| Group: | Caucasian Bolivians |
| Pop: | , 5% of total population |
| Popplace: | Mainly in Santa Cruz, La Paz and to a lesser extent the rest of the Media Luna Region |
| Langs: | Bolivian Spanish German (Plautdietsch, Standard German) Bolivian Sign Language |
| Rels: | Roman Catholicism, Anabaptism, Evangelicalism, Judaism, Irreligion |
| Related: | SpaniardsGermans |
Caucasian Bolivians, also known as White Bolivians, are Bolivians who have predominantly or total European and West Asian ancestry (formerly called criollos or castizos in the viceregal era), most notably from Spain and Germany, and to a lesser extent, Italy and Croatia.
Bolivian people of European ancestry mostly descend from people who arrived over the centuries from Spain, beginning five hundred years ago.[1]
European Bolivians are a minority ethnic group in Bolivia, accounting for 5% of the country's population. The majority of white Bolivians are the descendants of Criollos of Spanish descent as well as the Europeans or Arabs from Spain, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Lebanon, and Croatia. White Bolivians mainly live in the largest cities and major towns in Bolivia like Santa Cruz and La Paz.[2] An additional 68% of the population is mestizo, having mixed European and indigenous ancestry.[3]
Compared to the Indigenous population, considerably fewer white and mestizo Bolivians live in poverty.[4] Conceptions of racial boundaries in Bolivia may be fluid and perceptions of race may be tied to socioeconomic status, with the possibility of a person achieving "whitening" via economic advancement. Differences in language, educational status, and employment status may also reinforce perceptions of what constitutes a person as "white", "mestizo", or "Indigenous".[4]
In the official census in 1900, people who self-identified as "Blanco" (white) composed 12.72% or 231,088 of the total population. This was the last time data on race was collected. There were 529 Italians, 420 Spaniards, 295 Germans, 279 French, 177 Austrians, 141 English and 23 Belgians living in Bolivia.[5]
According to a 2014 survey by Ipsos, 3 percent of people questioned said they were white.[6]
Geographically, the white and mixed-race populations of Bolivia tend to be centered in the country's eastern lowlands. The white and mixed-race Bolivians in this region are relatively affluent compared to poorer, predominantly Indigenous regions of Bolivia.[4]
According to the 1900 official Bolivian census, a person who self-identified as “Blanca” white was a descendant of a foreigner, principally a Spaniard. This was the last census to ask a more detailed question about ethnic background.[7] Overall there are Italians, Spanish, Germans and French. In total, they represented 12.7 percent of the total population with large populations in Cochabamba (60,605) and Santa Cruz de la Sierra (59,470) representing 36.8 percent combined.[8]
| Departments | Men | Women | Total[9] | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beni | 2,981 | 2,132 | 5,113 | 15.88 | |
| Chuquisaca | 15,413 | 16,354 | 31,767 | 15.53 | |
| Cochabamba | 28,938 | 31,667 | 60,605 | 18.46 | |
| La Paz | 18,340 | 17,915 | 36,255 | 8.13 | |
| Oruro | 3,996 | 3,778 | 7,774 | 9.03 | |
| National territory | 202 | 5 | 207 | 0.64 | |
| Potosí | 11,229 | 10,484 | 21,713 | 6.66 | |
| Santa Cruz | 29,672 | 29,798 | 59,470 | 18.37[10] | |
| Tarija | 4,368 | 3,816 | 8,184 | 7.95 | |
| Republic of Bolivia | 115,139 | 115,949 | 231,088 | 12.72 |
See main article: Mennonites in Bolivia. In 1995, there were a total of 25 Mennonite colonies in Bolivia with a total population of 28,567. The most populous ones were Riva Palacios (5,488), Swift Current (2,602), Nueva Esperanza (2,455), Valle Esperanza (2,214) and Santa Rita (1,748).[11] In 2002 there were 40 Mennonite colonies with a population of about 38,000 people. An outreach of Conservative Mennonites can be found at La Estrella, with others in progress.
The total population was estimated at 60,000 by Lisa Wiltse in 2010.[12] [13] In 2012 there were 23,818 church members in congregations of Russian Mennonites, indicating a total population of about 70,000. Another 1,170 Mennonites were in Spanish-speaking congregations.[14] The number of colonies was 57 in 2011.In the Santa Cruz Department there is an important colony (70.000 inhabitants) of German-speaking Mennonites.[15]
See main article: Caporales.
Caporales is a dance popular in the Andean region of Bolivia. It gained popularity in 1969 by the Estrada Pacheco brothers, inspired by the character of the 'Caporal' or "overseer" of which, historically black slaves, usually mixed race, wore boots and held a whip, the dance originates from the region of the Yungas in Bolivia. The dance has European elements especially with the costumes.[16]