Dominant minority

A dominant minority, also called elite dominance, is a minority group that has overwhelming political, economic, or cultural dominance in a country, despite representing a small fraction of the overall population (a demographic minority). The term is most commonly used to refer to an ethnic group that is defined along racial, national, religious, cultural or tribal lines and that holds a disproportionate amount of power and wealth compared to the rest of the population.

In contrast, minority rule, of less permanency and with no basis in race or ethnicity, is often seen when a political party holds a majority in political structures and decisions, but receiving less than the majority of votes in an election.

A notable example is that of South Africa during the apartheid regime, where white South Africans, more specifically Afrikaners, wielded predominant control of the country, despite never composing more than 22 percent of the population. African-American-descended nationals in Liberia, white Zimbabweans in Rhodesia, Sunni Arabs in Ba'athist Iraq, the Alawite minority in Syria (since 1970 under the rule of the Alawite Assad family), and the Tutsi in Rwanda since the 1990s also have been cited as current or recent examples. In Brazil, despite the plurality of its population being pardo (45.3%) this demographic is more affected by poverty, has a higher illiteracy rate, is more likely to be murdered, and is most likely to live in favelas (a Brazilian Portuguese slang for a slum). In contrast, the white population in the country (42.8%) has, on average, better access to education, job opportunities, and a higher wage, with the white workforce earning 80% more than black Brazilians. Black and pardo  Brazilians are underrepresented in Congress, with 71.9% of elected deputies being white, while 21.1% are pardos, and 5.3% being black.