Editing Oaxaca (section)

==Demographics==
=== Largest cities===
{{Largest cities
| country = Oaxaca
| stat_ref = Source:<ref name=VERACRUZINEGI>{{cite web |url=https://inegi.org.mx/contenidos/programas/ccpv/2020/tabulados/cpv2020_b_oax_01_poblacion.xlsx |title=Censo oAXACA 2020}}</ref>
| list_by_pop =
| div_name = 
| div_link = Municipalities of Oaxaca{{!}}Municipality
| city_1 = Oaxaca de Juárez| div_1 =Oaxaca de Juárez| pop_1 = 258,913| img_1 = Crkva_svetoga_Dominika.jpg
| city_2 = San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec | div_2 =San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec| pop_2 = 103,609| img_2 = Auditorio_Casa_Victor_Bravo.JPG
| city_3 =Juchitán de Zaragoza| div_3 =Juchitán de Zaragoza
| pop_3 = 88,280| img_3 = Juchitán.jpg
| city_4 = Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán| div_4 = Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán| pop_4 =81,848|img_4 = City_Hall_Xoxo.JPG
| city_5 = Salina Cruz| div_5 =  Salina Cruz| pop_5 =76,660
| city_6 = Huajuapan de León| div_6 = Huajuapan de León| pop_6 = 56,163
| city_7 = Santa Lucía del Camino | div_7 = Santa Lucía del Camino| pop_7 = 45,895
| city_8 = Santo Domingo Tehuantepec | div_8 =Tehuantepec| pop_8 = 45,134
| city_9 = Santiago Pinotepa Nacional| div_9 = 	Pinotepa Nacional| pop_9 = 33,726
| city_10 =	Loma Bonita| div_10 = Loma Bonita| pop_10 = 31,469
}}
[[File:Niños mazatecos.jpg|thumb|Mazateco children]]
{{Main|Demographics of Oaxaca| Indigenous people of Oaxaca}}

===Overview===
The state has a total population of about 3.5&nbsp;million, with women outnumbering men by 150,000 and about 60% of the population under the age of 30. It is ranked tenth in population in the country. Fifty three percent of the population lives in rural areas.<ref name="habitantes">{{cite web |url=http://cuentame.inegi.org.mx/monografias/informacion/oax/poblacion/default.aspx?tema=me&e=20 |title=Número de habitantes |publisher=[[INEGI]] |location=Mexico |language=es |trans-title=Number of inhabitants |access-date=August 15, 2010}}</ref> Most of the state's population growth took place between 1980 and 1990. Life expectancy is 71.7 for men and 77.4 for women, just under the national average. Births far outpace deaths. In 2007, there were 122,579 births and 19,439 deaths.<ref name="dinamica">{{cite web |url=http://cuentame.inegi.org.mx/monografias/informacion/oax/poblacion/educacion.aspx?tema=me&e=20 |title=Dinámica |publisher=[[INEGI]] |location=Mexico |language=es |trans-title=Dynamics |access-date=August 15, 2010}}</ref> Approximately 85% profess the Catholic faith.<ref name="diversidad">{{cite web |url=http://cuentame.inegi.org.mx/monografias/informacion/oax/poblacion/diversidad.aspx?tema=me&e=20 |title=Diversidad |publisher=[[INEGI]] |location=Mexico |language=es |trans-title=diversity |access-date=August 15, 2010}}</ref>

===Indigenous peoples===
Demographically, Oaxaca stands out due to the high percentage of indigenous peoples.<ref name="WWF"/><ref name="rincones22">Akaike, p. 22</ref> It is estimated that at least a third are speakers of indigenous languages (with 50% not able to speak Spanish), accounting for 53% of Mexico's total indigenous language speaking population.<ref name="diversidad"/><ref name="WWF"/> The state straddles two Mesoamerican cultural areas. The first extends into the state from the [[Mayan peoples|Mayan]] lands of Chiapas, [[Yucatán]], and [[Guatemala]]. The central and northwest of the state is part of the cultures of the [[Valley of Mexico]], with historical influence seen from ancient cities such as [[Teotihuacan]], [[Tula (Mesoamerican site)|Tula]], and [[Tenochtitlan]].<ref name="territorio">{{Cite journal |last=Ardóñez |first=Maria de Jesús |date=January 10, 2000 |title=El territorio del estado de Oaxaca: una revisión histórica |trans-title=The territory of the state of Oaxaca: A historical review |journal=Investigaciones Geográficas, Boietin del Instituto de Geografia |volume=42 |pages=67–86 |publisher=[[UNAM]] |location=Mexico |url=http://www.igeograf.unam.mx/instituto/publicaciones/boletin/bol42/b42art5.pdf |language=es |access-date=August 15, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214140105/http://www.igeograf.unam.mx/instituto/publicaciones/boletin/bol42/b42art5.pdf |archive-date=December 14, 2010}}</ref>

