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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 3.5 Crores or 35 million Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) residing outside India.
As per the Ministry of External Affairs report, there are 1,700,000 (17 Lakh) Indians residing in South Africa.
- Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) – 1,640,000 (16.40 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 & the population of Indians in South Africa as of 2026 is 17 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
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%