The first Arctic Peoples’ Conference was convened in Copenhagen in 1973 by Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations and representatives, the University of Copenhagen and IWGIA. From November 22nd to 25th, 40 delegates representing 21 organizations of Indigenous Peoples from
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Earlier this month, from 13-15 June, IWGIA was on Denmark´s “Sunshine Island” (Bornholm) to advocate for Indigenous Peoples´ rights at Folkemødet ('The People's Meeting'), a Danish festival for democracy and dialogue that attracts up to 65,000 participants every year.
In Southeast Asia, the surge and intensification of climate-related disasters compounded by alarming levels of environmental degradation and land violations caused by development aggression (such as mining, logging, agribusiness plantations, so-called ‘green’ energy projects, mega-dams, and
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IWGIA is proud to have launched The Indigenous World2024 on 16 April at the 23rd session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. Kathrin Wessendorf, IWGIA Executive Director, started the event by warmly thanking the contributors of the book,
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IWGIA is proud to launch the 38th edition ofThe Indigenous World on Tuesday 16 April at 13:15 (NYC
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Indigenous Peoples have rights over their traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources, including associated intellectual property rights, as recognized in Article 31 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)....
The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples is one of the 60 “special procedures” of the UN Human Rights Council. The special procedures are independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. The
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The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is an expert body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) with a mandate to provide advice on Indigenous issues to ECOSOC and, through this, to the UN agencies, funds and programmes; to raise awareness of Indigenous Peoples’ issues;
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The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 to tackle climate change. In 2015, the UNFCCC adopted the Paris Agreement, a universal agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of the Paris
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Indigenous Peoples have been engaging in relevant processes on sustainable development since the Earth Summit (Rio Conference) in 1992. The main advocacy agenda issues for Indigenous Peoples in these processes are the respect, protection and fulfilment of the rights of Indigenous Peoples as
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The Indigenous Navigator (IN) is an online portal providing access to a set of tools developed for and by Indigenous Peoples. By using the IN, Indigenous organizations and communities, duty bearers, NGOs and journalists can access free tools and resources based on updated community-generated
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The Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was established in 2011 as a permanent process of consultation and dialogue between representatives of Indigenous Peoples’ institutions and organizations, IFAD and governments. The global meeting of the
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The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the world’s largest climate fund, mandated to support developing countries achieve their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and to raise ambition towards low-emission climate-resilient pathways.[1] The GCF was
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The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a Specialized Agency of the UN that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and malnutrition. FAO was founded in 1945, and its primary goal is to achieve food security for all by making sure that people have regular access to enough
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The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 Member States. Its legislative and executive powers are divided between the main EU institutions: the European Parliament (co-legislative authority), the Council of the European Union (co-legislative and executive authority) and
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The strategy adopted by the Indigenous women's movement to confront the structural inequalities they face in all countries of the world has been to walk together, collectively influencing strategic spaces from the local to the global level, both socially and politically. Practically, this means
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With disability rates on the rise, the global Indigenous community is confronted with profound challenges. An estimated 54 million Indigenous individuals face disabilities, of whom 28 million are Indigenous women. Within the Asia Pacific region alone, 45 million Indigenous persons with
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The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international treaty under the UN, adopted in 1992. The CBD has three objectives: to conserve biodiversity, promote its sustainable use, and ensure the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from its utilization (Art. 1). The CBD recognizes
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The UN Human Rights Council established the Forum on Business and Human Rights[1] in 2011 to serve as a global platform to “discuss trends and challenges in the implementation of the Guiding Principles and promote dialogue and cooperation on issues
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967 with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by its founding fathers, five of the now 10 Member States: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The other five Member States
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The Arctic Council is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation among the Arctic States, Arctic Indigenous Peoples and other Arctic inhabitants on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.
Arctic Indigenous Peoples are represented on
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The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) was established in accordance with Article 30 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights with a mandate to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights on the African continent. It was officially inaugurated on 2 November
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From 22 to 25 November 1973, 40 delegates representing 21 organizations of Indigenous Peoples from Arctic Canada, Greenland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden gathered in Copenhagen for the first Arctic Peoples’ Conference.