The main reason that indigenous languages and cultures have been able to survive here is the rugged terrain, which isolate communities.<ref name="1schmal"/><ref name="lonelyplanet "/> This also has the effect of dividing the state into small secluded communities, which have developed independently over time. There are 16 ethno linguistic groups recognized by the [[Instituto Nacional Indigenista]]<ref name="perfilsoc">{{cite web |url=http://www.e-local.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/oaxaca/ |title=Perfil Sociodemografico |year=2009 |work=Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México Estado de Oaxaca |publisher=Instituto Nacional para el Federalismo y el Desarrollo Municipal |location=Mexico |language=es |trans-title=Socio-demographic profile |access-date=August 15, 2010 |archive-date=January 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130110091824/http://www.e-local.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/oaxaca/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> who maintain their individual languages, customs and traditions well into the colonial period and to some extent to the present day.<ref name="1schmal"/> However, some studies put the number of cultures in the state as high as 4,000.<ref name="territorio"/> This makes Oaxaca the most ethnically complex of Mexico's 31 states.<ref name="1schmal"/>

The most populous indigenous groups in Oaxaca are the [[Zapotec peoples|Zapotec]] or [[Mixtec]]. Several other languages of the [[Oto-Manguean languages]] are spoken in Oaxaca: The [[Trique language|Triques]], [[Amuzgo people|Amuzgos]], and [[Cuicatecs|Cuicatec]]s are linguistically most closely related to the Mixtecs, The languages of the [[Chocho people|Chocho]], [[Popoloca]] and [[Ixcatecos|Ixcatec]] peoples are most closely related to that of the [[Mazatec people|Mazatecs]]. The [[Chatino language]]s are grouped with the [[Zapotecan languages|Zapotecan]] branch of Oto-Manguean. The languages of the [[Zoque people|Zoque]] and [[Mixe people]]s belong to the [[Mixe–Zoquean languages]]. Other ethnic groups include the [[Oaxaca Chontal people#Chontal|Chontalees]], [[Chinantec]]s, the [[Huave people|Huaves]], and [[Nahua people|Nahuas]].<ref name="mosaico">{{cite web |url=http://www.oaxaca.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=239&Itemid=105 |title=Mosaico Étnico |publisher=Government of Oaxaca |location=Oaxaca |language=es |access-date=August 15, 2010}}</ref> As of 2005, a total of 1,091,502 people were counted as speaking an indigenous language.<ref name="perfilsoc"/>

====Zapotecs====
The largest indigenous group in the state are the Zapotecs at about 350,000 people or about 31% of the total indigenous population.<ref name="1schmal"/><ref name="diversidad"/><ref name="perfilsoc"/> The Zapotec have an extremely long history in the Central Valleys region and unlike other indigenous groups, do not have a migration story. For them, they have always been here. Zapotecs have always called themselves Be'ena'a, which means The Cloud People. Zapotec territory extends in and around the Central Valleys region of the state, around the capital city of Oaxaca. The Zapotec language has historically been and is still the most widely spoken in the state, with four dialects that correspond to the four subdivisions of these people: Central Valleys and Isthmus, the Sierra de Ixtlan, Villa Alta and Coapan.<ref name="rincones22"/> Zapotec communities can be found in 67 municipalities. The various Zapotec dialects account for 64 of the total 173 still surviving forms of [[Oto-Manguean languages|Oto-Manguean]].<ref name="1schmal"/>

====Mixtecs====
[[File:MixDressRMH.JPG|thumb|left|150px|[[wax sculpture|Wax mannequin]] of woman in Mixtec dress]]
The second largest group are the Mixtecs at just over 240,000 people or 27% of the indigenous population.<ref name="diversidad"/><ref name="perfilsoc"/> These people established themselves in the northwest of Oaxaca and far southern Puebla over 3,000 years ago, making them one of the oldest communities in the region. These same people put pressure on the Zapotec kingdoms until the Spanish conquered both peoples in the 16th century.<ref name="rincones22"/> Mixtec territory is divided into three sub regions. The Mixteca Alta (Upper Mexteca) covers 38 municipalities and is the most populated region. The Mixteca Baja (Lower Mixteca) includes 31 municipalities. The Coastal Mixtecs are a small group. Today, the Mixtecs call themselves Ñuu Savi, the people of the rain. The [[Mixtecan languages|Mixtecan language family]], as one of the largest and most diverse families in the Oto-Manguean group, includes three groups of languages: Mixtec, [[Cuicatec language|Cuicatec]], and [[Trique language|Trique]].<ref name="1schmal"/>

