View source for Latin Americans

{{Short description|Citizens of Latin American countries}}
{{For|the [[Panethnicity|pan-ethnic]] demographic group in the [[United States]]|Hispanic and Latino Americans}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Latin Americans
| image            = Latin America (orthographic projection).svg
| total            = '''680,000,000'''<br />or more (in {{UN_Population|Year}}){{UN_Population|ref}}<ref name=OutsideLatAm>Based on recent estimates, as of 2010. Sources by country: '''Australia''' [http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?breadcrumb=POLTD&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&subaction=-1&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&documentproductno=0&textversion=false&documenttype=Details&collection=Census&javascript=true&topic=Ancestry&action=404&productlabel=Ancestry%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&order=1&period=2006&tabname=Details&areacode=0&navmapdisplayed=true& Australian Bureau of Statistics 20680-Ancestry (full classification list) by Sex - Australia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310121707/http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?breadcrumb=POLTD&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&subaction=-1&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&documentproductno=0&textversion=false&documenttype=Details&collection=Census&javascript=true&topic=Ancestry&action=404&productlabel=Ancestry%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&order=1&period=2006&tabname=Details&areacode=0&navmapdisplayed=true& |date=2008-03-10 }};
'''Canada''' 2006 census {{cite web
|url         = http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=CMA&Code=01&Table=1&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=2&Display=Page
|title         = Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada Highlight Tables, 2006 Census
|access-date         = 2008-05-10
|publisher         = Statistics Canada
|archive-date         = 2008-05-07
|archive-url         = https://web.archive.org/web/20080507053644/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=CMA&Code=01&Table=1&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=2&Display=Page
|url-status         = dead
}};
'''Sweden''' [http://www.statistikdatabasen.scb.se/pxweb/en/ssd/START__BE__BE0101__BE0101E/FodelselandArK/table/tableViewLayout1/?rxid=86abd797-7854-4564-9150-c9b06ae3ab07c9b06ae3ab07]
'''Portugal''' [http://www.sef.pt/documentos/56/DADOS_2007.pdf POPULAÇÃO ESTRANGEIRA EM TERRITÓRIO NACIONAL, SERVIÇODE ESTRANGEIROS E FRONTEIRAS] 2008;
'''Spain''' [http://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do?path=/t20/e245/p04/a2007/l0/&file=00000010.px&type=pcaxis&L=0 INE], Revisión del Padrón municipal 2007. Datos a nivel nacional, comunidad autónoma y provincia. {{in lang|es}}; [http://www.ine.es/prensa/np503.pdf INE, Notas de Prensa 2008] {{in lang|es}};
'''USA'''  (Self-identified ethnicity rather than birthplace) {{cite web
 |url          = http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/03/05/statistical-portrait-of-hispanics-in-the-united-states-2007/2007-portrait-of-hispanics-05/
 |title        = Detailed Hispanic Origin: 2007
 |access-date  = 2009-04-13
 |format       = PDF
 |publisher    = [[Pew Research Center|Pew Hispanic Center]]
 |archive-date = 2017-06-07
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20170607003825/http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/03/05/statistical-portrait-of-hispanics-in-the-united-states-2007/2007-portrait-of-hispanics-05/
 |url-status   = dead
}}; {{cite web
 |url          = http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-reg=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201:519;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201PR:519;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201T:519;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201TPR:519&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_&-TABLE_NAMEX=&-ci_type=A&-redoLog=true&-charIterations=414&-geo_id=01000US&-geo_id=NBSP&-format=&-_lang=en
 |title        = United States - Selected Population Profile in the United States (Brazilian (360-364))
 |work         = 2008 [[American Community Survey]] 1-Year Estimates
 |access-date  = 2010-03-16
 |publisher    = [[United States Census Bureau]]
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20200212034619/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-reg=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201:519;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201PR:519;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201T:519;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201TPR:519&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_&-TABLE_NAMEX=&-ci_type=A&-redoLog=true&-charIterations=414&-geo_id=01000US&-geo_id=NBSP&-format=&-_lang=en
 |archive-date = 2020-02-12
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>
| regions          = [[Latin America]]<br />656,098,097{{UN_Population|ref}}
| region1          = {{flagcountry|Brazil}}
| pop1             = {{UN_Population|Brazil}}
| region2          = {{flagcountry|Mexico}}
| pop2             = {{UN_Population|Mexico}}
| region3          = {{flagcountry|Colombia}}
| pop3             = {{UN_Population|Colombia}}
| region4          = {{flagcountry|Argentina}}
| pop4             = {{UN_Population|Argentina}}
| region5          = {{flagcountry|Peru}}
| pop5             = {{UN_Population|Peru}}
| region6          = {{flagcountry|Venezuela}}
| pop6             = {{UN_Population|Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)}}
| region7          = {{flagcountry|Chile}}
| pop7             = {{UN_Population|Chile}}
| region8          = {{flagcountry|Guatemala}}
| pop8             = {{UN_Population|Guatemala}}
| region9          = {{flagcountry|Ecuador}}
| pop9             = {{UN_Population|Ecuador}}
| region10         = {{flagcountry|Bolivia}}
| pop10            = {{UN_Population|Bolivia (Plurinational State of)}}
| region11         = {{flagcountry|Haiti}}
| pop11            = {{UN_Population|Haiti}}
| region12         = {{flagcountry|Cuba}}
| pop12            = {{UN_Population|Cuba}}
| region13         = {{flagcountry|Dominican Republic}}
| pop13            = {{UN_Population|Dominican Republic}}
| region14         = {{flagcountry|Honduras}}
| pop14            = {{UN_Population|Honduras}}
| region15         = {{flagcountry|Nicaragua}}
| pop15            = {{UN_Population|Nicaragua}}
| region16         = {{flagcountry|Paraguay}}
| pop16            = {{UN_Population|Paraguay}}
| region17         = {{flagcountry|El Salvador}}
| pop17            = {{UN_Population|El Salvador}}
| region18         = {{flagcountry|Costa Rica}}
| pop18            = {{UN_Population|Costa Rica}}
| region19         = {{flagcountry|Panama}}
| pop19            = {{UN_Population|Panama}}
| region20         = {{flagcountry|Uruguay}}
| pop20            = {{UN_Population|Uruguay}}
| region21         = {{flagcountry|Puerto Rico}}
| pop21            = {{UN_Population|Puerto Rico}}
| region22         = {{flagcountry|Guadeloupe}}
| pop22            = {{UN_Population|Guadeloupe}}
| region23         = {{flagcountry|Martinique}}
| pop23            = {{UN_Population|Martinique}}
| region24         = {{flagcountry|French Guiana}}
| pop24            = {{UN_Population|French Guiana}}
| region25         = {{flagcountry|United States of America}}
| pop25            = ''[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|+62,000,000]]''
| ref25            = <ref>(Self-identified ethnicity rather than birthplace) {{cite web|url=http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/hispanics2007/Table-5.pdf|title=Detailed Hispanic Origin: 2007|access-date=2009-04-13|publisher=[[Pew Research Center|Pew Hispanic Center]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501040652/http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/hispanics2007/Table-5.pdf|archive-date=2009-05-01|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=acs>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-reg=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201:519;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201PR:519;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201T:519;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201TPR:519&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_&-TABLE_NAMEX=&-ci_type=A&-redoLog=true&-charIterations=414&-geo_id=01000US&-geo_id=NBSP&-format=&-_lang=en|title=United States - Selected Population Profile in the United States (Brazilian (360-364))|work=2008 [[American Community Survey]] 1-Year Estimates|access-date=2010-03-16|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212034619/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-reg=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201:519;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201PR:519;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201T:519;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201TPR:519&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_&-TABLE_NAMEX=&-ci_type=A&-redoLog=true&-charIterations=414&-geo_id=01000US&-geo_id=NBSP&-format=&-_lang=en|archive-date=2020-02-12|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| region26         = {{flagcountry|Spain}}
| pop26            = ''[[Immigration to Spain|+1,700,000]]''
| ref26            = <ref>[http://www.ine.es/prensa/np551.pdf Foreign population in Spain (2009)], [[Spanish National Statistics Institute]] press report. June 3, 2009. (Spanish)</ref>
| region27         = {{flagcountry|France}}
| pop27            = ''[[Immigration to France|1,333,000]]''
| ref27            = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/3682672|title=Population des régions et taux d'évolution de la population|access-date=5 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=List of countries in Latin America|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-countries-in-Latin-America-2061416|website=Encyclopaedia Britannica|publisher=The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica|access-date=31 August 2021}}</ref>
| region28         = {{flagcountry|Canada}}
| pop28            = ''[[Latin American Canadians|+1,000,000]]''
| ref28            = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chbalegal.com/blog/measuring-the-latin-american-population-in-canada-why-is-it-important|title=Measuring the Latin American population in Canada – why is it important? |access-date=29 November 2022}}</ref>
| region29         = {{flagcountry|Italy}}
| pop29            = ''[[Immigration to Italy|354,180]]''
| ref29            = <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.migrantitorino.it/?p=25726|title = E' latinoamericano il 7,7% della popolazione straniera in Italia. In testa il Perù {{!}} Ufficio Pastorale Migranti - Arcidiocesi di Torino}}</ref>
| region30         = {{flagcountry|Japan}}
| pop30            = ''[[Demographics of Japan#Immigration|+345,000]]''
| ref30            = <ref>{{cite web|title=Registered Foreigners in Japan by Nationality|url=http://www.stat.go.jp/data/nenkan/pdf/y0213014.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050824195238/http://www.stat.go.jp/data/nenkan/pdf/y0213014.pdf|archive-date=24 August 2005|publisher=Statistics Bureau|access-date=7 November 2011}}</ref>
| region31         = {{flagcountry|Germany}}
| pop31            = ''[[Immigration to Germany|206,094]]''
| ref31            = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/emigracion/alemania|title=Alemania - Emigrantes totales|access-date=20 June 2019}}</ref>
| region32         = {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}
| pop32            = ''[[Latin Americans in the United Kingdom|186,500]]''
| ref32            = <ref name="TfL">{{cite web|url=http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/No%20Longer%20Invisible%20report.pdf|title=No Longer Invisible: The Latin American community in London|publisher=Trust for London|access-date=19 May 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321090718/http://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/No%20Longer%20Invisible%20report.pdf|archive-date=21 March 2012}}</ref>
| region33         = {{flagcountry|Portugal}}
| pop33            = ''[[Immigration to Portugal|~100,000]]''
| ref33            = <ref>[http://www.sef.pt/documentos/56/DADOS_2007.pdf POPULAÇÃO ESTRANGEIRA EM TERRITÓRIO NACIONAL, SERVIÇO DE ESTRANGEIROS E FRONTEIRAS] 2008;</ref>
| region34         = {{flagcountry|Australia}}
| pop34            = ''[[Latin American Australians|93,795]]''
| ref34            = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?breadcrumb=POLTD&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&subaction=-1&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&documentproductno=0&textversion=false&documenttype=Details&collection=Census&javascript=true&topic=Ancestry&action=404&productlabel=Ancestry%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&order=1&period=2006&tabname=Details&areacode=0&navmapdisplayed=true&|title=Redirect to Census data page|work=abs.gov.au|access-date=22 September 2015|archive-date=10 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310121707/http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?breadcrumb=POLTD&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&subaction=-1&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&documentproductno=0&textversion=false&documenttype=Details&collection=Census&javascript=true&topic=Ancestry&action=404&productlabel=Ancestry%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&order=1&period=2006&tabname=Details&areacode=0&navmapdisplayed=true&|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| region35         = {{flagcountry|Sweden}}
| pop35            = ''[[Immigration to Sweden|88,175]]''
| ref35            = <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.statistikdatabasen.scb.se/pxweb/en/ssd/START__BE__BE0101__BE0101E/FodelselandArK/table/tableViewLayout1/?rxid=86abd797-7854-4564-9150-c9b06ae3ab07c9b06ae3ab07|title = Population by country of birth, age and sex. Year 2000 - 2020}}</ref>
| region36         = {{flagcountry|New Zealand}}
| pop36            = ''[[Latin American migration to New Zealand|38,742]]''
| ref36            = <ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 Census population counts (by ethnic group, age, and Māori descent) and dwelling counts {{!}} Stats NZ |url=https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/2023-census-population-counts-by-ethnic-group-age-and-maori-descent-and-dwelling-counts/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=www.stats.govt.nz}}</ref>
| langs            = Primarily [[Spanish language in the Americas|Spanish]] and [[Brazilian Portuguese|Portuguese]]<br />Regionally [[Quechua languages|Quechua]], [[Mayan languages]], [[Guarani language|Guaraní]], [[Aymara language|Aymara]], [[Nahuatl]] and [[Latin Americans#Language|others]]
| rels             = {{hlist|[[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] 69%|[[Protestantism|Protestant]] 19%|[[Irreligion|Irreligious]] 8%|Other 4%}}<ref name=PRC>{{cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/|title=Religion in Latin America|date=13 November 2014}}</ref>
| related_groups   = 
}}

