Different Cultures in South Africa

South Africans have been referred to as the 'rainbow nation', a title which epitomises the country's cultural diversity. The population of South Africa is one of the most complex and diverse in the world. Of the 45 million South Africans, nearly 31 million are Black, 5 million White, 3 million Coloured and one million Indian. The population density is 32.9 people per km².

The Black population is divided into four major ethnic groups, namely Nguni, Sotho, Shangaan-Tsonga and Venda. There are numerous subgroups of which the Zulu and Xhosa (two subgroups of the Nguni) are the largest. The majority of the White population is of Afrikaans descent (60%), with many of the remaining 40% being of British descent. Most of the Coloured population live in the Northern and Western Cape provinces, whilst most of the Indian population lives in KwaZulu Natal. The Afrikaner population is concentrated in the Gauteng and Free State provinces and the English population in the Western and Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal


Languages: There are eleven official languages in South Africa
English Afrikaans Ndebele Sepedi
Xhosa Venda Tswana Southern Sotho
Zulu Swazi Tsonga


Xhosa: Approximately 18 percent of South Africa’s population speaks the language, and when doing the mathematics, that makes it around 7.9 million people. Xhosa is marked by a number of tongue-clicking sounds. Those that speak the language are usually involved in an ethnic group known ... more about » Xhosa


Zulu: To 24% of South Africans, Zulu is considered to be their home language and 50% of the South Africa’s inhabitants understand the language. Zulu falls under the Nguni group and is one of the Bantu languages. Xhosa and Zulu are the only two languages mutually understandable. The Zulu nation ... more about » Zulu


Afrikaans: The Afrikaans language is one of South Africa’s official languages and a majority of South Africa’s population uses this as their first or second language. Afrikaans is a born language and attached is a fascinating history. The language is also widely spoken in Namibia and spoken partly ... more about » Afrikaans


Venda: This language can be known as Luvenda or just Venda, and Tshivenda is originated from the Bantu language. Around 666 000 of Tshivenda speakers live in the Northern parts of South Africa’s Limpopo Province. Those that speak Tshivenda have a Royal Family and there are also traditions ... more about » Venda


Ndebele: Many South African African people can speak Ndebele and it is in fact a beautiful language if you know how to speak and understand it well. Ndebele is a Bantu language that is spoken by Ndebele South Africans (the Ndebele people are also sometimes referred to as amaNdebele) ... more about » Ndebele


Sepedi: Sepedi is also sometimes referred to as Sesotho sa Laboa or Northern Sotho. The language of Sepedi is spoken by approximately 4,208,980 individuals and it is one of the eleven official languages in South Africa. The language is usually spoken in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and ... more about » Sepedi


Setswana: Setswana is commonly known as Tswana, and is actually Botswana’s national language. However, the majority of Tswana or Setswana speakers are found in South Africa. It is the Northern Cape that is the source of the Setswana and Afrikaans speakers. When travelling to ... more about » Setswana


Southern Sesotho: This Bantu language originates from the Bantu-Nguni era and is also known as Suto, Souto, Sisutho as well as Suthu. The dialects originates from Suto, Pedi as well as Tswana which are intelligible but at the same time is also considered to be separate languages ... more about » Southern Sesotho


Swati: Swati might not sound familiar to you, but rather Sewati, Swazi or siSwati as these are all the same language, just in different names. Swati is a part of the Nguni Group and it is one of the many Bantu languages. It is mainly spoken by people in South Africa and Swaziland. It is one of the official ... more about » Swati


Tsonga: The language of Tsonga is mainly spoken throughout southern Africa by the Shangaan - Tsonga culture. Tsonga is a part of Bantu branch when it comes to the Niger-Congo languages. The speakers of this language are often referred to as Shangaans, but the Tsongas say this is incorrect ... more about » Tsonga