About IWGIAIndigenous peoples in Peru
The 2nd Census of Indigenous Communities, carried out in 1,786 Amazonian communities during 2007, gathered information on 51 of the 60 ethnic groups existing in the forests. Nine of them were not recorded “because some ethnic groups no longer form communities, having been absorbed into other peoples; in addition, there are ethnic groups which, given their situation of isolation, are very difficult to reach”.
An Amazonian indigenous population of 332,975 inhabitants was recorded, mostly belonging to the Asháninka (26.6%) and Awajún (16.6%) peoples. 47.5 % of the indigenous population is under 15 years of age, and 46.5% has no kind of health insurance. 19.4% stated that they were unable to read or write but, in the case of women, this rose to 28.1%, out of a population in which only 47.3% of those over 15 have received any kind of primary education.
The Census noted that 3,360,331 people spoke the Quechua language and 443,248 the Aymara, indigenous languages predominant in the coastal-Andes region of Peru. Peru has ratified ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples and has voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Download the 2011 yearbook article on indigenous peoples in Peru to read more about major developments and events during 2010
