Back দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকায় হিন্দুধর্ম Bengali/Bangla Индуизм в Южно-Африканской Республике Russian దక్షిణాఫ్రికాలో హిందూమతం Tegulu Көньяк Африка Җөмһүриятендә Һинд дине Tatar
 Clairwood Shree Siva Temple, Durban | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
 682,302 (2022)[1] 1.1% of the total population | |
| Religions | |
| Hinduism | |
| Scriptures | |
| Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Ramayana (incl. Ramcharitmanas version), Mahabharata (incl. Bhagavad Gita), Sangam literature | |
| Languages | |
| Sacred Sanskrit, Old Tamil Regional Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Awadhi, Bhojpuri (Naitali), Gujarati, Bengali, Sindhi, etc. (among diaspora) |
| Hinduism by country |
|---|
  |
| Full list |
Hinduism is practised throughout South Africa, but primarily in KwaZulu-Natal. Approximately 1.1% of the South African population professed to be Hindu, according to the 2022 census.[1][2] This is down from the 1.4% based on the 1996 census.[3]
Nevertheless, the population has been increasing in absolute terms from 551,669 in 2001 to 569,476 in 2011, and 682,302 in 2022, and by this measure, South Africa has the largest concentration of Hindus in Africa after Mauritius.
| Year | Percent | Increase |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 1.4% | - |
| 2001 | 1.22% | -0.18% |
| 2011 | 1.1% | -0.12% |
| 2013* | 1.0% | -0.1% |
| 2016* | 0.9% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 1.1% | +0.2% |
*The figures for 2013 and 2016 are not official census data.
The majority of Hindus in South Africa are Indian South Africans, largely descendants of indentured laborers who migrated under the British colonial government, from 1860 to 1919, to work in plantations and the mining operations owned by European settlers.[4] Many came from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states of India. Because of their Indian descent, Hindu settlers in South Africa suffered discrimination, abuse and persecution[5][6][7] during the colonial and Apartheid eras.
The first Hindu temples were in operation in the 1870s. Some South African local governments banned temple building and property ownership by Hindus in 1910s.[8] Modern South Africa has many Hindu temples, and its Hindu community observes major festivals of Hinduism such as Deepavali.[9]
- ^ a b "Statistical Release - Census 2022" (PDF). statssa.gov.za. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ "Religions in South Africa | PEW-GRF". www.globalreligiousfutures.org. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ "The most popular religions in South Africa". businesstech.co.za. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
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