'''Latin Americans''' ({{langx|es|Latinoamericanos}}; {{langx|pt|Latino-americanos}}; {{Langx|fr|Latino-américains}}) are the [[citizenship|citizens]] of [[Latin America]]n countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or [[national origin]]s in Latin America).

Latin American countries and their [[Latin American diaspora|diasporas]] are [[Metroethnicity|multi-ethnic]] and [[Multiracial people|multi-racial]]. Latin Americans are a [[Panethnicity|pan-ethnicity]] consisting of people of different ethnic and national backgrounds. As a result, many Latin Americans do not take their nationality as an [[Ethnic group|ethnicity]], but identify themselves with a combination of their [[nationality]], ethnicity and their ancestral origins.<ref name="Lizcano" /> In addition to the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] population, Latin Americans include people with [[Old World]] ancestors who arrived since 1492. Latin America has the largest diasporas of [[Spanish diaspora|Spaniards]], [[Portuguese people#Portuguese diaspora|Portuguese]], [[African diaspora|Africans]], [[Italian diaspora|Italians]], [[Lebanese diaspora|Lebanese]] and [[Japanese diaspora|Japanese]] in the world.<ref>Pozzetta, George E., Bruno Ramirez and Robert F. Harney. The Italian Diaspora: Migration across the Globe. Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario, 1992.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=King|first=Russell|date=1978-01-01|title=Report: The Italian Diaspora|jstor=20001401|journal=Area|volume=10|issue=5|pages=386}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brazil.org.uk/resources/documents/bs-primary03.pdf|title=Fact Sheet 3. Brazil - the Country and its People|work=Embassy of Brazil in London - Schools' Pack, Brazil 2009|date=2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111226051546/http://www.brazil.org.uk/resources/documents/bs-primary03.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> The region also has large [[German diaspora|German]] (second largest after the United States),<ref name="Handwörterbuch">{{cite web|author=Wilhelm Bleek |url=http://www.bpb.de/wissen/08937231579775312662617270950640,1,0,Auslandsdeutsche.html#art1 |title=Auslandsdeutsche|trans-title=Germans abroad |language=de|publisher=German Federal Agency for Civic Education|date=2003|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310052559/http://www.bpb.de/wissen/08937231579775312662617270950640%2C1%2C0%2CAuslandsdeutsche.html|archive-date=2011-03-10}}</ref> [[French diaspora|French]], [[Palestinian diaspora|Palestinian]] (largest outside the Arab states),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baeza |first1=Cecilia |title=Palestinians in Latin America: Between Assimilation and Long-Distance Nationalism |url=https://online.ucpress.edu/jps/article-abstract/43/2/59/53568/Palestinians-in-Latin-AmericaBetween-Assimilation?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |access-date=22 December 2021 |pages=59–72 |language=en |doi=10.1525/jps.2014.43.2.59 |date=1 February 2014|volume=43 |issue=2 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[Chinese diaspora|Chinese]] and [[Jewish diaspora]]s.

The specific [[Ethnic group|ethnic]] and/or [[Race (human categorization)|racial]] composition varies from country to country and diaspora community to diaspora community: many have a predominance of mixed indigenous and European descent or [[mestizo]], population; in others, [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous Amerindians]] are a majority; some are mostly inhabited by people of [[White Latin Americans|European]] ancestry; others are primarily [[mulatto]].<ref name="Lizcano"/><ref name="latin">{{cite web|title=América Latina|date=15 July 2001 |url=http://www.monografias.com/trabajos7/amla/amla.shtml|website=monografias.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050809074052/http://www.monografias.com/trabajos7/amla/amla.shtml|archive-date=9 August 2005}}</ref> The largest single group are [[white Latin Americans]].<ref name=Lizcano/> Together with the people of part European ancestry, they combine for almost the totality of the population.<ref name=Lizcano/>

Latin Americans and their descendants can be found almost everywhere in the world, particularly in densely populated urban areas. The most important migratory destinations for Latin Americans are found in the [[United States]], [[Spain]], [[France]], [[Canada]], [[Italy]] and [[Japan]].

==Definition==
{{Main|Latin America}}
[[File:Map-Latin America.svg|thumbnail|left|200px|[[Latin America]]n countries (''green'') in the [[Americas]]]]
Latin America ({{langx|es|América Latina}} or ''Latinoamérica''; {{langx|pt|América Latina}}; {{langx|fr|Latino-américains}}) is the [[region]] of the [[Americas]] where [[Romance languages]] (i.e., those derived from [[Latin language|Latin]])—particularly [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], as well as [[French language|French]]—are primarily spoken.<ref name=Colburn>{{cite book |title=Latin America at the End of Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qBCVB3mxCK8C&q=%22latin+america+at+the+end+of+politics%22&pg=PP1|last=Colburn |first=Forrest D |year=2002 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=0-691-09181-1}}</ref><ref>"Latin America."''[[Oxford Dictionary of English|The New Oxford Dictionary of English]]''. Pearsall, J., ed. 2001. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; p. 1040: "The parts of the [[Americas|American continent]] where Spanish or Portuguese is the main national language (i.e.[[Mexico]] and, in effect, the whole of [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]] including many of the [[Caribbean]] islands)."''</ref>

It includes 21 countries or territories: [[Mexico]] in [[North America]]; [[Guatemala]], [[Honduras]], [[El Salvador]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Costa Rica]] and  [[Panama]] in [[Central America]]; [[Colombia]], [[Venezuela]], [[Ecuador]], [[Peru]], [[Bolivia]], [[Brazil]], [[Paraguay]], [[Chile]], [[Argentina]] and [[Uruguay]] in [[South America]]; and [[Cuba]], [[Haiti]], the [[Dominican Republic]] and [[Puerto Rico]] in the [[Caribbean]]—in summary, [[Hispanic America]] plus Brazil and Haiti. [[Canada]] and the [[United States]], despite having sizeable Romance-speaking communities, are almost never included in the definition, primarily for being predominantly English-speaking [[Anglosphere]] countries. The [[ABC islands (Leeward Antilles)]], where the primary language is [[Papiamento]], a [[Portuguese-based creole language|Portuguese Creole]], may or may not be considered part of Latin America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/300471435|title=Language and education in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao}}</ref>

Latin America, therefore, can be defined as all those parts of the [[Americas]] that were once part of the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]], [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] or [[French colonial empire|French]] colonial empires,<ref>{{cite book | last = Rangel | first = Carlos | title = The Latin Americans: Their Love-Hate Relationship with the United States | publisher = Harcourt Brace Jovanovich | year = 1977 | location = New York |pages = 3–5 | isbn = 0-15-148795-2 }} {{cite book | last = Skidmore | first = Thomas E. |author2=Peter H. Smith | title = Modern Latin America | url = https://archive.org/details/modernlatinameri0006skid | url-access = registration | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2005 | edition = 6 | location = Oxford and New York |pages = [https://archive.org/details/modernlatinameri0006skid/page/1 1–10]| isbn = 0-19-517013-X }}</ref> namely [[Spanish America]], [[Colonial Brazil]] and [[New France]].

