Inter-racial Marriages in South Africa

Abstract

Using the ten percent sample of the 1996 South African census, we examine the rates of intergroup marriage and marriage between linguistic groups in South Africa. Since whites are a small number in South Africa but historically have held most of the power, the analysis provides an interesting context to test the generalizability of theories about inter-racial marriage. We test exchange theory by examining the effects of education on the patterns of intergroup marriage. We do this while controlling for relative group size. Finally, we examine the socioeconomic status of children of mixed marriages to see possible implications of mixed marriages for future generations. Although education is only weakly related to rates of inter-group marriage, it appears to facilitate outmarriage for low-status groups. More minority females than males marry out of their own group, a pattern of intermarriage quite different from that of the United States. This pattern may reflect local norms, or the different racial composition of the two countries. Children of mixed-white marriages appear to do much better economically than children of mixed-black marriages.