White Bolivians
Bolivianos blancos (Spanish) | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| White ancestry predominates c. 568,267-1,704,800 5–15% of the Bolivian population. | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mainly in Santa Cruz, La Paz, Cochabamba and to a lesser extent the rest of the Media Luna Region (Tarija, Beni and Pando). | |
| Languages | |
| Bolivian Spanish German (Plautdietsch, Standard German) Bolivian Sign Language | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism, Anabaptism, Evangelicalism, Judaism, Irreligion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Spaniards • Europeans |
White Bolivians (Spanish: Bolivianos blancos), are Bolivians of total or predominantly European or West Asian ancestry (formerly called criollos or castizos in the viceregal era), most notably from Spain which prominently are descendants of the Spanish Basques, and to a lesser extent, Germany, Italy and Croatia.
Bolivians of European descent are mostly descendants of people who arrived over several centuries from Spain, approximately five hundred years ago. They are also descendants of Arabs or European immigrants from Spain, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Lebanon, and Turkey, among others.
White Bolivians represent the third largest ethnic group in the country, behind mestizos and Indigenous peoples, who are in first and second place respectively, representing 5% according to the CIA World Factbook's self-perception survey. The majority of white Bolivians are the descendants of Criollos of Spanish descent as well as the Europeans from Germany, Italy, and Croatia. White Bolivians mainly live in the largest cities and major towns in Bolivia like Santa Cruz and La Paz. An additional 68% of the population is mestizo, having mixed European (predominantly Spaniard) and Indigenous ancestry.
According to the "ethnic composition of the American continent", Castizos and White Bolivians represent 15% of the total population.