Estimating the Number of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America

Abstract

According to national statistics the indigenous population of Latin America is about 28 million. Other estimates range from 34 million (Gnerre, 1990) to 43 million (Barie, 2003).¹ This wide range is the result of the many different methods used to calculate the size of the indigenous population and the varying definitions of ‘indigenous’. In some countries the discrepancy between official government statistics and the estimates provided by indigenous organizations is a matter of some debate, due largely to the public policy ramifications of under- or overestimating the size of the population. The reasons for defining an individual, a household or a population as indigenous run from the practical to the political. Estimating the size of any population is important to the development of appropriate social policies in terms of both scope and substance, for setting budgets and so on. Knowing the size of their own population is also essential to indigenous groups when making demands for better services.