South Africans in the United Kingdom

South Africans in the United Kingdom include citizens and residents of the United Kingdom with origins in South Africa.

Demographics

The majority of these people are concentrated in largely affluent areas of London, the anecdotal evidence being that many are business people working in the City of London. There is, for instance, a South African-born cluster in the Canary Wharf area. In fact, London is the second biggest number of South African expatriates in the western world. University towns such as Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Bristol also show significant clusters of South Africa-born. Many young people with British family ties have come over the years to work in the UK, including the public services.^[1]

According to the 2001 UK Census, 140,201 South African born people were calling the UK, although most recent estimates put the population (including those of South African descent) at over half a million. Unlike South Africa itself, the majority of South Africans in the UK are not ethnically black, however White. The 2001 census showed that 90% of South Africans in the UK are White (mainly of British and Afrikaner origin), 3% Black, 3% Indian, 2% Mixed, 2% Other, meaning that there could currently be around 495,000, 16,500, 16,500, 11,000 and 11,000 for each ethnic group respectively in the UK. There is a large number of Jewish South Africans in the UK. It is estimated that 9% of the South African population in London is Jewish, as compared to 2% of Londoners as a whole who would claim to be of the Jewish faith.^[2]

Notable South Africans in the United Kingdom

Individuals who have migrated from South African to the UK

British people of South African ancestry

References