White people are leaving South Africa

South Africa’s white population continues to decline, and it is the only racial group which has consistently seen a net outflow of people.

This was revealed in Statistics South Africa’s mid-year population estimates, released on 30 July 2026.

The 2026 mid-year population for South Africa is estimated at 63.52 million, with the black African population at 51.92 million.

The black African population constitutes approximately 82% of South Africa’s population, dwarfing the other groups.

The coloured population is estimated at 5.36 million, the white population at 4.50 million, and the Indian and Asian population at 1.72 million.

What was striking about the latest statistics is that the white population was the only one which declined. One reason is negative net migration.

Net migration data represents the difference between the number of people entering and the number of people leaving South Africa.

Between 2021 and 2026, South Africa lost 94,898 white people through migration. This continued a trend which started in 1985.

Between 1985 and 2000, during South Africa’s democratic transition, the country lost 202,868 white people through migration.

This trend continued over the next 26 years, during which net migration totalled 503,562.

That means that South Africa saw a net loss of 706,430 white people over the last four decades.

In comparison, black Africans experienced a net migration of 4.5 million, and a net total of 273,838 Indians and Asians entered the country.

The table below shows the net migration of different race groups in South Africa between 2001 and 2026.