How many ethnic groups are there in South Africa?

South Africa is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic country and enjoys the reputation of "Rainbow Nation".

1. Black Africans

The earliest indigenous inhabitants of South Africa are the Khoisan (Koisan) and Bantu Negro (Bantu).

The Khoisan are the ancient indigenous people of South Africa, divided into the Koikoi (also known as the Hottentots, whose eastern boundary is the Umzimbu River) and the San (San) (also known as Bushmen, distributed north of the Orange River) two branches no longer constitute a separate ethnic group.

After long-term integration and evolution, the Bantu people have formed the following nine main ethnic groups:

The Zulu people are the northern branch of the Nguni people and are the largest ethnic group in South Africa. , with a population of about 9.2 million (1996 census, the same below), speaks Zulu of the Nguni language family. Now mainly distributed in KwaZulu/Natal, Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces.

The Xhosa are the southern branch of the Nguni people. They are the second largest ethnic group in South Africa, with a population of about 7.2 million. They speak the Xhosa language of the Nguni language family. Now it is mainly distributed in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces.

The Sotho people speak Sepeti and Sotho languages ??and have a population of 6.8 million. Divided into northern and southern branches. The Northern Sotho are the east branch of the Sotho people who migrated south, also known as the Sepedi. Now mainly distributed in Northern Province and Mpumalanga Province. The South Sotho people are the same people as the Basotho people of the Kingdom of Lesotho. Now mainly distributed in the Free State Province and Gauteng Province.

Tswana, the western branch of the Sotho people who migrated south, has a population of 3.3 million. Speaks Tswana. Now mainly distributed in the North West Province and Northern Cape Province.

The Tsonga people are the northern branch of the Nguni people. They speak the Tsonga language and are of the same ethnicity as the Tsonga people in Mozambique. The population is 1.76 million, now mainly distributed in the Northern Province.

Swazi (Swazi) The northern branch of the Nguni people, the same race as the Swati people of the Kingdom of Swaziland, speaks the Swati language of the Nguni language family. Population: 1.01 million. Now mainly distributed in Mpumalanga Province.

The Ndebele people belong to the Zulu branch. Population: 590,000. Now mainly distributed in Mpumalanga Province.

Venda has a population of 880,000. The language is similar to the Shona language of Zimbabwe, and the cultural traditions are similar to those of the Sotho people. Now mainly distributed in northern province.

2. White people

Mainly include Afrikaners and Anglo-Africans. Among Afrikaners today, 40% are Dutch, 40% German, 7.5% French, 7.5% British, and 5% other Europeans. They speak Afrikaans (based on Old Dutch). Believes in Christianity and is traditionally involved in agriculture and animal husbandry. Most of them now live in the five provinces of Northern, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, North West and Free State.

British Africans speak English, believe in the Anglican Church (Anglican Church) and the Supervisory Society, and mainly engage in mining and industry and commerce. Now it is mainly distributed in the three provinces of the Western, Northern and Eastern Cape and Kwa/Na Province.

In addition, white South Africans also include Greeks, Italians, Portuguese and Jews.

3. Colored people

Mainly divided into Griquas and Cape Malays. The former are the mixed descendants of the early Boers and Hottentots; the latter are slaves (Indians, Chinese, Sinhalese, Indonesians) transported by the Hottentots and the Dutch East India Company from Madagascar, Java and other places. , Malagasy) mixed descendants. Now mostly distributed in the three Cape provinces, they are the largest ethnic group in the Western Cape. In addition, there are the Natal Colored People (Mestizo, Saint Helena and Mauritian). 87% of the colored people are concentrated in the Cape Peninsula, 75% live in the city, 80% speak Afrikaans and a few English, more than 90% believe in Christianity, and 7% are Muslims (mostly Cape Malays).

4. Indian (Asian)

The vast majority of Asians are Indians, so South Africans usually use the two interchangeably. 85% of South African Indians live in the Durban and Pietermaritzburg areas, and 10% live in the Bitto-Joburg area. Hindus account for about 68% and 20% are Muslims. Most of them speak English, while the older generation speaks Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati and Urdu.