====Mazatecos====
The [[Mazateco]]s number at about 165,000 or 15% of Oaxaca's indigenous population.<ref name="diversidad"/> (perfil soc) These people occupy the northernmost area of the state, in the upper [[Sierra Madre Oriental]] mountains and the Papaloapan Basin. The Mazatecos call themselves Ha shuta enima, which means People of Custom. Some historians believe that the Mazatecos descend from the [[Chichimeca|Nonoalca-Chichimecas]], who migrated south from Tula early in the 12th century. While most live in Oaxaca, a significant number of Mazatecos also occupy Veracruz and Puebla.<ref name="1schmal"/>

The [[Chinanteco]]s account for about 10% of Oaxaca's indigenous people, numbering at about 104,000.<ref name="perfilsoc"/><ref name="latinola">{{cite web |url=http://www.latinola.com/story.php?story=3908 |title=Oaxaca: Land of Diversity |author=Schmal, John P. |date=January 28, 2007 |access-date=January 1, 2008 |archive-date=January 22, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080122054416/http://www.latinola.com/story.php?story=3908 |url-status=dead}}</ref> They inhabit the Chinantla region of north central Oaxaca near the border of Veracruz. The Chinanteco language has as many as 14 different dialects and is part of the Oto-Manguean linguistic group. Historians believe that those living in this region struggled to maintain their independence against sudden and numerous attacks by the Zapotecs, Mixtecs, Mixes and Aztecs. The latter, led by [[Moctezuma I]], finally conquered the Chinantla region during the 15th century.<ref name="1schmal"/><ref name="latinola"/>

====Mixe====
The [[Mixe people]] account for another 10% of the indigenous population at just over 103,000 people.<ref name="diversidad"/><ref name="perfilsoc"/> The Mixe are an isolated group in the northeastern part of the state, close to the border of Veracruz. Their region includes 19 municipalities and 108 communities. The Mixes call themselves Ayuuk, which means The People. It is unknown where the Mixe migrated from, with some speculating from as far as [[Peru]], but they arrived in waves from 1300 to 1533. They came into conflict with the Mixtecs and Zapotecs, but allied themselves with the Zapotecs against the Aztecs, then resisted the Spanish. The Mixe language has seven dialects and this group has the highest rate of monolingualism (36% of speakers in the year 2000) of any Indigenous group in Mexico.<ref name="1schmal"/>

====Other====
Minorities include the [[Chatinos|Chatino]] (42,477),<ref name="1schmal"/> the [[Trique people|Trique]] (18,292),<ref name="latinola"/> the [[Huave people]] (15,324),<ref name="latinola"/> the [[Cuicatecs|Cuicatecos]] (12,128),<ref name="latinola"/> the [[Zoque people|Zoque]], also called the Aiyuuk (roughly 10,000), the [[Amuzgo]]s (4,819),<ref name="latinola"/> the [[Oaxaca Chontal people#Chontal|Chontales of Oaxaca]] (4,610), the [[Tacuate people|Tacuates]] (1,725),<ref name="latinola"/> the [[Chocholtec|Chocho or Chocholtec]] (524), the [[Ixcatecos]] (207),<ref name="latinola"/> the [[Popoloca]]s (61)<ref name="latinola"/> and a small population of Nahuatl speaking peoples in the border area with Puebla.<ref name="rincones22"/>

===Afro-Mexicans===
According to the 2020 Census, 4.71% of Oaxaca's population identified as Black, [[Afro-Mexican]], or of African descent, which is the second highest percentage of any Mexican state.<ref>{{cite web |author=Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) |url=https://www.inegi.org.mx/programas/ccpv/2020/tableros/panorama/ |title=Panorama |website=Inegi.org.mx |date= |access-date=2022-02-17}}</ref>

===Religion===
{{Further|Zapotec peoples}}
{{Further| Religion in Mexico}}
{{multiple image
|direction = vertical
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|width     = 200
|footer    =
|image1    = Santo Domingo de Guzman Convent.JPG
|alt1      =
|caption1  = [[Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán (Oaxaca)|Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán]]
|image2    = SantoDomingoChurchOaxaca 118.jpg
|alt2      =
|caption2  = Interior of the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán
}}

Ritualistitic and shamanic religious practices were prevalent in Oaxaca valley, until the Spanish invaded the valley in 1521. Proselytism was also started in 1521, Christianity was ushered into the valley and eventually took firm roots.<ref name=ritual>{{cite web |url=http://www.oaxacaoaxaca.com/archeology-oaxaca.htm |title=7,000 Years of Religious Ritual |access-date=September 12, 2010 |publisher=Oaxaca Travel site}}</ref><ref name=library>{{cite web |url=http://www2.brandonu.ca/Library/cjns/7.2/starr.pdf |title=Zapotec Religious Practices in the Valley Of Oaxaca: An Analysis of the 1580 "Relaciones Geograficas" of Philip Ii |access-date=September 12, 2010 |author=Jean Starr |publisher=Canadian Journal of Native Studies |volume=7 |issue=2 |year=1987 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706170107/http://www2.brandonu.ca/Library/cjns/7.2/starr.pdf |archive-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref>

