Colombians

Estimates of the Mestizo population in Colombia vary widely, as Colombia's national census does not distinguish between White and Mestizo Colombians. According to the 2018 census, the Mestizo and White population combined make up approximately 87% of the Colombian population, but there is no official estimate of the mestizo population exclusively.[24] S Nevertheless, according to the genetic research of the American genetic portal Public Library of Science (PLOS) in 2015 determined that the average Colombian (of all races) has a mixture of European 62.5%, Native American 27.4%, sub-Saharan African 9.2% and Oriental 0.9%.[25] (These proportions also vary widely among ethnicities), overall being the second country surveyed with more European blood proportion, only behind Argentina.

Most Colombians of European descent are primarily descended from Spanish settlers, while other Europeans arrived during the 19th and 20th centuries. These migrations primarily brought Irish, British, Dutch, German, Ashkenazi Jewish, Swiss, Danish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Belgian, Russian, French and Italian immigrants who migrated to the Caribbean and Andean regions.[26][27][28][29] There are smaller numbers of Polish, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Czech, Greek and Croatian communities that immigrated during the Second World War and the Cold War.[30][31][32]

The Wayuu represent the largest indigenous Native American ethnic group in Colombia.

Originally, Colombia's territory was inhabited entirely by Amerindian groups. Colombia's indigenous cultures evolved from three main groups—the Quimbayas, who inhabited the western slopes of the Cordillera Central; the Chibchas; and the Kalina (Caribs). The Muisca culture, a subset of the larger Chibcha ethnic group and famous for their use of gold, were responsible for the legend of El Dorado. Today Native American people comprise roughly 3.4% of the population in Colombia.[23] More than fifty different indigenous ethnic groups inhabit Colombia. Most of them speak languages belonging to the Chibchan and Cariban language families.

Historically there are 567 reserves (resguardos) established for Native American peoples and they are inhabited by more than 800,000 people. The 1991 constitution established that their native languages are official in their territories, and most of them have bilingual education systems teaching both native languages and Spanish. Some of the largest indigenous groups are the Wayuu,[33] the Arhuacos, the Muisca, the Kuna people, the Witoto, the Páez, the Tucano and the Guahibo. The departaments (departamentos) with the biggest indigenous population are Cauca, La Guajira and Nariño.

Colombia's Asian community is generally made up of people of West Asian descent, particularly the Lebanese, though there are also smaller communities of East Asian, South Asian and Southeast Asian ancestry. West Asians, particularly Levantine immigrants from the Ottoman Empire came in the late 19th and 20th centuries. In 1928, several Japanese families settled in Valle del Cauca where they came as farmers to grow crops. Between 1970 and 1980, it was estimated that there were more than 6,000 Chinese immigrants in Colombia. In 2014, it was estimated that there were 25,000 Chinese living in Colombia.[34] Their current communities are found in Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, Medellín, Santa Marta, Manizales, Cucutá and Pereira. There are also smaller Asians that immigrated to Colombia, such as Indians, Koreans, Filipinos and Pakistanis.

Many Colombians have origins in the Western Asian countries of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Palestine, It is estimated that Arab Colombians represent 3.2 million people.[35] Many moved to Colombia to escape the repression of the Turkish Ottoman Empire and/or financial hardships. When they were first processed in Colombia's ports, they were classified as "Turks". It is estimated that Colombia has a Lebanese population of 700,000 direct descendants and 1,500,000 who have partial ancestry. Meanwhile the Palestine population is estimated between 100,000-120,000.[36] Most Syrian-Lebanese immigrants established themselves in the Caribbean Region of Colombia in the towns of Santa Marta, Santa Cruz de Lorica, Fundación, Aracataca, Ayapel, Calamar, Ciénaga, Cereté, Montería and Barranquilla near the basin of the Magdalena River, in La Guajira Department, notably in Maicao and in the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. Many Arab-Colombians adapted their names and surnames to the Spanish language to assimilate more quickly in their communities. Some Colombian surnames of Arab origin include: Guerra (originally Harb), Domínguez (Ñeca), Durán (Doura), Lara (Larach), Cristo (Salibe), among other surnames.

There are about 8,000 Colombians of Jewish origin who practice Judaism, most of them live in Bogotá. Colombia's Jewish community includes Sephardi Jews from countries such as Syria and Turkey also immigrated to the country and run their independent religious organizations. The Confederación de Comunidades Judías de Colombia coordinates Jews and institutions that practice the religion.

Consequently, there were other immigrants from the Western Asia, including a number of Armenian, Turkish, Georgian and Cypriot immigrants who arrived in the country during the early 20th century.

Afro-Colombian children.

Also known as "Afro", or "afro-colombiano" (In the Spanish language). 9.34% of Colombians are of full African or mulatto (of mixed African and European ancestry).[37] African slaves were brought mostly to the coastal lowlands, beginning early in the 16th century, and continuing into the 18th century.