The distribution of white South Africans is fairly evenly spread. According to the 2022 South African census, they comprise 7.3% of the total population and number 4,504,252. They are found in large numbers in practically every province in South Africa but always as a minority. They are high in concentration in large cities.
Historically, in the pre-1994 provinces, the Transvaal and Orange Free State were predominantly Afrikaans-speaking, Natal was mostly English-speaking and the Cape Province was largely mixed.
By province Afrikaners are located in all parts of the nation, but in the former homelands such as Transkei and Natal, they are very few. English-speaking whites are generally concentrated in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and in major settlements in the Western and Eastern Cape. Other white groups (such as Portuguese and Germans) live mostly in Johannesburg or Cape Town. In the former homelands, the white populations are so tiny that even the slightest population can affect the percentages speaking Afrikaans or English. Of the largest cities in the country, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, East London and Pietermaritzburg are largely English-speaking in the core, and Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Polokwane, Nelspruit, Witbank and Rustenburg are predominantly Afrikaans-speaking. Port Elizabeth is largely mixed.
+White population of South Africa by province and first language, 2001Province Afrikaans % Afrikaans English % English Other % Other Total Eastern Cape149,39548.8%153,43450.2%3,0101.0%305,839 Free State214,02089.6%22,2259.3%2,5441.1%238,789 Gauteng984,47256.7%716,40341.3%34,2192.0%1,735,094 KwaZulu-Natal115,72124.0%357,20074.1%9,1931.9%482,114 Limpopo115,92187.5%14,89811.3%1,6021.2%132,421 Mpumalanga164,62083.5%29,67815.1%2,7801.4%197,078 North West237,59889.0%26,3469.9%2,9401.1%266,884 Northern Cape93,63791.3%7,7377.5%1,1441.1%102,518 Western Cape461,52255.4%359,73843.2%11,6391.4%832,899 Total2,536,90659.1%1,687,65939.3%69,0711.6%4,293,636
Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape has one of the lowest percentages of whites in South Africa, which is around 4.7%. They number just above 300,000. Similarly to the Limpopo Province, whites as a percent of the population varies around the Eastern Cape. The East, where the former black designated homelands of Transkei and Ciskei are found, have a high density of black people and only a small number of whites. For example, in the OR Tambo District Municipality, located in the former Transkei, only 0.1% of the 1.6 million inhabitants are white. On the other hand, in the west, Local Municipalities such as in the Cacadu District Municipality, contain white percentages exceeding 10%, with the highest being the Kouga Local Municipality, which stands at 25.4%. The largest white population centre is Port Elizabeth, which houses over half (170,000) of the Eastern Cape's white population. Other major white populations exist in East London, Grahamstown, Graaff-Reinet, and a number of smaller towns. The Eastern Cape has the most equal mix of both English- and Afrikaans-speaking whites. The geographic background of the province shows a mix of English and Afrikaans placenames, with no clear distinction between where Afrikaans- or English-speakers live.
Free State The Afrikaners far outnumber English-speaking white people in the Free State (formerly called the Orange Free State) because British immigration to the region was very limited. The Afrikaners are predominant in practically all cities and rural areas, with the largest population around Bloemfontein, which holds an estimated 100,000 white people (or a third of the total in the province). The white percentage has recently rebounded after a prolonged decline. In 1880, white people were 45.7% of the total population, which had declined to 36.8% by 1904. Despite a long and steady decline throughout the 20th century, the 2007 Community Survey showed the white population of the Free State had increased from 8.8% to 9.6%. There could be issues with that figure as overall, the population of some municipalities decreased in population by up to 50%, which meant that the "missing" black people counted resulted in an increased white percentage. Major white populations are also found in cities such as Welkom, Kroonstad and Sasolburg.
Gauteng Gauteng has a high percentage (10%) and higher number (just under 2 million) of whites than any other provinces. Afrikaner whites tend to be gathered in and around Pretoria (with around 450,000 Afrikaners), the East and West Rand, and in many other cities and towns in Gauteng. English-speaking white South Africans are mostly found in central Gauteng: Johannesburg and the East Rand. Also, the Midvaal Local Municipality, in Gauteng, contains one of the highest percentage of whites in the country, which in 2007 stood at 35%.
