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Population Registration Act

Apartheid legislation in South Africa

Precursors
Natives' Land (1913)
Urban Areas (1923)

Prohibition of Mixed Marriages (1949)
Immorality Act† (1950)
Population Registration (1950)
Group Areas Act (1950)
Suppression of Communism (1950)
Bantu Building Workers (1951)
Separate Representation of Voters (1951)
Prevention of Illegal Squatting (1951)
Bantu Authorities (1951)
Natives Laws† (1952)
Pass Laws (1952)
Native Labour (Settlement of Disputes) (1953)
Bantu Education (1953)
Reservation of Separate Amenities (1953)
Natives Resettlement (1954)
Group Areas Development (1955)
Natives (Prohibition of Interdicts) (1956)
Bantu Investment Corporation (1959)
Extension of University Education (1959)
Promotion of Bantu Self-Government (1959)
Coloured Persons Communal Reserves (1961)
Preservation of Coloured Areas (1961)
Urban Bantu Councils (1961)
Terrorism Act (1967)
Bantu Homelands Citizens (1970)

† No new legislation introduced, rather
the existing legislation named was amended.

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The Population Registration Act of 1950 required that each inhabitant of South Africa be classified and registered in accordance with their racial characteristics as part of the system of apartheid[1][2][3] . Social rights, political rights, educational opportunities, and economic status were largely determined by which group an individual belonged.

There were three basic racial classifications under the law: Black, White and Coloured (Mixed). Indian (that is, South Asians from the former British India) was later added as a separate classification as they were seen as having "no historical right to the country".

An Office for Race Classification was set up to overview the classification process. Classification into groups was carried out using criteria such as outer appearance, general acceptance and social standing. For example, it defined a "white person" as one who "in appearance is obviously a white person who is generally not accepted as a colored person; or is generally accepted as a white person and is not in appearance obviously a white person." Due to the fact that some aspects of the profile were of a social nature, reclassifications were not uncommon, and a board was established to conduct that process.

This law worked in tandem with other laws passed as part of the apartheid system. Under the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act of 1948, marrying a person of a different race was illegal. With the enactment of the Immorality Amendment Act (Immorality Act) of 1957, it also became a crime to display intent or interest in conducting a relationship with a member of a different race.

The South African Parliament repealed the act on June 17, 1991.

See also

Categories: Apartheid laws in South Africa

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