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White South Africans are people whose ancestry can be traced primarily to Europe. Those of Dutch, French, and German origin date to the seventeenth century, while those of English heritage date to the nineteenth century. Afrikaners, the Dutch word meaning “Africans,” refers to the early settlers, in particular the Boers, who mainly originated in Holland. The English were drawn to South Africa because of its strategic location and the discovery of diamonds and gold, while many settlers were encouraged to immigrate because of high unemployment in England. After decades of conflicts between the Boers and English, the latter occupied and controlled the region in the early twentieth century. Statistics South Africa reported the White population of South Africa as 7.3 percent in 2022, and it showed a steady decline, falling from 9 percent in 2011. Afrikaans is one of eleven official languages of South Africa and was spoken by 10.5 percent of the population in 2022. English, also an official language, was spoken by 8.6 percent, according to South Africa's 2022 census.