This groundbreaking and successful conference “demonstrated mutual
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This year’s edition of The Indigenous World takes a closer look at Indigenous Peoples’ right to lands, territories and resources.
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted in 2007, devotes several of its articles to land rights – especially
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I februar i år var FNs Specialrapportør for oprindelige folks rettigheder på officielt besøg i Danmark og Kalaallit Nunaat for at vurdere menneskerettighedssituationen for inuit i begge lande. Nu er rapporten færdig og er blevet gjort tilgængelig
The purpose of this report is to produce data and insights about the way in which Brazil is applying the international rules included in the International Labour Organization Indigenous and Tribal PeoplesConvention, 1989 (No. 169); United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
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The first Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, Michel Forst, visited Denmark from 8-10 May as part of his European information tour explaining the new mandate. He met with various Danish government officials and civil society organisations, including
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The compilation you have in your hands is the unique result of a collaborative effort between Indigenous and non-indigenous activists and scholars who voluntarily document and report on the situation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. We thank them and celebrate the bonds and sense of community
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IWGIA is proud to have launched The Indigenous World 2023 on 17 April at the 22nd session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.
“I want to say that one of the most encouraging
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IWGIA kan i dag annoncere udgivelsen af den 37. udgave af IWGIAs berømte status over oprindelige folks vigtigste emner i det forløbne år, nemlig The Indigenous World 2023. Lanceringen fandt sted i New York under den
...Held in Kigali, Rwanda from 18 to 23 July 2022, the IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) was the “first ever continent-wide gathering of African leaders, citizens and interest groups to discuss the role of protected areas in conserving nature, safeguarding Africa’s iconic wildlife,
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The Indigenous World is the unique result of a collaborative effort between
The number of Indigenous people in the United States of America is estimated at between 3.1 and 8.7 million,1 of which around 20% live in American Indian areas or Alaska Native villages.
Indigenous Peoples in the United States are more commonly referred to
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Indigenous Peoples in Canada are collectively referred to as “Aboriginal Peoples”. The Constitution Act of 1982 recognizes three groups of Aboriginal Peoples: Indians, Inuit and Métis. According to the 2021 Canadian Census, there were 1.8 million Indigenous people in Canada, accounting for 5%
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Indigenous Peoples are not recognized by the Russian legislation as such; however, Article 67 of the current constitution guarantees the rights of “Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples”. The 1999 Federal Act “On Guarantees of the Rights of the Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the Russian
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This year’s edition of The Indigenous World takes a closer look at Indigenous Peoples’ rights in conservation efforts. In times of a global climate and biodiversity crisis, focusing on the protection of nature is crucial and, increasingly, studies show that Indigenous Peoples are among
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Israel’s Arab Bedouin citizens are indigenous to the Negev (Naqab, in Arabic) desert, where they have lived for centuries as a semi-nomadic people, long before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Members of the Bedouin community are an integral part of the Arab Palestinian
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Following Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948, the Jahalin Bedouin, together with four other tribes from the Negev Desert (al-Kaabneh, al-Azazmeh, al-Ramadin and al-Rshaida), took refuge in the West Bank, then under Jordanian rule. These tribes are traditionally semi-nomadic
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As of 30 June 2021, there were 984,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, representing 3.8% of the total Australian population.[1] The most recent available data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that, among Indigenous
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The Kingdom of Tahiti became a protectorate under the French colonial project in 1842 and French Polynesia has been an Overseas Collectivity since 2004. It enjoys relative political autonomy within the French Republic through its own local institutions: the Government and Assembly of French
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The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) was established in accordance with Article 30 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, with a mandate to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights on the continent. It was officially inaugurated on 2 November 1987 and
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The UN Human Rights Council established the Forum on Business and Human Rights[1] in 2011 to serve as a global platform to “discuss trends and challenges in the implementation of the Guiding Principles and promote dialogue and cooperation on issues
...
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international treaty under the United Nations (UN), adopted in 1992. The Convention has three objectives: to conserve biodiversity, promote its sustainable use, and ensure the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from its utilisation (Art.