==Demographics==

===Ethnic and racial groups===
{{main|Race and ethnicity in Latin America}}
[[File:Wititis.jpg|thumb|Wititi dancers from [[Colca Canyon]], Peru. [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous people]] make up most of the population in [[Bolivia]] and [[Guatemala]], and a quarter in [[Peru]].]]
[[File:La Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco y su Director Titular Marco Parisotto.jpg|thumb|Mexican musicians from the [[Jalisco Philarmonic Orchestra|Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra]]. [[Mestizos]] comprise the majority of Mexicans.]]
[[File:XXXIV Fiesta Nacional del Inmigrante - desfile - colectividad italiana 2.JPG|thumb|[[Italian Argentine]] youths in Oberá. Over 60% of Argentina's population has some degree of Italian ancestry.<ref>{{cite book |title= Britain and the Making of Argentina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jXNgInLwwIoC&pg=PA101 |page=101 |author=Gordon A. Bridger |year=2013 | publisher=WIT Press |isbn = 9781845646844|quote=Some 86% identify themselves as being of European descent, of whom 60% would claim Italian links}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://infouniversidades.siu.edu.ar/noticia.php?titulo=historias_de_inmigrantes_italianos_en_argentina&id=1432#.U2cKkYHa70s |title=Historias de inmigrantes italianos en Argentina |date=14 November 2011 |author =Departamento de Derecho y Ciencias Políticas de la [[National University of La Matanza|Universidad Nacional de La Matanza]] |publisher=infouniversidades.siu.edu.ar |language=es |quote=Se estima que en la actualidad, el 90% de la población argentina tiene alguna ascendencia europea y que al menos 25 millones están relacionados con algún inmigrante de Italia.}}</ref>]]
[[File:Palenqueras al natural.jpg|thumb|[[Afro-Colombian]] fruit sellers in [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]].]]
[[File:Japanese Brazilian Miko Curitiba Paraná.jpg|thumb|Woman from [[Curitiba]], one of over a million [[Japanese Brazilians]].]]
[[File:Tapati 3351a.jpg|thumb|[[Rapa Nui people|Rapa Nui]] dancers from [[Easter Island]], Chile. The Rapa Nui are a [[Polynesian people]].]]
The population of Latin America comprises a variety of ancestries, ethnic groups and races, making the region one of the most diverse in the world. The specific composition varies from country to country: many have a predominance of mixed European and Amerindian, or [[mestizo]], population; in others, [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindians]] are a majority; some are dominated by inhabitants of [[White Latin Americans|European]] ancestry; and some countries' populations are primarily [[mulatto]]. [[White Latin Americans]] are the largest single group, accounting for more than one-third of the population. [[Afro-Latin Americans|Black]], [[Asian Latin Americans|Asian]], and [[zambo]] (mixed black and Amerindian) minorities are also identified regularly.<ref name=Lizcano/><ref name=CIAEG>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003008/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 13, 2007|title= CIA — The World Factbook -- Field Listing — Ethnic groups |access-date=2008-02-20}}</ref>
* '''[[Mestizo]]s''': Intermixing between Europeans and Amerindians began early in the colonial period and was extensive. The resulting people, known as mestizos, make up the majority of the population in half of the countries of Latin America. Additionally, mestizos comprise large minorities in nearly all the other mainland countries.
* '''[[White Latin Americans|Whites]]''': Beginning in the late [[15th century]], large numbers<ref name=Lizcano/> of [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberian]] colonists settled in what became [[Latin America]] (Portuguese in [[Brazil]] and Spaniards elsewhere in the region), and at present most [[white Latin Americans]] are of [[Spanish people|Spanish]], [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] and [[Italians|Italian]] ancestry. Iberians brought the Spanish and Portuguese languages, the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] faith, and many Iberian traditions. [[Brazil]], [[Mexico]], [[Argentina]], [[Colombia]] and [[Venezuela]] contain the largest numbers of Europeans in Latin America in pure numbers.<ref name=Lizcano/> They make up the majority of the population of [[Argentina]], [[Chile]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Cuba]] and [[Uruguay]] and roughly half of [[Brazil]]'s and [[Venezuela]]'s population.<ref name=Lizcano/><ref name=Venezuela-Census2011>{{cite web |url=http://www.ine.gov.ve/documentos/Demografia/CensodePoblacionyVivienda/pdf/ResultadosBasicosCenso2011.pdf |title=Resultado Básico del XIV Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2011 |page=14 |language=es |publisher=Ine.gov.ve |access-date=2012-11-25 |archive-date=2018-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115145751/http://www.ine.gov.ve/documentos/Demografia/CensodePoblacionyVivienda/pdf/ResultadosBasicosCenso2011.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Of the millions of immigrants since most of Latin America gained independence in the 1810s–1820s, [[Italian people|Italians]] formed the largest group, and next were [[Spanish people|Spaniards]] and [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-41807/South-America |title=South America :: Postindependence overseas immigrants |access-date=2008-02-10 |encyclopedia=Britannica Online Encyclopedia}}</ref> Many others arrived, such as [[French people|French]], [[Germans]], [[Greeks]], [[Polish people|Poles]], [[Ukrainians]], [[Russians]], [[Croats]], [[Serbs]], [[Latvians]], [[Lithuanians]], [[English people|English]], [[Jew]]s, [[Irish people|Irish]] and [[Welsh people|Welsh]]. Most Latin Americans have some degree of European ancestry, when taking into account those of either mixed or full European descent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.revistatabularasa.org/numero |title=Latinoamérica |access-date=2013-09-23 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
* '''[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindians]]''': The indigenous population of Latin America arrived during the [[Lithic stage]]. In post-Columbian times, they experienced tremendous population decline, particularly in the early decades of [[colonization]]. They have since recovered in numbers, surpassing sixty million (by some estimates<ref name=CIAEG/>), though, with the growth of the other groups, they now comprise a majority only in [[Bolivia]]. In [[Guatemala]], Amerindians are a large minority that comprises 41% of the population.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.censopoblacion.gt/dondeestamos |title=Census data |access-date=2020-07-15 |archive-date=2021-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308102324/https://www.censopoblacion.gt/dondeestamos |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Mexico]]'s 21% (9.8% in the official 2005 census) is the next largest ratio, and one of the largest indigenous population in the Americas in absolute numbers. Most of the remaining countries have Amerindians minorities, in every case making up less than one-tenth of the respective country's population. In many countries, people of mixed indigenous and European ancestry, known as [[mestizo]]s, make up the majority of the population.
