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Chinese Venezuelans

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Chinese Venezuelans
Chino-venezolanos
Total population
~450,000
Regions with significant populations
Valencia, Caracas, Maracay, Barquisimeto, Barcelona-Puerto La Cruz, Maracaibo, Maturín, Acarigua
Languages
Venezuelan Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese, others
Religion
Buddhism, Roman Catholicism, Taoism
Related ethnic groups
Asian Americans, Chinese people

Chinese Venezuelans (Template:Lang-es) are people of Chinese ancestry who were born in or have immigrated to Venezuela. The country is home to nearly 400,000 Chinese.[1] Almost all their businesses are related to the culinary field. Chinese restaurants in Venezuela are very affluent, mainly due to Venezuelans taste for Cantonese food.[2] Venezuela is also home to one of Latin America's largest concentrations of ethnic Chinese. The city of Valencia is home of the major Chinese community and hosts various markets devoted to Chinese culture including smoked ducks and authentic pottery. A local newspaper is also edited in Chinese. A lively barrio chino can also be found on Avenida Principal El Bosque in the El Bosque district of Caracas. While there are Chinatowns in the major cities throughout Venezuela, they are non-descript and in non-touristic parts of town.

Chinese immigration came mostly in two waves, the first beginning in 1847 and consisting of mainly Cantonese immigrants[3] and the second one beginning in the 1940s and '50s and reaching a peak in the mid 1970s in connection with the oil boom.

Cantonese is widely spoken among Chinese Venezuelans, especially the variety commonly known as Hoisan or Toisan, but there has been recent Taiwanese immigration, adding to the linguistic and cultural diversity. The largest group of Han Chinese in Venezuela are from Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Demographics

Population

Areas of Venezuela where the Chinese community is concentrated
Percentage of population born in China through Venezuela

States with the highest proportions of Chinese-born population tend to be those of the Capital Region and Eastern Region. The states with the most population of Chinese-born people are also located in the central-north area.

At the 2011 census, this was the breakdown of Chinese-born population by state:[4]

State Chinese-born Population Percentage
Amazonas 31 0.021
Anzoátegui 1,193 0.082
Apure 116 0.025
Aragua 1,305 0.081
Barinas 414 0.051
Bolívar 515 0.037
Capital District 1,765 0.092
Carabobo 2,016 0.09
Cojedes 167 0.039
Delta Amacuro 42 0.026
Falcón 269 0.028
Federal Dependencies 1 0.047
Guárico 350 0.047
Lara 1,247 0.071
Mérida 306 0.037
Miranda 1,453 0.055
Monagas 796 0.088
Nueva Esparta 344 0.071
Portuguesa 660 0.077
Sucre 321 0.037
Tachira 264 0.023
Trujillo 336 0.049
Vargas 134 0.038
Yaracuy 394 0.066
Zulia 919 0.025
Total Venezuela 15,358 0.06

Communities with high percentages of Chinese-born people