White South African : Ask Biography

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White South African is a term which refers to people from South Africa who are of European descent and who don't regard themselves, or are not regarded as being part of another racial group, for example, as Coloured. In linguistic, cultural and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of mainly Dutch, German and French settlers, known as Afrikaners, and the English-speaking Anglo-Africans who share an Anglophone background (mainly of British and Irish descent).

White South Africans differ significantly from other white African groups, due to not only their much larger population, but because they have developed nationhood, as in the case of the Afrikaners, who established a separate language, culture and church in Africa. The history of the Afrikaner nation can be traced back to the first white settlement of Africa with the arrival of the Dutch under Jan van Riebeeck in 1652. Therefore, their presence in Africa long predates the arrival of other white groups on the continent. White South Africans are also considered to be the last major white population group on the African continent, since the number of white people in other African states has declined to negligible figures. The role of whites in the South African economy and political arena has remained, which differs from other African countries, such as Zimbabwe, where whites retreated from the political spectrum. Whites number approximately 4.5 million, or about 9% of South Africa's population. This represents a significant decline, both numerically and proportionately, since white rule ended. It is estimated that as many as 1 million whites have emigrated from the country since the end of apartheid in 1994.