Peruvians (Spanish: peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. Peru is a multiethnic and multicultural country located in western South America. As of 2023, the population of Peru was estimated at approximately 33.7 million people, making it the fourth most populous country in South America.
Population and Demographics
According to the 2017 Peruvian census conducted by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI), the population totaled 31,237,385. As of 2023, the population was estimated at roughly 33.7 million. Approximately 79.3% of Peruvians live in urban areas and 20.7% in rural areas. Major cities include Lima (home to over 9.5 million people), Arequipa, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, Iquitos, Huancayo, Cusco, and Pucallpa. Lima's metropolitan area is one of the five megacities in South America.
Ethnic Composition
Peru is a multiethnic country. According to the 2017 census, among those aged 12 and older who were asked about their ethnic self-identification:
- Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and European ancestry): 60.2%
- Quechua (Indigenous): 22.3%
- White (European descent): 5.9%
- Afro-Peruvian: 3.6%
- Aymara (Indigenous): 2.4%
- Amazonian Indigenous: 0.3%
- Others (including Nikkei/Japanese descent and Tusan/Chinese descent): 1.1%
- Unspecified: 3.3%
Other sources, including the CIA World Factbook, report Amerindian populations at approximately 25.8% and note that Asian-descent populations (Chinese and Japanese) constitute 3–10% of the population.
Languages
Spanish is the most widely spoken language (82.6% of the population). Peru's constitution also recognizes Quechua (13.9%), Aymara (1.6%), and other indigenous languages as official in areas where they predominate. Approximately 0.8% of the population speaks other native languages (including Ashaninka, Aguaruna, Shipibo-Conibo, and many minor Amazonian languages), and 0.2% speak foreign languages.
Religion
According to the 2017 census, the predominant religion is Roman Catholicism (76%), followed by Evangelical Christianity (14.1%), other Christian denominations (1.6%), and non-religious (5.1%).
History and Origins
What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral (Norte Chico civilization), one of the oldest known civilizations in the Americas. The Inca Empire dominated the region before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. The population decreased dramatically from an estimated 5–9 million in the 1520s to around 600,000 in 1620, primarily due to infectious diseases introduced by Europeans, to which Indigenous populations had no immunity.
Spaniards and Africans arrived in large numbers under colonial rule, mixing with Native Peruvians. Following independence, there was gradual European immigration from Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Croatia, and the British Isles. Chinese laborers arrived in the 1850s to replace slave workers, and Japanese immigrants arrived at the end of the 19th century.
Diaspora
The largest expatriate Peruvian communities are in the United States (approximately 751,000), Argentina (319,000), Spain (265,000), Chile (261,000), Italy (94,000), Japan (49,000), and Canada (42,000).
Culture
Peruvian culture is primarily rooted in Amerindian (especially Inca) and Hispanic traditions, with significant influences from African, Chinese, Japanese, and other European ethnic groups. Peruvian cuisine is internationally recognized, with dishes such as ceviche, anticuchos, and pachamanca. Peruvian music incorporates Andean, Spanish, and African roots. Notable Peruvian literary figures include Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, César Vallejo, and José María Arguedas.