The ancient religious practices have been dated by archaeological findings (over a 15 years period of excavations by two Archaeologists of the [[University of Michigan]]) to be more than 7,000 years old. Initially, 7,000 years ago, the people were "hunters and gatherers with no fixed abode".{{attribution needed|date=August 2018}}<ref name=ritual/><ref name=library/> With development of agricultural practices, with maize as the main crop and settled villages getting established over several centuries, a warrior type of societal culture evolved by 500 BC, with the Zapotec state getting into shape. Concurrently, ceremonious religious practices with ritualistic and shamanistic dancing around stone marked floors came to be observed (a pre-Zapotec dance floor dated to 6650 BC testifies this). Even cannibalistic practices were noted. The ritualistic practices were formalized, as permanent settlements were established, and temples were built to perform the rituals as per a set of calendar annual events. There were two interconnected calendars prevalent at the time- one of 260 days and another of 365 days, which synchronized every 52 years. In subsequent years, as upper strata of society (an "elite class") came into existence, the religious practices and the temple got more formalized with priests controlling the community's religion. Religion started to evolve around the ritualistic practices but with more defined role of religion under the monarchic rule which came into effect along with "the religious systems that were the previous source of social authority". Monte Alban was founded around 500 BCE. It is inferred that from 1500 BC, Zapotec society evolved as an organized "autonomous ascribed-status peasant societies". The ritual buildings in the valley dated to this period testify this observation.<ref name=ritual/><ref name=library/> Richard Sosis, an [[anthropologist]] at the [[University of Connecticut]] has summarised the archaeological findings with the observation:<ref name=ritual/>
<blockquote>
the Michigan archaeologists' study delineated the process of religion adapting to different environments as Oaxacan society changed. Among foragers, ritual serves to cement solidarity, he said, and the "powerful moralistic gods that we associate with contemporary religions" are a later development, introduced at the stage when priests have acquired control of a religion and "are effectively controlling the masses through ritual activities that instill the fear of supernatural punishment.
</blockquote>

When Christianity made inroads into the Valley in 1521, the valley was part of the [[Aztec]] tribute empire with [[Tenochtitlan]] as the capital (present day Mexico City) and Spanish settlements came into existence to exploit the rich land and mineral resources of the valley. The first record of [[Baptism]] in the valley was that of the [[King of Teozapotlan]], the most important Valley ruler, in 1521. He was baptized as [[Don Juan Cortes]]. Nobles, who converted to Christianity, were permitted to keep their traditional rights under a 1557 order by [[Philip II of Spain]]. Spaniards pursued proselytisation activity with dedicated single-minded devotion throughout the 18th century with the "goal of saving the souls of their subjects".<ref name=ritual/>

Now, in Mexico, Roman Catholics are 89% of the total population.<ref name=tabulados>{{cite web |title=Religion |work=Censo Nacional de Población Vivienda |year=2000 |url=http://www.inegi.gob.mx/prod_serv/contenidos/espanol/bvinegi/productos/censos/poblacion/2000/definitivos/Nal/tabulados/00re01.pdf |access-date=October 4, 2007 |publisher=INEGI |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051215060031/http://www.inegi.gob.mx/prod_serv/contenidos/espanol/bvinegi/productos/censos/poblacion/2000/definitivos/Nal/tabulados/00re01.pdf |archive-date=December 15, 2005}}</ref> Only 47% of Oaxacan Catholics attend church services weekly, one of the lowest rates of the developing world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Church attendance |work=Study of worldwide rates of religiosity |year=1997 |publisher=University of Michigan |url=http://www.ns.umich.edu/Releases/1997/Dec97/chr121097a.html |access-date=February 23, 2013 |archive-date=May 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528222128/http://www.ns.umich.edu/Releases/1997/Dec97/chr121097a.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In absolute terms, Mexico has the world's second largest number of Catholics after Brazil. While most indigenous Mexicans are at least nominally Catholic, some combine or syncretize Catholic practices with native traditions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_romcath.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000818085719/http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_romcath.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=August 18, 2000 |title=The Largest Catholic Communities |access-date=November 10, 2007 |website=Adherents.com}}</ref>

The [[National Presbyterian Church in Mexico]] has a relatively high percentage of followers in Oaxaca, one of its stronger states.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.reformiert-online.net/adressen/detail.php?id=13218&lg=eng |title=Address data base of Reformed churches and institutions |first=Christoph |last=Fasse |website=Reformiert-online.net |access-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref>