Editing Demographics of Peru (section)

==Ethnic groups==
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Ethnicity in Peru (2017)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inei.gob.pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1539/libro.pdf|title=2017 Peruvian census}}</ref>
|label1 = [[Multiracial people|Multiracial]] 
|value1 = 60.20
|color1 = Grey
|label2 = [[Indigenous peoples of Peru|Amerindian]]
|value2 = 25.75
|color2 = Red
|label3 = [[Peruvians of European descent|Caucasian]]
|value3 = 5.89
|color3 = Blue
|label4 = [[Black Peruvians|Sub-Saharan]]
|value4 = 3.57
|color4 = Green
|label5 = [[Asian Peruvians|East Asian]]
|value5 = 0.16 
|color5 = Yellow
|label6 = Others
|value6 = 4.42
|color6 = Black
}}
[[File:1970_World_Cup_Peru_Squad_2.jpg|thumb|Peru's football team in 1970; the ethnic diversity of Peruvians is visible, with players showing African, Amerindian and European ancestry in various mixes.]]
Peru is a multiethnic country formed by the amalgamation of different cultures and ethnicities over thousands of years.
[[Indigenous peoples in Peru|Amerindians]] inhabited the land for over ten millennia before the [[Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire|Spanish conquest]] in the 16th century; their cultures and influence represent the foundation of today's Peru.

As a result of European contact and conquest, the population of the area now known as Peru decreased from an estimated 9 million in the 1520s to around 600,00 in 1620.<ref>[[Noble David Cook]], ''Demographic collapse: Indian Peru, 1520–1620'', p. 114.</ref> This happened mostly because of the unintended spread of germs and infectious diseases. In fact, the spread of [[smallpox]] greatly weakened the Inca empire, even before the Spanish arrival. The [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindians]] did not have as much natural immunity to the disease as did the Europeans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/variables/smallpox.html|title=Guns Germs & Steel: Variables. Smallpox - PBS|website=Pbs.org|access-date=October 4, 2017}}</ref> For this reason, several Amerindian populations were decimated. Furthermore, the disease killed Inca ruler Wayna Capac, triggering a civil war in the Inca empire that preceded the conquest efforts the Spaniards. Thus, the conquest was facilitated by the weakness of the Inca empire which was recovering from both a civil war and epidemics of unknown diseases.
[[File:AIenvaluacion.jpg|thumb|300 px|right|Peruvian girls]]
However, other reasons for the decrease of Amerindian population include violence during the conquest followed by the breakdown of the Inca social system and famine. The Amerindian population suffered further decrease as the Spanish exploited an Inca communal labor system called [[Mita (Inca)|mita]] for mining purposes, thus killing thousands in forced labor.

[[Spaniards]] arrived in large numbers under colonial rule. After independence, there has been a gradual [[European ethnic groups|European]] immigration from Austria, England, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, Croatia and Spain.<ref>Mario Vázquez, "Immigration and mestizaje in nineteenth-century Peru", pp. 79–81.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.peruviantimes.com/19/scottish-independence-an-historical-view-and-a-peruvian-perspective/22915/|title=Scottish independence — a historical view and a Peruvian perspective|date=September 19, 2014}}</ref> Polynesians also came to the country lured to work in the Guano islands during the boom years of this commodity around the 1860s. [[Overseas Chinese|Chinese]] arrived in the 1850s as a replacement for slave workers in the sugar plantations of the north coast and have since become a major influence in Peruvian society.<ref>Magnus Mörner, ''Race mixture in the history of Latin America'', p. 131.</ref> Other immigrant groups include [[Arab Peruvians|Arabs]] (namely from [[Levant]]/[[West Asia]]n countries), [[South Asians]], Japanese, [[United States|Americans]] and Colombians.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2009-09-18 |title=Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture (2nd ed.) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09504120910990542 |journal=Reference Reviews |volume=23 |issue=7 |pages=60–62 |doi=10.1108/09504120910990542 |issn=0950-4125}}</ref>