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The strategy adopted by the Indigenous women's movement to confront the structural inequalities they face in all countries of the world has been to walk together, influencing strategic spaces from the local to the global both socially and politically. This has meant having a presence in the
...
The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 Member States. Its legislative and executive powers are divided between the EU main institutions: the European Parliament (co-legislative authority), the Council of the EU (co-legislative and executive authority) and the European
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...“Now we are at the table neither as Indigenous Peoples, nor as disabled, but as Indigenous persons with disabilities. That changes everything” — Setareki Macanawai[1]
“Empowering
Held in Kigali, Rwanda from 18 to 23 July 2022, the IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) was the “first ever continent-wide gathering of African leaders, citizens and interest groups to discuss the role of protected areas in conserving nature, safeguarding Africa’s iconic wildlife,
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The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) is a subsidiary body of the Human Rights Council composed of seven independent members, one from each of the seven Indigenous sociocultural regions: Africa; Asia; the Arctic; Central and Eastern Europe, the
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The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to assist so-called developing countries in climate adaptation and mitigation actions. The GCF aims to catalyse a flow of climate finance to invest in low-emission and climate-resilient
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The Indigenous Navigator is an online portal providing access to a set of tools developed for and by Indigenous Peoples. By using the Indigenous Navigator, Indigenous organizations and communities, duty bearers, NGOs and journalists can access free tools and resources based on updated
...
The Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS) comprises two human rights bodies: the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR or the Commission) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR Court). Both bodies work to promote and protect human rights in the Americas. The IACHR
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a global subsidiary body of the UN and one of the most authoritative actors in assessing climate change.[1], [2] It comprises three working groups (WG): WGI
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Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN General Assembly in September 2015, Indigenous Peoples have been engaging in national, regional, and global processes related to the SDGs. The sustained engagement of
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The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 to tackle climate change. After more than 20 years of climate negotiations, in 2015, UNFCCC State Parties adopted the Paris Agreement, a universal agreement
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The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (Permanent Forum) is an expert body of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) with a mandate to provide advice on Indigenous issues to ECOSOC and, through it, to the UN agencies, funds and programmes; to raise awareness on
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The Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples is one of the 59 “special procedures” of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The special procedures are independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific
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Indigenous Peoples have rights over their traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources, including associated intellectual property rights, as recognized in Article 31 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples....
Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa, represent 16.5% of the country’s 5 million population. The gap between Māori and non-Māori is pervasive: Māori life expectancy is 7 to 7.4 years lower than non-Māori; the median income for Māori is 71% that of Pākehā (New Zealand Europeans); 25.5% of
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The Indigenous Peoples of Thailand live mainly in three geographical regions of the country: Indigenous fisher communities (the Chao Ley) and small populations of hunter-gatherers in the south (Mani people); small groups on the Korat plateau of the north-east and east; and the many different
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The officially recognized Indigenous population of Taiwan numbers 580,758 people, or 2.48% of the total population.
Sixteen distinct Indigenous Peoples are officially recognized: Amis (also Pangcah), Atayal (also Tayal), Bunun, Kavalan, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiyat, Sakizaya, Sediq,
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The population census conducted in the Philippines in 2010 for the first time included an ethnicity variable although no official figure for Indigenous Peoples has been released yet. The country’s Indigenous population thus continues to be estimated at between 10 and 20 per cent of the national
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The preliminary results of the national census of 2021 revealed that the total population of Nepal is 29,192,480, being 51.04% female and 48.96% male. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has not yet revealed the census results relating to caste, ethnicity, language and religion.
There is no accurate information on the number of Indigenous Peoples in Myanmar, partly due to a lack of understanding in the country of the internationally-recognised concept of Indigenous Peoples. The government claims that all citizens of Myanmar are “Indigenous”
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The 2020 Census shows that the Indigenous Peoples of Malaysia were estimated to account for around 11 % of the 32.4 million national population. They are collectively known as Orang Asal. The Orang Asli are the Indigenous Peoples of Peninsular Malaysia and they numbered 206,777 in 2020.
