Ethnic groups in Central America
Central America is a region formed by 6 Latin American countries and one Anglo American nation (Belize, even though it has more Spanish than English speakers). This isthmus unites North America with South America and it comprises the following countries, from north to south:
Central America has a population of approximately 40 million in 2007 in an area of 523,780 km², with a 77.3 density of hab/km² although its population is not distributed equally. For example, Belize is larger than El Salvador in area by 1,924 km², but El Salvador has 30 times the population of Belize. As with Panama and Costa Rica, Costa Rica has more population than Panama, but Panama has more surface than Costa Rica. Guatemala has the largest population with 13,276,517; followed by Honduras at 7,792,854. The following table shows the population and surface of each country with its respective density:
| COUNTRY | Surface | Population | Density |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guatemala | 108,890 | 13,276,517 [1] | 116.8 |
| Belize | 22,966 | 307,899 [2] | 13 |
| Honduras | 112,090 | 7,792,854 [3] | 66.7 |
| El Salvador | 21,040 | 7,185,218 [4] | 330.2 |
| Nicaragua | 129,494 | 5,891,199 [5] | 43.8 |
| Costa Rica | 51,100 | 4,509,290 [6] | 70.8 |
| Panama | 78,200 | 3,360,474 [7] | 41.4 |
| Total | 523,780 | 42,071,038 | 77.3 |
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[edit] The White Population
The white ethnic group, or White Latin Americans, have an approximate population of 5,380,885 inhabitants.
Costa Rica Today most Costa Ricans are of primarily Spanish ancestry with minorities of German, Italian, French, Dutch, British, Swedish and Greek ancestry. 80% being White and 14% being Mestizo. European and western-oriented, plus American pop culture has a large impact in Costa Rica, also thrived in a fairly democratic prosperous economy.
European immigration used Costa Rica to get across the isthmus of Central America as well to emigrate on the USA West Coast (California) in the late 19th century and to the 1910s before the Panama Canal opened. Other European ethnic groups known to live in Costa Rica are Russians, Danes, Belgians, Portuguese, Croats, Hungarians, Turks, Armenians and Georgians. Without a doubt Costa Rica is the Central American country with the largest white population.
Besides Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador also have a significant white population.
| COUNTRY | %local | Population | % Regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guatemala | N/A | N/A [1][8] | |
| Belize | 0.0 | 0.0 [2][9] | |
| Honduras | 1.0 | 77,928 [3] | |
| El Salvador | 12.0 | 1,293,669 [4] | |
| Nicaragua | 17.0 | 1.001,503 [5] | |
| Costa Rica | 94.0 (includes mestizo) | 3,898,644 [6][10] | |
| Panama | 10.0 | 336,047 [7] |
[edit] The Mestizo Population
The mestizo population (mixed Native American and white) is formed by 27,456,772 inhabitants, occupying the majority of the Central American population. All the republics have significant Mestizo populations. Note: Costa Rica includes White population.
