New StatsSA report explores SA’s social fabric
South Africa's social fabric has
become more diverse over the past three decades.
StatsSA on Wednesday released a new report titled "Cultural Dynamics in South Africa," which explores the nation’s social landscape.
Researchers analysed language, multiracial households, religious affiliation, and marriage trends from 1996 to 2022.
The data has revealed a significant rise in multiracial households in South Africa.
They grew from 1.3% in 2001 to 11.4% in 2022.
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The highest concentration of these mixed households was in the Western Cape, while North West had the lowest.
Stats SA said urban areas have been at the forefront of this transformation, with four out of five multiracial households located in cities.
It says this could mean increased economic opportunities, diverse social interactions, and shifting cultural attitudes.
The report also found IsiZulu still dominates as the country's most widely spoken language for the last three decades.
In 1996, 22.8% of South Africa's population spoke isiZulu.
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By 2022, the figure had risen by 1.6 per cent.
IsiXhosa and Afrikaans followed as the second and third primary spoken languages.
Stats SA said a closer look at the numbers revealed a growing linguistic diversity—over 1.2 million South Africans spoke non-official languages in 2022.
These are Shona, Chewa, Portuguese, and San languages.
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