Mestizos in Bolivia
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (c. 13 million) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Bolivia 11 million |
|
 Argentina
|
~1,000,000 |
 Brazil
|
550,000 |
 Spain
|
163,553 |
 United States
|
99,296 |
 Chile
|
31,313 |
| Languages | |
| Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, Guarani and others (mainly Indigenous) | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Christian: Roman Catholic. Syncretism with native beliefs is widely practiced. Minorities (Baha'i, Mormon, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu) | |
| Ethnic composition | |
| Indigenous black | |
| Indigenous self-identification | 60 % |
| None self-identification | 40 % |
| Ethnic self-identification ² | |
| Mestizo | 68 % |
| Indigenous | 21 % |
| White | 4 % |
| Cholo | 2 % |
| Afro Bolivian | 1 % |
| Other | 1 % |
| n/a | 3 % |
| Notes: 1 = National Census of Population and Living 2001, National Statistics Institute of Bolivia (INE). |
|
| 2 = | |
Bolivians (Spanish: Bolivianos) are the people that inhabit the Plurinational State of Bolivia. Amerindians lived in what is now called Bolivia for several millennia before the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century. Spaniards mixed with enslaved Africans in steady numbers, mixing widely with each other and with indigenous peoples.
The Bolivian population, estimated at 10.9 million is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, Europeans, Asians and Africans. The main language spoken is Spanish, although the Guarani, Aymara and Quechua languages are also common and all three, as well as 34 other indigenous languages, are official. The many cultures in Bolivia have contributed greatly to a wide diversity in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music.
The ethnic composition of Bolivia includes a great diversity of cultures. Most of the indigenous peoples have assimilated a mestizo culture, diversifying and expanding their indigenous heritage. Consequently, there is in Bolivia a mix of cultures, which joins together Hispanic and Amerindian cultures.
The ethnic distribution of Bolivia is estimated to be 30% Quechua-speaking and 25% Aymara-speaking. The largest of the approximately three dozen native groups are the Quechuas (2.5 million), Aymaras (2 million), then Chiquitano (180,000), and Guaraní (125,000). So the full Amerindian population is at 55%; the remaining 30% are mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white), and around 15% are white.
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