With a population of just over 7 million,[1],[2] Laos is the most ethnically diverse country in mainland Southeast Asia.[3] The ethnic Lao,
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The two Indigenous Peoples of Japan, the Ainu and the Ryūkyūans (or Okinawans), live on the northernmost and southernmost islands of the country’s archipelago. The Ainu territory stretches from Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands (now both Russian territories) to the northern part of present-day
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Indonesia has a population of approximately 250 million people. The Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of the Archipelago – Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara(AMAN), an independent Indigenous organization that represents 2,512 Indigenous communities throughout Indonesia, totalling some 20
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In India, 705 ethnic groups are recognised as Scheduled Tribes. In central India, the Scheduled Tribes are usually referred to as Adivasis, which literally means Indigenous Peoples.[1] With an estimated population of 104 million, they comprise 8.6 %
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The People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) officially proclaims itself to be a unified country with a diverse ethnic make-up and all nationalities equal in the Constitution. Besides the Han Chinese majority, the government recognizes 55 minority nationalities within its borders.
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Cambodia is home to 24 different Indigenous Peoples who speak at least 19 Indigenous languages.[1],[2] With an estimated population of 170,000 to 400,000, they constitute approx.
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Bangladesh is a country of cultural and ethnic diversity, with over 54 Indigenous Peoples speaking at least 35 languages, along with the majority Bengali population. According to the 2022 census, the country’s Indigenous population numbers approximately 1,650,159...
Of a total population of 27,227,930, 724,592 are Indigenous (2.8%) and belong to 51 different peoples, mostly concentrated (85%) in the state of Zulia and the Amazon region.
In 1999, the constitutional process ensured that the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples and communities
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The Indigenous Peoples of Suriname number approximately 20,344 people, or 3.8% of the total population of 541,638[i] (census 2012). The four most numerous Indigenous Peoples are the Kaliña (Carib), Lokono (Arawak), Trio (Tirio, Tareno) and Wayana.
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Rapa Nui is an island of 16,628 hectares located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and separated from the coast of continental Chile by more than 3,700 kilometres. The Rapa Nui people live there, descendants of an age-old culture recognized for the creation of large megalithic structures known
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The Peruvian State recognizes 47 Indigenous languages spoken by 55 different peoples. According to the 2017 National Population Census, almost six million people (5,972,603) self-identify as belonging to an Indigenous or native people, representing just over a quarter of the total population.
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Five linguistic families and 19 Indigenous Peoples self-identify in Paraguay: the Guaraní (Aché, Avá Guaraní, Mbya, Pai Tavytera, Guaraní Ñandeva, Guaraní Occidental), Maskoy (Toba Maskoy, Enlhet North, Enxet South, Sanapaná, Angaité, Guaná), Mataco Mataguayo (Nivaclé, Maká, Manjui), Zamuco
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Nicaragua has seven Indigenous Peoples: the Chorotega (221,000), Cacaopera or Matagalpa (97,500), the Ocanxiu or Sutiaba (49,000) and the Nahoa or Nahuatl (20,000) live in the Pacific, centre and north of the country while the Caribbean (or Atlantic) coast is inhabited by the Miskitu (150,000),
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According to data from the 2020 Population and Housing Census, produced by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), 23.2 million people aged three years or above self-identify as Indigenous in Mexico, equivalent to 19.4% of the country's total population. This breaks down
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Indigenous Peoples – or Amerindians as they are identified both collectively and in legislation – number some 78,500 in the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, or approximately 10.5% of the total population of 746,955 (2012 census).[i] They
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Guatemala has a population of 14.9 million inhabitants, of which 6.5 million (43.75%) belong to the Mayan peoples (Achi', Akateco, Awakateco, Chalchiteco, Ch'orti', Chuj, Itza', Ixil, Jacalteco, Kaqchikel, K'iche', Mam, Mopan, Poqomam, Poqomchi', Q'anjob'al, Q'eqchi', Sakapulteco, Sipakapense,
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French Guiana is a French overseas territory located in the eastern Amazon, in South America. It shares a border to the west with Suriname, and to the east and south with Brazil. The area of the territory is 83,846 km². The population is estimated at 301,099 inhabitants (INSEE, 2023) living
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According to February 2022 data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), Ecuador's current population stands at 18,232,933. There are 14 Indigenous nationalities in the country totalling more than one million people, most of which are grouped into a number of organizations
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Eight Indigenous Peoples live in Costa Rica: the Huetar, Maleku, Bribri, Cabécar, Brunka, Ngäbe, Bröran, and Chorotega, accounting for 2.4% of the population. According to the 2010 National Census, a little over 100,000 people identify as Indigenous.
