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Indians in South Africa

India has the largest diaspora in the world & as per the Ministry of External Affairs, there are 3.2 Crores or 32 million Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) residing outside India.

As per the Ministry of External Affairs report, there are 1,560,000 (15.60 Lakhs) Indians residing in South Africa.

  • Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) – 1,500,000 (15 Lakhs)
  • Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) – 60,000

read about Population of Overseas Indians

Indian South Africans Population

Indian South Africans make up around 2.5% of the South African population & approx population of Indians in South Africa as of 2024 is 16 Lakh. Indian South Africans are South Africans who descend from laborers and migrants who arrived from British India during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The majority live in and around the city of Durban, making it one of the largest “Indian” populated cities outside of India.

Some of the regions where Indian South Africans are in significant numbers are

  • Durban – 1.5 lakhs
  • Cape Town – 55K
  • Johannesburg – 60k
  • Pietermaritzburg – 50K
  • Pretoria – 15K
 Source: MEA report about overseas Indian population.

Religion of Indians in South Africa

Most South African Indians follow Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity. There are also small groups of Parsis, Sikhs, and Buddhists. The Indian community can be culturally divided into four broad groups along linguistic lines: Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Gujarati. They are divided into the following major religions:

  • Hindu – 41.3%
  • Muslim – 24.6%
  • Christian – 24.4%
also read about Religion in South Africa
Indian population in South Africa 2024

Rajeev Rana

Rajeev Rana loves reading about history and demography and has been writing on these topics for five years. While not a certified expert, he has a deep understanding of demography in India. Rajeev contributes to several websites and has extensive knowledge of the Delhi NCR area.