Whites in South Africa
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People of European descent in South Africa not only include the majority Afrikaner, but also a sizeable population of various British or continental European ancestries who identify more with English than other South African languages and more with the Anglophone World and Anglophone Diaspora than with the creole Boer culture which is more attached to African soil.
There are about 4.4 million whites in South Africa (although it is expected the group was undercounted in the last census, as many live in tight, private gated neighbourhoods and farms which did not receive census forms). Roughly 60% of them speak Afrikaans as their mother language and about 39% speak English. 1% of the white population speaks some other language as their mother language, such as German, Portuguese or Greek. Speakers of Afrikaans speakers 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 following the independence of the African nations. Many Portuguese from Mozambique and white Zimbabweans emigrated to South Africa, when their countries became independent. Meanwhile, many white South Africans also emigrated to other first world countries over the past decade.
During apartheid, immigrants from Taiwan, Korea and Japan weere considered as honorary white in the country, as the government had and maintained diplomatic relations with these countries. These where granted the same privileges as whites. African-Americans were sometimes granted an 'honorary white' status as well, based on the government's belief that they were "civilised" and possessed western values.
Whites make up about 9.2% (as of 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%.
In recent decades there has been a sharp proportional decline in the white population due to emigration. In 1994, upon the abolition of apartheid, whites comprised 13.6% of the population, compared to 9.2% today. It is estimated that at least one million South African-born whites have moved living abroad, and it has also been argued that this figure could be as high as two million.
This trend is evident in cities such as Durban, where the white population decreased by 38,904, or 12.3% between 1996 and 2001. In Pietermaritzburg the white population shifted from 56,328 to 45,030, losing about 20% or one-fifth of the white community within the same period. In 2004 the School of Economics and Finance at the University of KwaZulu-Natal estimated that this figure had dropped to 38,256, a 15% descrease.
In contrast, the white populations of East Rand, Johannesburg and Pretoria grew between 1996 and 2001. East Rand's white population expanded by 31,567 or 7%, with Pretoria's white population also increasing by 7% with 3,295 more white residents. In Johannesburg the white population increased by 22,982, or 4.7%.
Like many other communities strongly affiliated with the West and Europe's colonial legacy in Africa, the whites of South Africa are often economically better off than their black African neighbors, but have nonetheless surrendered political dominance to majority rule. There were also many whites in South Africa who lived in poverty.
South African whites continue to participate in politics, having presence across the whole political spectrum from left to right. In general, whites consider themselves to be just as South African as the non-white majority in South Africa. The history of whites in South Africa dates back to the 17th century.
There has been some rivaly and bitter feeling between Afrikaners and English-speaking whites. This is due in part to the Second Boer War, Britain's attempt to anglicise the country during the first half of the 20th century, and Afrikaner nationalism.
Prior 1994, the white minority of South Africa held complete political power under a system of racial segregation called apartheid. Many whites supported this policy, but many others were opposed, and white liberals gained large electoral support.
