Editing Demographics of Nicaragua (section)

==Ethnic groups==
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Ethnic groups in Nicaragua % <ref name="CIAPAPUANEWGUINEA">{{cite web|url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nicaragua/|title=Central America and Caribbean :: NICARAGUA|publisher= CIA The World Factbook|access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref>
|label1 = [[Mestizo]]
|value1 = 69
|color1 = Red
|label2 = [[White people|White]]
|value2 =17
|label3 =  [[Black people|Black]] 
|value3= 9
|label4 = [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]]
|value4= 5
}}

{{see also|Nicaraguans}}

[[File:Afro-Nica.jpg|thumb|An [[Afro-Nicaraguan]].]]

According to the 2005 census 443,847 (8.6%) residents consider themselves to belong to an indigenous people or to an ethnic community.<ref name="census 2005">{{cite web|url=http://www.inide.gob.ni/censos2005/ResumenCensal/Resumen2.pdf|title=CAPÍTULO 1 : CENSO DE POBLACIÓN|website=Inide.gob.ni|access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref> The remaining majority of the Nicaraguan population (91.6%) are deemed mestizo and white, with the majority of these being of Spanish, with some German, Italian, Portuguese and French ancestry. Mestizos and whites mainly reside in the western region of the country.

Possibly also a part of the black or [[Afro-Nicaraguan]] population, which mainly resides on the country's sparsely populated Caribbean (or Atlantic) coast, is included in the majority population which does not consider itself to belong to an ethnic community. In the 2005 census, there were only 19,890 [[Creole peoples|Creole]]s (0.4% of the total population). The [[Creole peoples|Creole]] population is mostly of [[Antilles|West Indian]] (Antillean) origin, the descendants of indentured laborers brought mostly from [[Jamaica]] when the region was a [[British protectorate]].

Primarily in the 19th century, Nicaragua saw several waves of immigration from European nations. In particular the northern cities of [[Estelí]], [[Jinotega]] and [[Matagalpa]] have significant populations of fourth generation Germans. 

The [[Garifuna people|Garifuna]], a people of mixed [[Island Caribs|Carib]], [[Angola]]n, [[Kongo people|Congolese]] and [[Arawak peoples|Arawak]] descent, numbered 3,271 in 2005 (0.1%). 112,253 people considered themselves "Mestizo de la Costa Caribe" (mestizo of the Caribbean coast). In addition to the inhabitants who declared themselves Indigenous or Ethnic community, 13,740 answered "Other". Another 47,473 responded "Not Sure" and an additional 19,460 responded "Ignore".

===Indigenous population===
The Native American population, the unmixed descendants of the country's indigenous inhabitants, numbered 227,760 (4.4% of the total population) in 2005.<ref name="census 2005"/> Nicaragua's [[pre-Columbian]] consisted of many indigenous groups. In the western region, the [[Nicarao people]] were present along with other groups such as the [[Mangue language|Mangue]] and [[Subtiaba language|Subtiaba]], all three being considered [[Mesoamerica]]n peoples.

The central region and the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua were mainly inhabited by speakers of [[Misumalpan languages]] and some speakers of [[Chibchan languages]]. These groups include the [[Miskito people|Miskitos]] (120,817 people), [[Matagalpa people|Matagalpa]] (15,240 people), [[Rama people|Ramas]] (4,185 people), [[Sumo (people)|Sumos]] (9,756 people) and Ulwa (698 people).

In the 19th century, the indigenous population was more demographically significant, but they have since largely been culturally assimilated into the [[mestizo]] majority. In the mid-1980s, the government divided the department of [[Zelaya (Nicaragua)|Zelaya]]&nbsp;– consisting of the eastern half of the country&nbsp;— into two autonomous regions and granted the black and indigenous people of this region limited self-rule within the Republic.{{clear}}

{| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 style="margin: 0.5em 1em 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" width=34%
|-
!colspan=6|Those belonging to recognized indigenous communities (2005)
|-align=right
|align=left|[[Rama people|Rama]]||4,185||0.9%||align=left|Chorotega||46,002||10.4
|-align=right
|align=left|[[Sumo (people)|Sumo]]||9,756||2.2%||align=left|[[Miskito people|Miskito]]||120.817||27.2%
|-align=right
|align=left|Ulwa||698||0.2%||align=left|[[Matagalpa people|Matagalpa]]||15,240||3.4%
|-align=right
|align=left|Subtiaba||19,949||4.5%||align=left|[[Nahua peoples|Nahua]]||11,113||2.5
|-align=right
|}