* '''[[Asian Latin Americans|Asians]]''': People of Asian descent number several million in Latin America. The majority of Asian descendants in the country are either of West Asian (such as Lebanese or Syrian) or East Asian (like Chinese or Japanese) descent.<ref name="Lizcano 2005 Study">{{cite journal|last=Lizcano Fernández|first=Francisco|url=http://convergencia.uaemex.mx/rev38/38pdf/LIZCANO.pdf|title=Composición Étnica de las Tres Áreas Culturales del Continente Americano al Comienzo del Siglo XXI|trans-title=Ethnic Composition of the Three Cultural Areas of the American Continent at the Beginning of the 21st Century|language=es|journal=Convergencia. Revista de Ciencias Sociales|publisher=Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México|location=Toluca, México|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626010236/http://convergencia.uaemex.mx/rev38/38pdf/LIZCANO.pdf|archive-date=26 June 2013|pages=194–195|quote=En principio, se pueden distinguir dos grupos muy distintos al interior de esta etnia: el que procede de Asia occidental (sobre todo árabes cristianos llegados desde Siria y Líbano) y el que salió de Asia oriental (chinos y japoneses principalmente).}}</ref> The first Asians to settle in the region were [[Filipino people|Filipino]], as a result of Spain's trade involving Asia and the Americas. The [[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics]] states that the country's largest Asian communities are from West Asia and East Asia.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Petruccelli|first1=Jose Luis|last2=Saboia|first2=Ana Lucia|title=Caracteristicas Etnico-raciais da Populacao Classificacoes e identidades|url=https://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/livros/liv63405.pdf|access-date=28 July 2021|website=[[IBGE]]|page=53|quote=descendentes e os asiáticos – japoneses, chineses, coreanos, libaneses, sírios, entre outros}}</ref> It is estimated that 7 to 10 million Brazilians are of Lebanese descent.<ref name="itamaraty1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7223:lebanese-republic&catid=155&lang=en&Itemid=478 |title=Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affaires |access-date=22 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923004630/http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7223:lebanese-republic&catid=155&lang=en&Itemid=478 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="libano1">{{cite web|url=http://www.libano.org.br/olibano_geografia.htm |title=Lebanon: Geography |language=pt |work=Embassy of Lebanon in Brazil |date=1996 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529005221/http://www.libano.org.br/olibano_geografia.htm |archive-date=29 May 2008}}</ref> Around 2 million Brazilians self-identify as being "Yellow" (amarela or of East Asian descent) according to the 2010 census.<ref name="2010 ibge.gov.br">{{cite web|url=http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/populacao/censo2010/caracteristicas_da_populacao/tabelas_pdf/tab3.pdf|date=8 November 2011|title=Censo Demográfi co 2010 Características da população e dos domicílios Resultados do universo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525132840/http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/populacao/censo2010/caracteristicas_da_populacao/tabelas_pdf/tab3.pdf|access-date=5 November 2022|archive-date=25 May 2013}}</ref> The country is home to the largest ethnic [[Japanese Brazilian|Japanese community]] outside [[Japan]] itself, estimated as high as 1.5 million, and circa 200,000 ethnic Chinese and 100,000 ethnic [[Koreans]].<ref>{{citation|work=Revista de Estudos da Religião|issue=Nº 3|year=2004|pages=74–87|issn=1677-1222|title=Reinterpretação do Budismo Chinês e Coreano no Brasil|first=Rafael |last=Shoji |url=http://www.pucsp.br/rever/rv3_2004/p_shoji.pdf|access-date=2010-06-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/brazil/index.html|title=Japan-Brazil Relations|work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref> Ethnic Koreans also number tens of thousands of individuals in Argentina and Mexico.<ref name="MOFAT">{{citation|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade |location=South Korea |year=2009 |access-date=2009-05-21 |url=http://www.mofat.go.kr/consul/overseascitizen/compatriotcondition/index6.jsp?TabMenu=TabMenu6 |title=재외동포현황/Current Status of Overseas Compatriots |ref=CITEREFMOFAT2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20101023213104/http://www.mofat.go.kr/consul/overseascitizen/compatriotcondition/index6.jsp?TabMenu=TabMenu6 |archive-date=2010-10-23 }}</ref> The 2017 census stated that under 40,000 Peruvians self-identified as having Chinese or Japanese ancestry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inei.gob.pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1539/libro.pdf|title=Perú: Perfil Sociodemográfico |page = 216 |website = Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática}}</ref> Though other estimates claim as much as 1.47 million people of East Asian descent reside in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocac.gov.tw/english/public/public.asp?selno=1163&no=1163&level=B |title=:: Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, R.O.C. :: |publisher=Ocac.gov.tw |date=2004-08-24 |access-date=2010-07-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131123193905/http://www.ocac.gov.tw/english/public/public.asp?selno=1163&no=1163&level=B |archive-date=2013-11-23 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.universia.edu.pe/noticias/principales/destacada.php?id=65889 |title=DESAFIOS-QUE-NOS-ACERCAN — Noticias — Universia Perú |publisher=Univeria.edu.pe |access-date=2010-07-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415092911/http://www.universia.edu.pe/noticias/principales/destacada.php?id=65889 |archive-date=2009-04-15 }}</ref> Lebanese and Syrian descendants have also formed notable communities in countries like Mexico and Argentina.<ref name="Elindependiente">{{cite news|title=Recopilaron casi 200 años de los sirio libaneses en Argentina|url=http://www.elindependiente.com.ar/papel/hoy/archivo_2004/noticias_v.asp?39074|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908043743/http://www.elindependiente.com.ar/papel/hoy/archivo_2004/noticias_v.asp?39074|archive-date=8 September 2014|access-date=9 November 2021|newspaper=El Independiente|quote=González convenció a sus pares de rechazarla, con el argumento de que eran "los más europeos del Asia y son sumisos y laboriosos".|language=es}}</ref> The [[Martinique|Martiniquais]] population includes a mixed African, European and Amerindian descent, and an East Indian (Asian Indian) population is also present in [[Martinique]].<ref name="CIA">{{cite web |publisher=CIA |location=US |year=2003 |title=The World Factbook |url=http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact2003/geos/mb.html |access-date=2013-09-23 |archive-date=2018-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911195426/http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact2003/geos/mb.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In [[Guadeloupe]], an estimated 14% of the population is of East Asian descent.
* '''[[Mulatto]]es''': Mulattoes are people of mixed European and African ancestry, mostly descended from Spanish, Portuguese, or French settlers on one side and African slaves on the other, during the colonial period. Brazil is home to Latin America's largest mulatto population. Mulattoes form a majority in the Dominican Republic and are also numerous in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. Smaller populations of mulattoes are found in other Latin American countries.<ref name=CIAEG/>
* '''[[Afro-Latin Americans|Blacks]]''': Millions of African slaves were brought to Latin America from the 16th century onward, most of whom were sent to the [[Caribbean]] region and [[Brazil]]. Today, people identified as "black" are most numerous in Brazil (more than 20 million) and in Haiti (more than 9 million).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sandiilessa.wordpress.com/|title=La trata de negros|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref> Significant populations are also found in [[Cuba]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Panama]] and [[Colombia]]. Latin Americans of mixed black and white ancestry, called mulattoes, are far more numerous than blacks.
* '''[[Zambo]]s''': Intermixing between blacks and Amerindians was especially prevalent in [[Colombia]] and [[Brazil]], often due to slaves running away (becoming ''[[Maroon (people)|cimarrones]]'': maroons) and being taken in by indigenous villagers. In Spanish-speaking nations, people of this mixed ancestry are known as zambos,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110514000352/http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A61891-2002Dec1%C2%ACFound%3Dtrue Stranded in Paradise: Shipwrecked Hundreds of Years Ago, the Garifuna Are Still Trying to Find Their Way] by Teresa Wiltz, The Washington Post.</ref> and they are also known as [[cafuzo]]s in Brazil.
* '''[[Multiracial|Multi-ethnic/Multi-racial]]s''': In addition to the foregoing groups, Latin America also has millions of peoples who belong to multiracial backgrounds.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
<!--
PLEASE DO NOT MODIFY THIS TABLE EXCEPT IN ACCORDANCE WITH DISCUSSION. ALL OTHER MODIFICATIONS WILL BE REVERTED.

