Demographics of Lima

The Lima Metropolis ranks among Latin America’s largest urban concentrations, with a population of 6,954,583 in city and over 8 million in metro (2005 census), which features a very complex mix of racial and ethnic groups. Traditionally, Mestizos, Peruvians of mixed Spanish and Amerindian descent, have been the largest contingent, making up much of the middle class.

However, political and economic instability during the latter half of the twentieth century created unprecedented poverty and violence in the Andean highlands, forcing hundreds of thousands of campesinos of full-blooded Amerindian descent to migrate to Lima, thus greatly augmenting the Lima’s population. Unlike other ethnic groups, many of them speak primarily Quechua or Aymara, rather than Spanish. While a number of Amerindians eventually attain middle class status, others still live in shantytowns, locally known as pueblos jovenes. These areas often lack such basic services as electricity and running water.

Europeans, the economically dominant segment of the population, are mostly of Spanish descent, but there are significant numbers of Italians, German and others. Afro-Peruvians, initially brought to the region as slaves, are yet another important part of the city’s ethnic quilt. Finally, during the 20th century, Lima also gained signicant Asian communities, particularly of Japanese and Chinese ancestry. The former constitute the largest Japanese concentration in South America after Sao Paulo.