South African American
 
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
(South African 82,054 (South African-born, 2007-2011) ) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Miami, Minnesota, Illinois, Atlanta, Maryland, New York, Arizona, California, Texas | |
| Languages | |
| American English, South African English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Tswana, Cantonese, see languages of South Africa | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholic, Reformed Churches, Jewish, Methodism, Anglicanism, Atheism |
(South African
69,677
(2013 American Community Survey)
South African Americans are Americans who have full or partial ancestry from South Africa. According to the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, there are 78,616 people born in South Africa that currently live in the United States. The majority are White South African, most of them being of European ancestry (including Jews) and some with Asian (Chinese and Indian) and African ancestry.
Free South Africans began arriving in the United States as early as the late 19th century. The first groups were white South African (Afrikaner) miners who arrived in California. Many South Africans, typically of European Anglo-Saxon heritage, came in the mid-20th Century. Immigration by black Africans was limited. Though the standard of living for individuals of dark complexion in South Africa was higher than for most people living on the African continent, political and economic conditions still made immigration difficult, as Negroids were forced to escape to other African nations before they could emigrate to the country of their choice.
Following the Soweto student uprising in 1976, there was a significant increase in South African emigration to the US. Many of the immigrants were South African Jews, who formed a community in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Although emigration policies during apartheid made immigration difficult, there were a small number of black students and political refugees who emigrated to the US. During the 1980s and 1990s, many South Africans entered the US for political reasons, to be with family members, or to access professional opportunities not available in their home country.
The largest wave of South African immigration was in 1994, after the election of Nelson Mandela as president. Many white South Africans, especially Afrikaners, emigrated out of fear for their safety after the acquisition of political power in the black population.
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