-->
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right"
|+ '''Racial distribution, in 2005'''<ref name=Lizcano>{{cite journal|last=Lizcano Fernández |first=Francisco |date=May–August 2005 |title=Composición Étnica de las Tres Áreas Culturales del Continente Americano al Comienzo del Siglo XXI |journal=Convergencia |volume=38 |pages=185–232; table on p. 218 |publisher=[[Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México]], Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades |location=Mexico |issn=1405-1435 |url=http://convergencia.uaemex.mx/rev38/38pdf/LIZCANO.pdf |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920172933/http://convergencia.uaemex.mx/rev38/38pdf/LIZCANO.pdf |archive-date=2008-09-20 }}{{Page range too broad|date=July 2021}}</ref> - '''Population estimates, as of {{UN_Population|Year}}'''{{UN_Population|ref}}
|- style="background:#e8e8e8;"
! Country
! Population{{UN_Population|ref}}
! [[Mestizo]]s
! [[White Latin Americans|Whites]]
! [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindians]]
! [[Mulatto]]es
! [[Afro-Latin Americans|Blacks]]
! [[Zambo]]s
! [[Asian Latin Americans|Asians]]
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Argentina}} <!--Fercho, cease your nonsense. This table has Uruguay with 88% white-->
| {{UN_Population|Argentina}} || 11.1% || '''85.0%''' || 1.0% || 0.0% || 0.0% || 0.0% || 2.9%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Bolivia}}
| {{UN_Population|Bolivia (Plurinational State of)}} || 28.0% || 15.0% || style="background:#E8E8E8" | '''55.0%''' || 2.0% || 0.0% || 0.0% || 0.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Brazil}}
| style="background:#E8E8E8" | {{UN_Population|Brazil}} || 19.4% || '''47.7%''' || 0.4% || 19.1%|| 6.2% || 0.0%  || 1.1%<ref name="Igbe Brasil 2010">{{Cite FTP | url=ftp://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Censos/Censo_Demografico_2010/Caracteristicas_Gerais_Religiao_Deficiencia/tab1_2.pdf |title=Cor ou Raça |year=2010 | server=Censo Demográfico 2010: Características gerais da população, religião e pessoas com deficiência | url-status=dead |access-date=5 October 2013}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Chile}}
| {{UN_Population|Chile}} || 44.0% || '''53.0%''' || 3.0% || 0.0% || 0.0% || 0.0% || 0.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Colombia}}
| {{UN_Population|Colombia}} || '''53.2%''' || 20.0% || 1.8% || 21% || 3.9% || 0.1% || 0.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Costa Rica}}
| {{UN_Population|Costa Rica}} || 15.0% || '''82.0%''' || 0.8% || 0.0% || 0.0% || 2.0% || 0.2%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Cuba}}
| {{UN_Population|Cuba}} || 0.0% || '''62.0%''' || 0.0% || 27.6% || 11.0% || 0.0% || 1.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Dominican Republic}}
| {{UN_Population|Dominican Republic}} || 0.0% || 14.6% || 0.0%
| style="background:#E8E8E8" | '''75.0%''' || 7.7% || 2.3% || 0.4%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Ecuador}}
| {{UN_Population|Ecuador}} || '''41.0%''' || 9.9% || 39.0% || 5.0% || 5.0% || 0.0% || 0.1%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|El Salvador}}
| {{UN_Population|El Salvador}} || style="background:#E8E8E8" | '''86.0%''' || 12.0% || 1.0% || 0.0% || 0.0% || 0.0% || 0.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Guatemala}}
| {{UN_Population|Guatemala}} || 41.0% || 6.9% || '''50.9%''' || 0.0% || 0.0% || 0.2% || 0.8%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Honduras}}
| {{UN_Population|Honduras}} || '''85.1%''' || 1.9% || 7.7% || 1.6% || 0.0% || 3.9% || 0.7%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Mexico}}
| {{UN_Population|Mexico}} || '''70%''' || 15% || 14% || 0.5% || 0.0% || 0.0% || 0.5%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Nicaragua}}
| {{UN_Population|Nicaragua}} || '''69%''' || 17% || 5% || 6% || 3% || 0.6% || 0.2%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Panama}}
| {{UN_Population|Panama}} || '''32.0%''' || 10.0% || 8.0% || 27.0% || 5.0% || style="background:#E8E8E8" | 14.0% || style="background:#E8E8E8"|4.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Paraguay}}
| {{UN_Population|Paraguay}} || '''90.5%''' || 3.5% || 1.5% || 3.5% || 0.0% || 0.0% || 0.5%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Peru}}
| {{UN_Population|Peru}} || 32.0% || 12.0% || '''45.5%''' || 9.7% || 0.0% || 0.0% || 0.8%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Puerto Rico}}{{refn|group=sn|Note: Puerto Rico is [[Political status of Puerto Rico|a territory]] of the [[United States]].}}
| 3,285,874<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/state-by-state/puerto-rico-population-change-between-census-decade.html|title=Puerto Rico Population Declined 11.8% From 2010 to 2020|website=Census.gov}}</ref>|| 2.3% || 17.1% || 0.5% || 10.5% || style="background:#E8E8E8" | 7.0% || 0.0% || 0.1%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Uruguay}}
| {{UN_Population|Uruguay}} || 4.0% || '''88.0%''' || 0.0% || 8.0% || 0.0% || 0.0% || 0.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Venezuela}}
| {{UN_Population|Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)}} || '''42.9%''' || 42.2% || 2.7% || 0.7% || 2.8% || 0.0% || 2.2%
|- class="sortbottom"  style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;"
| style="text-align:left;"| '''Total'''
| '''635,457,371'''|| 30.3% || '''36.1%''' || 9.2% || 20.3% || 3.2% || 0.2% || 0.7%
|}
{{reflist|group=sn}}