Since 2014, Peru has experienced a massive rise in the immigrant population from nearby [[Venezuela]]. In May 2023, the estimated population of Venezuelans in Peru is 1,600,000, being the second most popular destination for Venezuelans after Colombia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://peru.un.org/es/212763-la-migración-venezolana-y-su-impacto|title=Venezuelan migration and its impacts (translated from Spanish)|date=December 21, 2022}}</ref> 

'''[[Mestizos]]''' compose about 60%<ref name="ethnicity2017">{{cite web|url=https://www.inei.gob.pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1539/libro.pdf |title=Perú: Perfil Sociodemográfico |page = 214 |website = Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática}}</ref> of the total population. The term traditionally denotes Amerindian (mostly [[Quechua people|Quechua]] ancestry) and European ancestry (mostly [[Spanish people|Spaniard]] ancestry). This term, was part of the caste classification during colonial times, whereby people of exclusive Spanish descent but born in the colonies were called criollos, people of mixed Amerindian and Spanish descent were called mestizos, those of African and Spanish descent were called mullatoes, and those of Amerindian and African descent were called Zambos. Most mestizos are urban dwellers and show stronger European inheritance in regions like [[Lima Region]], [[La Libertad Region]], [[Callao Region]], [[San Martín Region]], [[Cajamarca Region]], [[Piura Region]], [[Amazonas (Peruvian department)|Amazonas Region]], [[Lambayeque Region]], and [[Arequipa Region]].

'''[[Amerindians]]''' constitute around 25%<ref name="ethnicity2017"/> of the total population. The two major [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] or ethnic groups are the [[Quechuas]] (belonging to various cultural subgroups), followed by the [[Aymara people|Aymara]]s, mostly found in the extreme southern Andes. A large proportion of the indigenous population who live in the Andean highlands still speak [[Quechua languages|Quechua]] and have vibrant cultural traditions, some of which were part of the [[Inca Empire]]. Dozens of indigenous cultures are also dispersed throughout the country beyond the [[Andes Mountains]] in the [[Amazon basin]]. This region is rapidly becoming urbanized. Important urban centers include [[Iquitos]], [[Nauta]], [[Puerto Maldonado]], [[Pucallpa]] and [[Yurimaguas]]. This region is home to numerous [[indigenous people]]s, though they do not constitute a large proportion of the total population. Examples of indigenous peoples residing in eastern Peru include the [[Shipibo]], [[Urarina]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dean | first=Bartholomew|title=Urarina Society, Cosmology, and History in Peruvian Amazonia|isbn=9780813033785|date=2009|publisher=University Press of Florida|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Kokama people|Cocama]], and [[Aguaruna people|Aguaruna]], to name just a few.

'''[[White Peruvians|European]]''' descendants constitute around 6%<ref name="ethnicity2017"/> of the total population. They are descendants of the Spanish conquerors and other Europeans such as [[German Peruvian|Germans]], [[Italian Peruvians|Italians]], [[British Peruvians|British]], [[French Peruvians|French]], and [[Croatian Peruvian|Croatians]] (see also [[Croats]]) who arrived in the 19th and 20th centuries. The majority of them live also in the largest cities (like mestizos), usually in the North and Center of Peru: [[Lima]], [[Trujillo, Peru|Trujillo]], [[Chiclayo]], [[Piura]], and through all the highlands of [[North macroregion, Peru|Northwest]], like [[Amazonas (Peruvian department)|Amazonas]], [[Cajamarca Region|Cajamarca]] and [[San Martín Region|San Martin]]. A Southern city with a significant white population is [[Arequipa]].