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal is the only province in which the vast majority of white people are English-speaking.The highest stage of white supremacy - Google Books However, some towns remain in the north with large Afrikaner populations such as in the town of Vryheid. Before 1994, the province was called Natal, and in the 1960 republic referendum, it was the only province to vote against severing links to the British Crown. KwaZulu-Natal, like most other provinces, has experienced both a numerical and proportional decline in the white population. Over half of KwaZulu-Natal's white population lives in Durban and its surrounding suburbs.
Limpopo The Limpopo Province has a smaller percentage of white people than any other province in the country, which in 2007 stood at 2.2%. Almost entirely Afrikaners, the white population is very unevenly spread. Some municipalities, especially in the more lightly populated west, have white percentages reaching far beyond 10% such as the Thabazimbi (23%), Bela-Bela (13%) and Mookgopong Local Municipality (21%). Conversely, in the much more densely populated east, with the former homelands of Gazankulu, Lebowa and Venda, the white percentage drops significantly because of the high black population density. Some municipalities, including the Thumamela and Mutale Local Municipality, have white populations of no more than 500 and so have percentages reaching as low as 0.05%. The capital city, Polokwane (formerly Pietersburg), holds around 27,000 whites, making up just under a fourth of the province's white population. Other major white concentrations are in Tzaneen, Phalaborwa, Thabazimbi, Louis Trichardt and practically every settlement along the N1 national road.
Mpumalanga In 2007 roughly 6.7% of Mpumalanga was white, mostly Afrikaans-speaking. Approximately 250,000 whites live in Mpumalanga, with major population centres being the capital, Nelspruit, and other large cities such as Witbank, Middelburg, Ermelo and Lydenburg.
Northwest Province The Northwest Province has a situation that is almost identical to that of Mpumalanga. There is a very strong and patriotic Afrikaner community in the province, which is also the birthplace of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB), which was created in Ventersdorp. There is an especially strong Afrikaner influence in the city of Potchefstroom. In 2007, there were 235,580 whites, making up roughly 7.2% (up from 6.7% in 2001) of the province's total population. The vast majority are Afrikaans-speaking.
Northern Cape The Northern Cape's small white population is also dominated by Afrikaners, with some English-speaking whites in cities such as Kimberley. The white population is no more than 100,000, but because the province is very sparsely populated, the white population has thus remained very much above 10%, even since 1994.Despite the white population percentage decrease since 1994, the Northern Cape has retained a white percentage of at least 10%. Roughly 25% of whites live in the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, which contains the Diamond-mining city of Kimberley. Although it has only about 12,000 white inhabitants, the Namakwa District Municipality, in the very sparsely populated western Northern Cape, they still manage to make up over 11% of the District Municipality's population. Afrikaans is the lingua franca in the Northern Cape because the majority of the province's population (mostly Coloureds) speak it as a first language. Only the north-eastern areas have more blacks than Coloureds and as well as far fewer white people. Besides Kimberley, other important white concentrations are found in Upington, Britstown, Springbok, De Aar, Jan Kempdorp and Barkly West. Orania, a purpose-built town for Afrikaans-speaking whites, is also in the east of the Northern Cape, bordering the Free State. It houses just over 2,000 inhabitants and is a special case as it is the only "main-place"In South African censuses, a "main place" is a locality representing a village, such as Centurion, is a "main-place" within Tshwane municipality. in which virtually all inhabitants are white.
Western Cape
The Western Cape has the highest percentage of white people (16%) in South Africa, at 850,000 and the only one with a white premier (governor). The lingua franca is Afrikaans, but some urban areas, especially Cape Town, have a large English-speaking population. Many Cape Town suburbs and neighbourhoods have white majorities, including some with a white population of at least 95%, such as Llandudno, Fish Hoek, and Constantia. The Western Cape has some of the highest white percentage municipalities in South Africa, such as the Overstrand (33%), Hessequa (38%), Mossel Bay (28%), Noordhoek (25%), Cape Agulhas (23%), and Knysna (23%).
Largest population centres This is a list of the "main places" (localities) in South Africa with a white population of more than 10,000, with data taken from the 2011 census. Use the site to find out the ethnic composition of ALL localities/municips. and provinces in South Africa.