===Racial groups according to self-identification===
The [[Latinobarómetro]] surveys have asked respondents in 18 Latin American countries what race they considered themselves to belong to. The figures shown below are averages for 2007 through 2011.<ref>[http://www.latinobarometro.org/ Informe Latinobarómetro], [[Latinobarómetro]].</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right"
|-
! Country || [[Mestizo]] || [[White people|White]] || [[Amerindian]] || [[Mulatto]] || [[Black people|Black]] || [[Asian people|Asian]] || Other || DK/NR<sup>1</sup>
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Argentina}} || 15% || '''73%''' || 1% || 1% || 1% || 0% || 3% || 7%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Bolivia}} || 40% || 6% || '''47%''' || 1% || 0% || 0% || 1% || 4%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Brazil}} || 18% || '''45%''' || 2% || 15% || 15% || 2% || 0% || 2%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Chile}} || 26% || '''60%''' || 7% || 0% || 0% || 1% || 1% || 5%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Colombia}} || '''43%''' || 29% || 5% || 5% || 7% || 0% || 1% || 9%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Costa Rica}} || 16% || '''66%''' || 3% || 9% || 2% || 1% || 1% || 5%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Dominican Republic}} || '''28%''' || 16% || 5% || 23% || 25% || 2% || 0% || 2%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Ecuador}} || '''78%''' || 5% || 7% || 3% || 3% || 1% || 0% || 3%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|El Salvador}} || '''62%''' || 14% || 5% || 3% || 2% || 1% || 2% || 11%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Guatemala}} || 29% || 17% || '''44%''' || 2% || 1% || 1% || 2% || 6%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Honduras}} || '''61%''' || 9% || 12% || 3% || 3% || 2% || 1% || 10%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Mexico}} || '''60%''' || 15% || 15% || 2% || 0% || 1% || 3% || 4%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Nicaragua}} || '''54%''' || 19% || 7% || 3% || 4% || 1% || 1% || 11%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Panama}} || '''55%''' || 15% || 5% || 5% || 11% || 4% || 1% || 4%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Paraguay}} || '''36%''' || 35% || 2% || 1% || 1% || 0% || 4% || 20%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Peru}} || '''72%''' || 12% || 7% || 2% || 1% || 0% || 1% || 5%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Uruguay}} || 6% || '''80%''' || 1% || 3% || 2% || 0% || 2% || 6%
|-
| align="left" | {{flag|Venezuela}} || '''45%''' || 40% || 4% || 3% || 2% || 1% || 0% || 5%
|-
! Weighted average<sup>2</sup> || 34% || 33% || 11% || 8% || 6% || 0% || 2% || 7%
|}

<sup>1</sup> <small>Don't know/No response.</small><br />
<sup>2</sup> <small>Weighted using 2011 population.</small>

===Language===
[[File:Map-Romance Latin America.svg|thumb|Linguistic map of Latin America. Spanish in green, Portuguese in orange, and French in blue.]]