[[File:Chinatown Lima Peru.jpg|thumb|right|Chinatown in Lima]]

There is also a presence of '''[[Asian Peruvian]]s''', who are primarily of [[Chinese Peruvian|Chinese]] and [[Japanese Peruvian|Japanese]] origin, constituting less than 1% of the population.<ref name="ethnicity2017"/> Peru has the second largest population of people of Japanese descent in Latin America after [[Brazil]] and the largest population of Chinese descent in Latin America. Historic communities inhabited by people of Chinese descent are found throughout the Peruvian [[upper Amazon]], including cities such as [[Yurimaguas]], [[Nauta]], [[Iquitos]] and the north central coast (Lambayeque and Trujillo). In contrast to the Japanese community in Peru, the [[Overseas Chinese|Chinese]] appear to have intermarried much more since they came to work in the [[rice fields]] during the Viceroyalty and to replace the [[Native ethnic groups of Africa|African]] slaves, during the abolition of slavery itself. Other Asian communities include small numbers of [[Arab Peruvians|West Asian/Arab Peruvians]], mostly of Lebanese and Syrian origin, and [[Palestinian diaspora|Palestinians]],<ref>{{Cite periodical 
| first=Cecilia | last= Baeza
| title=Palestinians and Latin America's Indigenous Peoples
| magazine=Middle East Report 
| issue=274 
| date=Spring 2015
|url=https://merip.org/2015/04/palestinians-and-latin-americas-indigenous-peoples/}}</ref><ref>Cuche, Denys. “Un siècle d’immigration palestinienne au Pérou: La construction d’une ethnicité spécifique.” ''Revue Européenne de Migrations Internationales'' 17/3 (2001): 94–95.</ref> as well a small community of [[South Asians]], namely of [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Hindustani]] and [[Pakistani people|Pakistani]] background. There have been several notable Peruvian politicians of Asian heritage, notable past president ([[Alberto Fujimori]]), who is of Japanese origin, as well as [[Omar Chehade]], of Lebanese heritage and served as the [[Second Vice President of Peru]] from 2011 to 2012.

The remaining is constituted by '''[[Afro-Peruvian]]s,''' a legacy of Peru's history as an importer of slaves during the colonial period. Today [[mulatto]]s (mixed African and European) and [[zambos]] (mixed African and Amerindian) also constitute an important part of the population, especially in [[Piura]], [[Tumbes (city)|Tumbes]], [[Lambayeque, Peru|Lambayeque]], Lima and [[Ica region|Ica]] regions. The Afro-Peruvian population is concentrated mostly in coastal cities south of Lima, such as those found in the Ica Region, in cities like [[Cañete Province|Cañete]], [[Chincha Alta District|Chincha]], [[Ica (city)|Ica]], [[Nazca]] and [[Acarí]] in the [[Arequipa Region]]. Another large but poorly promoted segment of Afro-Peruvian presence is in the ''Yunga'' regions (west and just below the Andean chain of northern Peru), (i.e., [[Piura]] and [[Lambayeque, Peru|Lambayeque]]), where sugarcane, lemon, and mango production are still of importance. Important communities are found all over the [[Morropón Province]], such as in the city of [[Chulucanas]]. One of them is [[Yapatera]], a community in the same city, as well as smaller farming communities like [[Pabur]] or [[La Matanza District|La Matanza]] and even in the mountainous region near [[Canchaque]]. Further south, the colonial city of [[Zaña]] or farming towns like [[Help:Disambiguation|Capote]] and [[Tuman River|Tuman]] in [[Lambayeque, Peru|Lambayeque]] are also important regions with Afro-Peruvian presence.

Socioeconomic and cultural indicators are increasingly important as identifiers. For example, Peruvians of Amerindian descent who have adopted aspects of Hispanic culture also are beginning to consider themselves "[[mestizo]]". With economic development, access to education, intermarriage, and large-scale migration from rural to urban areas, a more homogeneous national culture is developing, mainly along the relatively more prosperous coast.

The Lima-Callao Metropolitan area is home to over 11 million residents, being one of South America's largest urban areas as well as one of the five megacities in the continent.