Bolivian Americans
Overview
Bolivia, the only landlocked country in the Western Hemisphere, is home to almost eight million people. Twice as large as Texas, Bolivia is a multiethnic society. Of all the South American countries, Bolivia has the largest percentage (60 percent) of indigenous Indians. The next largest ethnic group in the Bolivian population is the mestizos, those of mixed-race heritage; they make up 30 percent. Finally, 10 percent of the Bolivian population are of Spanish origin.
These figures mask the true breadth of the Bolivian population map. The largest ethnic groups are the highland Indians—the Aymara and the Quechua. The most ancient people of the Andes may be the ancestors of the Aymara, who formed a civilization as early as 600 A.D. The rural lowland regions are home to more ethnic diversity. Other Indian groups include the Kallawayas, the Chipayas, and the Guarani Indians. Ethnicities from most of the other South American countries are represented in Bolivia, as well as people of Japanese descent and origin. Those known as Spanish are called "Whites," not so much for their skin color as for their social status, identified by physical characteristics, language, culture, and social mobility. The blending and intermarriage of races for over 500 years has made Bolivia a heterogeneous society.
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