[[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] are the predominant languages of Latin America. [[Spanish language|Spanish]] is the official language of most of the countries on the Latin American mainland, as well as in [[Puerto Rico]] (where it is co-official with English), [[Cuba]] and the [[Dominican Republic]]. [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] is spoken only in [[Brazil]], the biggest and most populous country in the region. [[French language|French]] is spoken in [[Haiti]], as well as in the [[French overseas departments]] of [[French Guiana]] in South America and [[Guadeloupe]] and [[Martinique]] in the Caribbean. [[Dutch language|Dutch]] is the official language of some Caribbean islands and in [[Suriname]] on the continent; however, as Dutch is a [[Germanic languages|Germanic language]], these territories are not considered part of Latin America.

[[Indigenous languages of South America|Indigenous languages]] are widely spoken in [[Peru]], [[Guatemala]], [[Bolivia]] and [[Paraguay]], and, to a lesser degree, in [[Mexico]], [[Chile]] and [[Ecuador]]. In Latin American countries not named above, the population of speakers of indigenous languages is small or non-existent.

In [[Peru]], [[Quechua languages|Quechua]] is an official language, alongside Spanish and any other indigenous language in the areas where they predominate. In [[Ecuador]], while holding no official status, the closely related [[Quichua]] is a recognized language of the indigenous people under the country's constitution; however, it is only spoken by a few groups in the country's highlands. In [[Bolivia]], [[Aymara language|Aymara]], Quechua and Guaraní hold official status alongside Spanish. [[Guaraní language|Guarani]] is, along with Spanish, an official language of [[Paraguay]], and is spoken by a majority of the population (who are, for the most part, bilingual), and it is co-official with Spanish in the [[Argentina|Argentine]] province of [[Corrientes]]. In [[Nicaragua]], Spanish is the official language, but, on the country's Caribbean coast [[English language|English]] and indigenous languages such as [[Miskito language|Miskito]], [[Sumo languages|Sumo]], and [[Rama language|Rama]] also hold official status. [[Colombia]] recognizes all indigenous languages spoken within its territory as official, though fewer than 1% of its population are native speakers of these. [[Nahuatl]] is one of the 62 native languages spoken by indigenous people in [[Mexico]] that are officially recognized by the government as "national languages" along with Spanish.

Other European languages spoken in Latin America include: [[English language|English]], by some groups in [[Argentina]], [[Chile]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Nicaragua]], [[Panama]] and [[Puerto Rico]], as well as in nearby countries that may or may not be considered Latin American, such as [[Belize]] and [[Guyana]]; English is also used as a major foreign language in Latin American commerce and education.  Other languages spoken in parts of Latin America include [[German language|German]] in southern [[Brazil]], southern [[Chile]], Argentina, portions of northern [[Venezuela]] and Paraguay; [[Italian language in Brazil|Italian in Brazil]], Argentina, [[Uruguay]] and Venezuela; [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] and [[Russian language|Russian]] in southern Brazil; and [[Welsh language|Welsh]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1163503|title=h2g2 - Y Wladfa - The Welsh in Patagonia - Edited Entry|author=Not Panicking Ltd|date=21 November 2011|work=bbc.co.uk|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.1stclassargentina.com/tours/WelshImmigration.html|title=The Welsh Immigration to Argentina|work=1stclassargentina.com|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.argbrit.org/Patagonia/patagonia_entry.htm|title=Opening page: The Welsh in Patagonia|author=Jeremy Howat|work=argbrit.org|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.patagonline.com/patagonia/destacados/peninsula-valdes/gaiman-trelew|title=Gaiman, Trelew y Rawson|work=patagonline.com|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andesceltig.com/|title=Y Wladfa - Patagonia|work=andesceltig.com|access-date=22 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917174822/http://andesceltig.com/|archive-date=17 September 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.glaniad.com/ |title=Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia |access-date=2010-07-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808130811/http://www.glaniad.com/ |archive-date=2016-08-08 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> in southern Argentina. Hebrew and Yiddish are used by Jewish diasporas in Argentina and Brazil.

In several nations, especially in the [[Caribbean]] region, [[creole languages]] are spoken. The most widely spoken creole language in the Caribbean and Latin America in general is [[Haitian Creole]], the predominant language of [[Haiti]]; it is derived primarily from French and certain [[West Africa]]n tongues with indigenous, English, Portuguese and Spanish influences as well. The other most spoken Creole is [[Antillean Creole French]] that is primarily spoken in the Lesser Antilles. It is a French-based creole, that is the local language spoken among the natives of the Caribbean islands of [[Saint Lucia]] and [[Dominica]] and also in [[Martinique]] and [[Guadeloupe]]. Creole languages of mainland Latin America, similarly, are derived from European languages and various African tongues.

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in Latin America}}
[[File:Procesión del Milagro en la provincia de Salta - Argentina.jpg|thumb|Procession of Our Lord and the Virgin of the Miracle in [[Salta city]].]]
The vast majority of Latin Americans are [[Christianity|Christians]] (90%),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-christians.aspx|title=Christians|date=18 December 2012|work=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=22 September 2015|archive-date=21 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221010337/http://www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-christians.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> mostly [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003300/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 13, 2007 |title=CIA — The World Factbook -- Field Listing — Religions |access-date=2009-03-17}}</ref> About 71% of the Latin American population consider themselves Catholic.<ref>Fraser, Barbara J., [http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20050628212330/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0503707.htm In Latin America, Catholics down, church's credibility up, poll says] Catholic News Service June 23, 2005</ref> Membership in [[Protestantism|Protestant]] denominations is increasing, particularly in [[Brazil]], [[Guatemala]] and [[Puerto Rico]]. [[Argentina]] hosts the largest communities of both [[Jews in Argentina|Jews]]<ref name=nl>{{cite web |title=World Jewish Population|last=LeElef|first=Ner |url=http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/world-jewish-population.htm#_ftnref1|access-date=2008-01-09}}</ref><ref name=jpppi>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jpppi.org.il/JPPPI/SendFile.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&GID=489|title=The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute; Annual Assessment, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107190542/http://www.jpppi.org.il/JPPPI/SendFile.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&GID=489 |archive-date=7 November 2017 }}</ref><ref name=ujc>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ujc.org/section.html?id=29|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531003148/http://www.ujc.org/section.html?id=29|title=United Jewish Communities; Global Jewish Populations|archivedate=May 31, 2008}}</ref> and [[Islam in Argentina|Muslims]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26516.htm|title=Argentina |work=U.S. Department of State|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108511.htm|title=Argentina|work=U.S. Department of State|date=19 September 2008|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/specials/newsid_4294000/4294241.stm|title=BBC Mundo - A fondo - Árabes y musulmanes en América Latina|work=bbc.co.uk|date=17 March 2005|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref> in Latin America. [[Amerindian religion|Indigenous religions and rituals]] are practiced in countries with large indigenous populations, especially Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru, and Afro-Latin American religions such as [[Santería]], [[Candomblé]], [[Umbanda]], [[Macumba]] and [[Haitian Vodou|Vodou]] are practiced in countries with large Afro-Latin American populations, especially Cuba, Brazil, Dominican Republic and Haiti. Latin America constitutes, in absolute terms, the [[Christianity by country|world's second largest Christian population]], after [[Europe]].<ref name="Survey1">{{cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/files/2014/01/global-religion-full.pdf|title=The Global Religious Landscape|publisher=Pewforum.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125173538/https://www.pewforum.org/files/2014/01/global-religion-full.pdf|access-date=7 May 2020|archive-date=25 January 2017}}</ref>

