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Group Areas Act

1950 · 20th century

The Group Areas Act of 1950 was a central law of apartheid in South Africa that assigned separate residential and business areas in towns and cities to each racial group. Enforced over the following decades, it led to the forced removal of hundreds of thousands of people, mainly coloured, Indian and black South Africans, from areas declared white, such as District Six in Cape Town. It was repealed in 1991.

Group Areas Act
Image: Photo Division, Government of India · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 profiles

Union of South AfricaGovernanceRepublic of South AfricaSocioeconomyAnti-apartheid movementbackground

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Group Areas Act. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/group-areas-act
MLA
“Group Areas Act.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/group-areas-act. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Group Areas Act.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/group-areas-act.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Group Areas Act’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/group-areas-act (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