 Bolivians in World map | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c.13.2 million Diaspora1.4 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Bolivia 11 million | |
 Argentina | ~1 to 2 million[1] |
 Brazil | 350,000-600,000[2] |
 Spain | 179,571–239,000[3][4][5] |
 Chile | 180,266(2023)[6] |
 United States | 99,296[7] |
 France | 25,000[8] |
 Italy | 12,924[9] |
 Japan | 7,103[10] |
 Australia | 956[11] |
| Languages | |
| PrimarilySpanish Quechua,Aymara,Guarani and otherlanguages of Bolivia | |
| Religion | |
| PredominantlyRoman Catholic[12] (syncretism with traditional beliefs is widely practiced) Protestant andMormon minorities[13] | |
Bolivians (Spanish:Bolivianos) are people identified with the country ofBolivia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Bolivians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Bolivian.
Bolivia is, as its neighboring countries, amultiethnic andmultilingual society, home to people of variousethnic,religious, andnational origins, with the majority of the population made up ofindigenous andOld World immigrants and their descendants. As a result, Bolivians do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizenship and allegiance to Bolivia. Aside from the indigenous populations, Bolivians trace their ancestry to theOld World, primarilyEurope andAfrica, ever since theSpanish conquest of South America and founding of first Spanish settlements in theViceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.
Modern Bolivian population, estimated at 11 million is formally broken down intoAmerindians (primarilyQuechua andAymara,Guaraní peoples),Mestizos,Europeans andAfro-Bolivians. The group's sole common language isSpanish (Bolivian Spanish), although theGuarani,Aymara andQuechua languages are also widely spoken in their communities and to some degree by others, and all three, as well as 34 otherindigenous languages, are official languages of the country. The mutual influence and interaction of cultures of Bolivia have resulted in modern Bolivian society becoming one of prime examples of amelting pot according to some anthropologists.
| Indigenous-Native peoples self-identification[14] | |
|---|---|
| Indigenous self-identification | 40.6 % |
| None self-identification | 59.4 % |
| Ethnic self-identification[15] | |
| Mestizo | 68 % |
| Indigenous | 20 % |
| White Bolivian | 5 % |
| Cholo | 2 % |
| Afro-Bolivian | 1 % |
| Other | 1 % |
| n/a | 3 % |
The ethnic composition of Bolivia includes a great diversity of cultures. Most of theindigenous peoples have assimilated amestizo culture, diversifying and expanding their indigenous heritage; as such, many people of exclusively Amerindian ancestry may simply identify as "Mestizo". Consequently, there is in Bolivia a mix of cultures, which joins togetherHispanic andAmerindian cultures.
Mestizos are people of mixed European and indigenous ancestry. They are distributed throughout the entire country and compose about 68% of the Bolivian population.[16] Most people assume theirmestizo identity while at the same time identifying themselves with one or more Indigenous cultures. Genetic research indicates that the ancestry of Bolivian mestizos is predominantly indigenous.[17][18][19]
Indigenous, also called"originarios" ("native" or "original") and, less frequently,Amerindians. This ethnic group is composed by the descendants of thePre-Hispanic cultures. They can beAndean, as theAymaras andQuechuas (which formed the ancientInca Empire), which concentrate in the western departments ofLa Paz,Potosí,Oruro,Cochabamba andChuquisaca. There also is an important oriental ethnic population, composed by theChiquitano,Guaraní andMoxos, among others, and that inhabit the departments ofSanta Cruz,Beni,Tarija andPando. According to the most recent census, the indigenous people compose 20% of the Bolivian population, but in reality, this number is closer to 62%.[20][21][22]
Modern estimates determine that White or European Bolivians now represent between 5%[23] to 15%[24] of the population. Also, according to a 2014 survey byIpsos, 3% of people questioned said they were white.[25]In the 1900 census,White Bolivians composed 12.72% or 231,088 (115,139 men, 115,949 women) of the total population and the last official census that collected data of racial origin.[26] Most people who identify as white are descendants ofcriollos and European immigrants, coming mostly fromSpain,Croatia,Germany andItaly.[23] They are usually concentrated in the largest cities —La Paz,Santa Cruz de la Sierra,Cochabamba andTarija (being the department where the eurodescendants predominate by density but not by quantity). In theSanta Cruz Department there is an important colony (70.000 inhabitants) of German-speakingMennonites.[27]
Afro-Bolivians are descendants ofAfrican slaves, who arrived in the times of theSpanish Empire. They inhabit thedepartment of La Paz and in the provinces ofNor Yungas andSud Yungas. 23,330 people self-identified asAfro-Bolivian in the 2012 census.[28]
TheIndigenous peoples of Bolivia are divided into two ethnic groups: the Andeans, who are in theAndeanAltiplano and the valley region, and the ethnic culture of the oriental Llanos region, who inhabit the warm regions of eastern Bolivia (Gran Chaco).
