Everything about Asians In South Africa totally explained
There are about 1.2 million
Asians in South Africa, representing about two per cent of
South Africa's population. Most are of
Indian origin, although there's also an increasing
Chinese community (sometimes classified as
Coloured (mixed race) or White under Apartheid)
(External Link
). Traditionally the group doesn't include the "
Cape Malays", descended (at least in part) from
South East Asians, who were classified as "Coloured" under
apartheid. The term
Asian is usually regarded as synonymous with
Indian in South Africa.
Indians
There are more than 1 million Indians in South Africa, most of whom are descended from indentured labourers who were brought into the country by the British from India in the mid
19th century, mostly to work in sugar plantations or mines (especially, coal) in
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Traders also subsequently emigrated. Indian South Africans form the largest grouping of people of Indian descent born outside India, for example born in South Africa, not having migrated there. Since 1994 however, there has been a steady trickle of immigrants from the Indian sub-continent. Most Indian South Africans live in KwaZulu-Natal, particularly Durban and surrounding areas.
Chinese
The smaller Chinese community was initially descended from migrant workers who came to work in the gold mines around
Johannesburg in the late nineteenth century, although many were repatriated. They are now vastly outnumbered by more recent
Chinese immigrants, including immigrants from
Taiwan, with which
apartheid South Africa maintained diplomatic relations. Estimates vary, but the Chinese population is reckoned to have increased from 10,000 in the early 1980s to more than 100,000 in the early 2000s. Chinese immigration caused difficulties for the apartheid regime, as immigrants from Mainland China were classified as 'non-white', whereas Taiwanese, Nationalist Chinese, along with Japanese, were considered
honorary white, and thus granted the same privileges as whites. Many Chinese in South Africa have since emigrated to
Canada, particularly
Ontario.
In late 2006, it emerged that the
Chinese Association of South Africa was preparing legal action to have Chinese recognised as having been disadvantaged under Apartheid, in order to benefit from
Black Economic Empowerment. Complicating this attempt is the presence of immigrant Chinese who were not disadvantaged by Apartheid, and vastly outnumber locally born Chinese. A further complication is the less lenient restrictions faced by Chinese under Apartheid, and the honorary white status of Taiwanese and Japanese under Apartheid.
As of 2005, a small
Korean community had formed in South Africa, estimated at 3,456. Koreans in South Africa are served by three weekend schools for Korean nationals, in
Johannesburg (opened 1992),
Pretoria (opened 1995), and
Cape Town (opened 2001); they enroll a total of 158 students.
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