| COUNTRY | %local | Population | % Regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guatemala | 59.4 | 7,866,251 [1] | |
| Belize | 48.7 | 149,946 [2] | |
| Honduras | 90.0 | 7,013,568 [3] | |
| El Salvador | 85.0 | 6,173,226 [4] | |
| Nicaragua | 69.0 | 4,064,927 [5] | |
| Costa Rica | 94 (Includes white population) | 3,898,644 [6]"CIA World Factbook - Costa Rica July 2009 Estimate". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cs.html.</ref>[10] | |
| Panama | 70.0 | 2,353,331 [7] |
[edit] The Black population
The Creole, Afro-Caribbean, and Garifuna populations form the majority of the Afro-Latin Americans in Central America, of which the majority is concentrated on the Caribbean coasts of the region. It is important to note that all these groups are distinct, speaking English, English creoles, Garifuna, Miskito, and Spanish. The highest percentage is 31% in Belize, where Kriols and Garifuna were once the majority of the nation that has seen heavy emigration and immigration in the last 30 years.[11][12] The largest population, however, is in Nicaragua of Creole, Afro-Caribbean, and to a lesser degree of Miskito and Garifuna descent, of which the majority is concentrated on the Caribbean coast in the area often referred to as the Mosquito Coast. In Panama people of African descent were already present when the construction of an inter-oceanic channel saw the large arrival of immigrant afro-Caribbeans. Honduras has a small population of creole people, but the overwhelming majority of blacks are Garifuna. Although El Salvador is the only Central American country with no official black percentage, Afro-Salvadoran heritage are present, Afro-Mestizos Salvadorans.[13]
The Raizal ethnic group in the San Andrés y Providencia Department, an archipelago under Colombian sovereignty but geographically close to Nicaragua's shores, is another Afro-Caribbean group in Central America, speaking the San Andrés-Providencia Creole. In 2005, they constituted 57% of the 60,000 inhabitants of the islands, according to official statistics.[14]
| COUNTRY | %local | Population | % Regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guatemala | 0.0 | 0.0 [1][15] | |
| Belize | 31.0 | 95,488 [2][16] | |
| Honduras | 2.0 | 155,857 [3] | |
| El Salvador | 0.0 | 0.0 [4][17] | |
| Nicaragua | 9.0 | 530,207 [5] | |
| Costa Rica | 3.0 | 127,616 [6] | |
| Panama | 14.0 | 470,466 [7] |
[edit] The Native American Population
The only plurality of Indigenous people located in Central America is in Guatemala. Native Americans are small minorities in the rest of Central America, especially in Costa Rica and El Salvador, where they are 1% of the total population.
| COUNTRY | %local | Population | % Regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guatemala | 40.5 | 5,376,989 [1] | |
| Belize | 10.6 | 32,637 [2] | |
| Honduras | 7.0 | 545,499 [3] | |
| El Salvador | 1.0 | 71,852 [4] | |
| Nicaragua | 5.0 | 294,559 [5] | |
| Costa Rica | 1.0 | 42,538 [6] | |
| Panama | 6.0 | 201,628 [7] |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e "CIA World Factbook - Guatemala July 2009 Estimate". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html.
- ^ a b c d e "CIA World Factbook - Belize July 2009 Estimate". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bh.html.
- ^ a b c d e "CIA World Factbook - Honduras July 2009 Estimate". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ho.html.
- ^ a b c d e "CIA World Factbook - El Salvador July 2009 Estimate". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/es.html.
- ^ a b c d e "CIA World Factbook - Nicaragua July 2009 Estimate". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nu.html.
- ^ a b c d e "CIA World Factbook - Costa Rica July 2009 Estimate". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cs.html.
- ^ a b c d e "CIA World Factbook - Panama July 2009 Estimate". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pm.html.
- ^ White population included in Mestizo count below.
- ^ no white population listed.
- ^ a b Includes both white and mestizo population.
- ^ "Mestizo location in Belize; Location". http://www.paulglassman.com/bg4.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Diaspora of Belize" Council on Diplomacy, Washington, DC and Consulate General of Belize.
- ^ Montgomery, Tommie Sue (1995). Revolution in El Salvador: from civil strife to civil peace. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-0071-1.
- ^ Fernando Urrea Giraldo (2007-10-12). "La visibilidad estadística de la población negra o afrodescendiente en Colombia, 1993-2005: entre lo étnico y lo racial" (in Spanish). 12º Congreso de Antropología, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. http://simposioraza.net/files/urrea.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
- ^ No black population listed.
- ^ 31% is the combined from the Creoles and Garifuna in Belize
- ^ No black population listed
- "Central America". The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. 2001-6. New York: Columbia University Press.
- "Central America". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
- "Central America" (Archived 2009-10-31). MSN Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006.
- American Heritage Dictionaries, Central America.
- WordNet Princeton University: Central America
- "Central America". The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online. 2006. New York: Columbia University Press.
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