Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap, which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically by the nation's minority white population. In this minoritarian system, there was social stratification, where white citizens had the highest status, followed by Indians and Coloureds, then Black Africans. The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day, particularly inequality.

Racial groups in South Africa have a variety of origins. The racial categories introduced by Apartheid remain ingrained in South African society with South Africans and the governing party of South Africa continuing to classify themselves, and each other, as belonging to one of the four defined race groups. Statistics South Africa asks people to describe themselves in the census in terms of five racial population groups. The 2022 estimates were 81.4% Black or Indigenous South African, 7.3% White South African, 8.2% Coloured South African, and 2.7% Indian South African.