Afrikaners (including the distinct Boer subgroup) are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from Dutch (including Flemish), French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.

Their ancestors were Dutch Calvinists, with smaller numbers of Frisians, English, Germans and French Huguenots, and with minor numbers of other European groups (such as Dutch Jews, Scandinavians, Portuguese, Greeks, Italians, Spaniards, Scots, Irish, Polish).

Most Afrikaner families have between 5% and 7% non-white ancestry, such as Khoi African, Indonesian and Indian, as the early Dutch settlement at the Cape allowed inter-racial marriage. This is well attested by genealogical records and DNA research. During the Apartheid era, race classification was based on appearance and there were many borderline cases.