===Migration===
{{anchor|United States}}
{{See also|Latino Americans|Latin American Canadians|Latin Americans in the United Kingdom|Latin American Australians|Latin American Asian|Mexican settlement in the Philippines}}

According to the 2005 Colombian census or DANE, about 3,331,107 Colombians currently live abroad.<ref name=pstalker>{{cite web |url=http://www.pstalker.com/migration/index.htm |title=Peter Stalker |website=www.pstalker.com |archive-date=January 31, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131171057/http://www.pstalker.com/migration/index.htm}}</ref> The number of Brazilians living overseas is estimated at 2 million people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www2.camara.gov.br/comissoes/credn/publicacao/NotatecnicaBrasileirosExterior.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721072130/http://www2.camara.gov.br/comissoes/credn/publicacao/NotatecnicaBrasileirosExterior.html|url-status=dead|title=Brasileiros no Exterior — Portal da Câmara dos Deputados<!-- Bot generated title -->|archivedate=July 21, 2009}}</ref> An estimated 1.5 to two million Salvadorians reside in the United States.<ref>[http://www.usaid.gov/sv/country.html Country Overview: El Salvador] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100101123447/http://www.usaid.gov/sv/country.html |date=January 1, 2010 }}, United States Agency for International Development</ref> At least 1.5 million Ecuadorians have gone abroad, mainly to the United States and Spain.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071228044616/http://www.forbes.com/business/forbes/2008/0107/112.html Chavistas in Quito], Forbes.com, January 7, 2008</ref> Approximately 1.5 million Dominicans live abroad, mostly in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39306 |title=Dominican Republic: Remittances for Development|work=ipsnews.net|access-date=22 September 2015|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610221238/http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39306 |archive-date=10 June 2011}}</ref> More than 1.3 million Cubans live abroad, most of them in the United States.<ref>[http://www.radiojamaica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6572&Itemid=87 Cubans Abroad], Radiojamaica.com</ref> It is estimated that over 800,000 Chileans live abroad, mainly in Argentina, Canada, United States and Spain. Other Chilean nationals may be located in countries like Costa Rica, Mexico and Sweden.<ref>[http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=199 Chile: Moving Towards a Migration Policy], Migration Information Source</ref> An estimated 700,000 Bolivians were living in Argentina as of 2006 and another 33,000 in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|title=South America: Brazil, Mercosur - Migration News - Migration Dialogue|work=ucdavis.edu |url=http://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/more.php?id=1590_0_5_0|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref> Central Americans living abroad in 2005 were 3,314,300,<ref>{{cite web |title=Prospects - Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011 |work=worldbank.org |url=http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTDECPROSPECTS/0,,contentMDK:21352016~isCURL:Y~menuPK:3145470~pagePK:64165401~piPK:64165026~theSitePK:476883,00.html|access-date=22 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208121838/http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTDECPROSPECTS/0,,contentMDK:21352016~isCURL:Y~menuPK:3145470~pagePK:64165401~piPK:64165026~theSitePK:476883,00.html|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> of which 1,128,701 were [[El Salvador|Salvadorans]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1199807908806/ElSalvador.pdf |title=Latin America & Caribbean (ElSalvador) |publisher=World Bank |year=2006 |access-date=2010-07-26}}</ref> 685,713 were [[Guatemala]]ns,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1199807908806/Guatemala.pdf |title=Latin America & Caribbean (Guatemala) |publisher=World Bank |year=2006 |access-date=2010-07-26}}</ref> 683,520 were [[Nicaraguans]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1199807908806/Nicaragua.pdf |title=Latin America & Caribbean (Nicaragua) |publisher=World Bank |year=2006 |access-date=2010-07-26}}</ref> 414,955 were [[Hondurans]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1199807908806/Honduras.pdf |title=Latin America & Caribbean (Honduras) |publisher=World Bank |year=2006 |access-date=2010-07-26}}</ref> 215,240 were [[Panama]]nians<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1199807908806/Panama.pdf |title=Latin America & Caribbean (Panama) |publisher=World Bank |year=2006 |access-date=2010-07-26}}</ref> and 127,061 were [[Costa Rica]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1199807908806/CostaRica.pdf |title=Latin America & Caribbean (CostaRica) |publisher=World Bank |year=2006 |access-date=2010-07-26}}</ref>

As of 2006, [[Costa Rica]] and [[Chile]] were the only two countries with global positive migration rates.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/2006_MigrationRep/Profiles_country.pdf|title=United Nations Population Division|accessdate=28 December 2023}}</ref> Spanish colonial era censuses meanwhile show [[Mexican settlement in the Philippines|that Mexicans and Peruvians composed 2.33% of the Philippines population]] during the 1600s.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=67xO2hUwzasC&dq=Friar+Manuel+Buzeta+1,502,574&pg=PR12 "The Unlucky Country The Republic of the Philippines in the 21st Century" By Duncan Alexander McKenzie (2012)(page xii)]</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://bagn.archivos.gob.mx/index.php/legajos/article/view/1243|title=Forzados y reclutas: los criollos novohispanos en Asia (1756-1808)|last=Garcia|first=María Fernanda|journal=Bolotin Archivo General de la Nación|volume=4|issue=11|year=1998}}</ref>

==Notable Latin Americans==

{{Main list|List of Latin Americans}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Latin America}}
{{Div col|colwidth=16em}}
;Latin Americans by nationality
* [[Argentines]]
* [[Bolivians]]
* [[Brazilians]]
* [[Chileans]]
* [[Colombians]]
* [[Costa Ricans]]
* [[Cubans]]
* [[People of the Dominican Republic|Dominicans]]
* [[Ecuadorians]]
* [[Guatemalans]]
* [[Hondurans]]
* [[Mexicans]]
* [[Nicaraguans]]
* [[Panamanians]]
* [[Paraguayans]]
* [[Peruvians]]
* [[Puerto Ricans]]
* [[Salvadorans]]
* [[Uruguayans]]
* [[Venezuelans]]
;Other topics
* [[Californios]]
* [[Dekasegi]]
* [[Filipinos]]
* [[History of Latin America]]
* [[Italians]]
* [[Japanese Mexicans]]
* [[Latin American culture]]
* [[Latinos]]
* [[Los Angeles, California]]
* [[Miami]]
* [[Neomexicanos]]
* [[Nuyorican]]s
* [[Portuguese people]]
* [[Spaniards]]
* [[Tejanos]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|People of Latin America}}

{{Latin America topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Latin American people| ]]
[[Category:Latin American studies]]