Colombia is noted for its geographic, biological and cultural diversity. Vast coastal and Andean regions, tropical rainforests along the Pacific Coast and in the north-west Amazon, the Orinoco plains, extensive desert areas and islands are all home to 115 Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendant
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Despite steadily increasing since the 1990s, the size of Chile’s Indigenous population has shown no major changes since the 2017 census. A total of 2,185,792 people self-identify as Indigenous, equivalent to 12.8% of the country's total population (17,076,076). The Mapuche are the most numerous
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According to data from the Demographic Census conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics in 2010, the Indigenous population in the country stands at 896,900 individuals distributed across 305 ethnic groups. They speak 274 languages and the proportion of Indigenous people
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According to the 2012 National Census, 41% of the Bolivian population over the age of 15 is of Indigenous origin, although 2017 projections by the National Institute of Statistics indicate that this percentage is likely to now have increased to 48%. Of the 36 recognized peoples in the country,
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Argentina is a federal country made up of 23 provinces plus an autonomous city (Buenos Aires, the capital), with a total population of close to 47 million people, according to initial data from 2022. The 2010 national census gives a total of 955,032 people self-identifying as descending from or
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Sápmi[1] is the Sámi people’s own name for their traditional territory. The Sámi people are the Indigenous people of the northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula and large parts of the Kola Peninsula and they live in Sweden, Norway, Finland and
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Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) has been a self-governing country within the Danish Realm since 1979. The population is 88.9% Greenlandic Inuit out of a total of 56,562 inhabitants (May 2022).[i] The majority of Greenlandic Inuit refer to themselves as
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While the Government of Zimbabwe does not recognise any specific groups as Indigenous to the country, two peoples self-identify as such: the Tshwa (Tjwa, Cua) San found in western Zimbabwe, and the Doma (Vadema, Tembomvura) of Mbire District in north-central Zimbabwe. Population estimates
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Indigenous Peoples in Uganda include former hunter-gatherer communities such as the Benet and the Batwa. They also include minority groups such as the Ik, the Karamojong and Basongora pastoralists, who are not recognized specifically as Indigenous Peoples by the government.
As elsewhere in North Africa, the Indigenous population of Tunisia is formed of the Amazigh. There are no official statistics on their number in the country but Amazigh associations estimate there to be around 1 million Tamazight speakers, accounting for some 10% of the total population.
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Tanzania is estimated to have a total of 125-130 ethnic groups, falling mainly into the four categories of Bantu, Cushite, Nilo-Hamite and San. While there may be more ethnic groups that identify as Indigenous Peoples, four groups have been organizing themselves and their struggles around the
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South Africa’s total population is around 59 million, of which Indigenous groups are estimated to comprise approximately 1%.
The Indigenous Peoples of Namibia include the San, the Ovatue and Ovatjimba, and potentially a number of other peoples including the Damara, Nama, and Topnaars. Taken together, the Indigenous Peoples of Namibia represent some 8% of the total population of the country, which was 2,727,409 as of
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The Amazigh (Berber) peoples are the Indigenous Peoples of North Africa. The last census in Morocco (2016) estimated the number of Tamazight speakers at 28% of the population. However, Amazigh associations strongly contest this and instead claim a rate of 65% to 70%. This means that the
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The Amazigh form the Indigenous population of Libya. They are estimated to number some one million people, or more than 16% of the country’s total population.
The peoples who identify with the Indigenous movement in Kenya are mainly pastoralists and hunter-gatherers, as well as some fisher peoples and small farming communities. Pastoralists are estimated to comprise 25% of the national population, while the largest individual community of
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IWGIA - International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs - is a global human rights organisation dedicated to promoting and defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Read more.
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IWGIA's global report, the Indigenous World, provides an update of the current situation for Indigenous Peoples worldwide. Read The Indigenous World.
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