"We Need Their Genes": SA White Population Projected to Drop to 2% by 2066, Global Netizens React

• Stats SA's 2025 mid-year population estimates show South Africa's white population currently sits at around 7% of the total 63.1 million people
• An analysis by The Common Sense projects the white population share could fall to just 2% by 2066 while the Black African share rises to 88%
• Global social media users flooded the comments urging white South Africans to relocate to countries like the US, Australia and Europe

New population projections for South Africa have sparked a sharp global reaction.

An analysis by The Common Sense, based on Stats SA's 2025 mid-year population estimates, projects that the country's white population could shrink from its current 7% share to just 2% by 2066.

Stats SA places South Africa's total population at 63.1 million in 2025. Of that, roughly 51.6 million people, about 82%, are Black African. The white population is estimated at 4.5 million, with coloured and Indian or Asian communities making up the remainder.

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The projection points to continued demographic change over the next four decades. Over the same period, the Black African share is expected to grow from 82% to 88%.

A long decline in population share

The numbers reflect a trend stretching back more than a century. At the turn of the 20th century, white South Africans made up as much as 21.6% of the population in 1904. By the time apartheid ended in 1994, that figure had dropped to around 12.8%. The decline has continued steadily in the years since.

Factors shaping South Africa's overall demographic picture include a falling national fertility rate, which dropped from 2.78 children per woman in 2008 to 2.21 in 2025, as well as internal migration patterns and emigration trends.

International commenters urge them to leave

The post by @visegrad.24 drew more than 11,000 likes and thousands of comments, with many international users encouraging white South Africans to emigrate.

@clintonphillips said:

"Come to the US and build the future."

@aprilia_rsv1000r_dan wrote:

"South Africa. Soon to be a third world country."

@gerard.patrick.manning commented:

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"You're all welcome back in Europe. Look at how well these African countries have been doing since the colonialists left."

@marc_hand urged:

"Escape South Africa while you can."

@mitchtickler suggested:

"Send them to Australia, we could use their good rugby genes."

See the Instagram post that sparked the global reaction:

More stories on white South Africans

• Briefly News recently reported on a heated CNN panel discussion over the US accepting white South African refugees, with commentators sharply divided over the issue.
• Trade union Solidarity is suing Minister Khumbudzo Ntshaveni for R500,000 over a Cabinet statement it says damaged its reputation in the "white genocide" debate.
• Comedian Bouwer Bosch faced backlash over a WeBuyCars advert depicting an Afrikaner refugee family.

Source: Briefly News