Demographics
The South African National Census of 2011 found a total of 4,892,623 speakers of English as a first language, making up 9.6% of the national population. The provinces with significant English-speaking populations were the Western Cape (20.2% of the provincial population), Gauteng (13.3%) and KwaZulu-Natal (13.2%).
English was spoken across all ethnic groups in South Africa. The breakdown of English-speakers according to the conventional racial classifications used by Statistics South Africa is described in the following table.
| "Population group" | English-speakers | % of population group | % of total English-speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black African | 1,167,913 | 2.9 | 23.9 |
| Coloured | 945,847 | 20.8 | 19.3 |
| Indian or Asian | 1,094,317 | 86.1 | 22.4 |
| White | 1,603,575 | 35.9 | 32.8 |
| Other | 80,971 | 29.5 | 1.7 |
| Total | 4,892,623 | 9.6 | 100.0 |
Read more about this topic: South African English
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