complete political power under a system of racial segregation called apartheid. Many whites supported this policy, but some others opposed; Active support for anti-apartheid organisations amongst whites was very small, only about 15-20% of whites opposed apartheid. .
During apartheid, immigrants from Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan were considered honorary whites in the country, as the government had and maintained diplomatic relations with these countries. These were granted the same privileges as whites, at least for purposes of residence. Black Africans were sometimes granted an 'honorary white' status as well, based on the government's belief that they were "civilized" and possessed western values.
Today, the majority of whites support the Democratic Alliance, a liberal party led by Cape Town mayor, Helen Zille.
Current trends
In recent decades there has been a steady proportional decline in the white African population, due to higher birthrates among the non-white population of South Africa.
More recently, the improved counting of the majority black African population, the under counting of white Africans in the census figures and emigration have contributed to a sharp decline since 1994. In 1994, upon the abolition of apartheid, white Africans comprised 13.6% of the population, compared to 9.2% today. According to some previous census data, the highest proportion of whites in South Africa was around 1911, when they made up between 19-21% of the population. It is estimated that at least 800,000 white Africans have moved abroad since 1995.
Like many other communities strongly affiliated with the West and Europe's colonial legacy in Africa, the white Africans are often economically better off than their black African neighbors, but have nonetheless surrendered political dominance to majority rule. There were also some white Africans in South Africa who lived in poverty--especially during the 1930s. Current estimates of white poverty in South Africa run as high as 12%.
The new phenomenon of white poverty is often blamed on the government’s Affirmative Action employment legislation, which reserves 80% of new jobs for blacks and favours black owned companies (see Black Economic Empowerment). Over 350,000 Afrikaners may be classified as poor, with some research claiming that up to 150,000 are struggling for survival.
There have been increasing incidents of racism against white South Africans since 1994. In particular the actions of racist police personnel towards white victims has attracted media attention. Several white South Africans who have been held in overcrowded cells because of minor offenses have also taken legal action against the South African police. In some cases, legal action has been taken against The Minister of Safety and Security as some have been raped and assaulted by other suspects (often rape and murder suspects) held in the same cell.
There are 40,000 white farmers in South Africa. Since 1994 close to 2,000 farmers have been murdered in tens of thousands farm attacks in South Africa, many brutally tortured and/or raped. Some victims have been burned with smoothing irons or had boiling water poured down their throats.
In recent years there have been high numbers of British expats relocating to South Africa. Among the British expat population, South Africa ranks as the 6th most popular destination and is ranked as the top destination amongst British retirees and pensioners.
By 2005, an estimated 212,000 British citizens were residing in South Africa. Since 2003, the numbers of British expats coming to South Africa has risen by 50%. An estimated 20,000 British expats moved to South Africa in 2007. The reasons cited by many expats are South Africa's family values, the weather and a better quality of life.
Several white South Africans in predominantly wealthy white suburbs such as Sandton have been affected by the 2008 13.5% rise in house robberies and associated crime. In a study, Senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Dr. Johan Burger, said that criminals were specifically targeting "richer" suburbs. Burger revealed that several affluent suburbs are surrounded by poorer residential areas and that inhabitants in the latter often target inhabitants in the former. The Dr. also related to an entitlement complex that criminals have; "They feel they are entitled, for their own sakes, to take from those who have a lot". The report also found that residents in wealthy suburbs in Gauteng were not only at more risk of being targeted but also faced an inflated chance of being murdered during the robbery.
The current global financial crisis has slowed down the high rates of whites emigrating overseas and has led to increasing numbers of white emigrants returning to live in South Africa. Charles Luyckx, CEO of Elliot International and a board member of the Professional Movers Association said that in the past six months leading to December (2008), emigration numbers had dropped by "10%".Meanwhile he revealed that "people imports" had increased by 50%.
Notable White South Africans
Science and Technology
Arts and media
Politics
See also
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