Asians in South Africa

[File:South Africa 2011 Indian or Asian population proportion map.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Asian South Africans as a proportion of the total population. ]] [File:South Africa 2011 Indian or Asian population density map.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Density of the Asian South African population. ]] The majority of Asian South Africans are of Indian origin, most of whom are descended from indentured workers transported to work in the 19th century on the sugar plantations of the eastern coastal area, then known as Natal. They are largely English speaking, although many also retain the languages of their ancestors. There is also a significant group of Chinese South Africans (approximately 300,000 individuals), of whom the great majority are recent immigrants of the last two decades.