| N° | Group | Population | % | N° | Group | Population | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quechua | 1,837,105 | 18.26% | 6 | Guarayo | 23,910 | 0.24% |
| 2 | Aymara | 1,598,807 | 15.89% | 7 | Afro-Bolivian | 23,330 | 0.23% |
| 3 | Chiquitano | 145,653 | 1.45% | 8 | Movima | 18,879 | 0.19% |
| 4 | Guaraní | 96,842 | 0.96% | 9 | Tacana | 18,535 | 0.18% |
| 5 | Mojeño | 42,093 | 0.42% | 10 | Tsimane Chimán | 16,958 | 0.17% |
| Source: 2012 Census of Bolivia[28] | |||||||
TheRoman Catholic church has a dominant religious presence in Bolivia.[13] While a vast majority of Bolivians are Catholic Christians,[31] a much smaller portion of the population participates actively. In the decades following theSecond Vatican Council (1962–65), the Church tried to make religion a more active force in social life.
A 2008 survey for Americas Barometer, with 3,003 respondents and an error (+/- 1,8%)[32] returned these results:
| Religion | Percentage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 81.6% | |
| Evangelical | 10.3% | Pentecostal, Non-Catholic Charismatic |
| No religion | 3.3% | Secular, Atheist |
| Other Protestant | 2.6% | Historic Protestant: Adventist, Baptist, Calvinist, Salvation Army, Lutheran, Methodist, Nazarene, Presbyterian |
| Mormon and Jehova's Witness | 1.7% | |
| Non-Christian | 0.4% | Baháʼí Faith, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu |
| Traditional religions | 0.1% | Native religions |
Other reviews of the population vary from these specific results.[33]
Some cultural development of what is now Bolivia is divided into three distinct periods: pre-Columbian, colonial, and republican. Important archaeological ruins, gold and silver ornaments, stone monuments,ceramics, and weavings remain from several important pre-Columbian cultures. Major ruins includeTiwanaku,Samaipata,Inkallaqta andIskanwaya. The country abounds in other sites that are difficult to reach and hardly explored by archaeologists.
The Spanish brought their own tradition of religious art which, in the hands of local indigenous andmestizo builders and artisans, developed into a rich and distinctive style of architecture, literature, and sculpture known as "Mestizo Baroque." The colonial period produced the paintings of Perez de Holguin, Flores, Bitti, and others, and also the works of skilled but unknownstonecutters, woodcarvers,goldsmiths, andsilversmiths. An important body of native baroque religious music of the colonial period was recovered in recent years and has been performed internationally to wide acclaim since 1994. Bolivian artists of stature in the 20th century include, among others,Guzman de Rojas,Arturo Borda,María Luisa Pacheco,Master William Vega,Alfredo Da Silva, andMarina Núñez del Prado.
Many dances and songs contain elements from both the native and European cultures.Caporales seems to be the most popular Bolivian dance of present times — in a few decades it has developed into an enormously popular dance,[34] not only in the Highlands where it originated, but also in the Lowlands and in Bolivian communities outside the country. In the Highlands, other traditional and still very popular dances are:
In the Lowlands, there are:
It is fashionable among Bolivian Andean women of indigenous descent to wear a ski. It was originally a Spanish peasant skirt that the colonial authorities forced indigenous women to wear. Now it is a symbol of pride in being indigenous and is considered a status symbol.
Another fashion is thebowler hat, which was adopted from the British. The position of the hat can indicate a woman's marital status and aspirations.
Bolivian cuisine stems mainly from the combination ofSpanish cuisine with traditional indigenous Bolivian ingredients, with later influences fromArgentines,Germans,Italians,Basques,Croats,Russians, andPoles, due to the arrival of immigrants from those countries.[35]
The traditional staples of Bolivian cuisine arecorn andpotatoes. These ingredients have been combined with a number of staples brought by the Spanish, such asrice,wheat, and meat, such asbeef,pork, andchicken
