The population in South Africa consists of approximately 48.7 million people. Because of the culturally and ethnically diverse population South Africa is also known as The Rainbow Nation. During apartheid the population was divided into four major classes:

• Black African
• White Population
• People of colour
• Indian/Asian Population

When apartheid ended in the country this race classification was removed by law.The majority of the South African population consists of approximately 79% “Black Africans” which in turn is subdivided into different black communities. Around 10% of the population is white. The majority of the white people are descendents of Dutch, British, German and French settlers who came to South Africa in the beginning of the 16th century. The proportion of people of colour is approximately 9%. Approximately 2% of the population are Asians who are mostly of Indian origin.

South Africa, due to its diversity of cultures and languages, is a multicultural country and South Africans are well known for their hospitality. Approximately 75.5% of the population belong to Christianity. Other religions represented in South Africa are Islam (1.4%), Hinduism (1.4%), Judaism (0.2%) and other indigenous religions.