South African Americans are Americans who have full or partial ancestry from South Africa. As of 2021, there were approximately 123,461 people born in South Africa who were living in the United States.^[3]

Demography

The majority of overseas South Africans live in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, countries with similar cultural and linguistic heritage to many South Africans, as well as similar climates and latitude positioning in the case of the latter two countries.^[4] There have also been a large number of South African immigrants who have gone to the US. Many white South Africans, both before and after the end of apartheid, emigrated to Midwestern states such as Minnesota and Illinois. Atlanta, Georgia, has a large population of South African Jews.^[5] Moreover, there are numerous South Africans living in New York City and Mid-Atlantic states such as Maryland. Most South African immigrants in the US are white people of European origin. Of the 82,000 South Africans living in the US between 2008 and 2009, about 11,000 of them were Black South Africans.^[6] In the 2000 Census, 509 South African Americans reported their ethnic origins as Zulu.^[7]

The majority of these immigrants are English speaking, with a moderate proportion of these being South African Jews. In the US, South Africans in general — both white and black — live in the US individually, rather than in communities of South African Americans.^[8] The highest number of South Africans in the US live in California, notably Los Angeles County, Orange County and San Diego,^[9][10] while smaller populations reside in the Mid-Atlantic and the Pacific Northwest.

South African-born population

South African-born population in the US since 2015:^[11]

Year	Number
2015	94,141
2016	104,889
2017	111,720
2018	99,672
2019	111,116
2020	108,650
2021	123,461
2022	139,322

Organizations

Indaba ("discussion" in Zulu) is an example of an organization set up by South Africans to promote community involvement. It was founded in the 1990s and sponsors community events and activities. In addition, this organization allows the exchange of information through a web site and a mailing list, keeping South Africans informed about international and local events. The South African consulate in Chicago has close ties with many expatriates and hosts regular events and speakers, including an annual celebration of Freedom Day on 27 April. In 2001, the hosts founded the African Group of the U.S. Women's Action to boost the knowledge and understanding of South Africa among Americans. The South Africans are also in many other forums, such as informal parties, religious activities and rugby matches.^[12]

Notable people