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The Indigenous World 2025: Global Indigenous Youth Caucus (GIYC)

“Deseamos la pervivencia de los saberes ancestrales que tienen que ver con el cuidado de la Madre Tierra, la paz, el derecho a la vida, y las garantías de vivir con dignidad”

“We wish for the continuation of our ancestral knowledge that is related to the protection of

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The Indigenous World 2025: UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

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 assess, report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific

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El Mundo Indígena 2025: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Indigenous Peoples

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 respect for, protection and fulfilment of the rights of Indigenous Peoples as

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The Indigenous World 2025: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

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 Indigenous World 2025: Australia

As of 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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Indigenous World 2025: European Union Engagement with Indigenous Issues

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 European Union (co-legislative and executive authority) and

...

The Indigenous World 2025: African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR, or the Commission) was established in accordance with Article 30 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter) with a mandate to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights on the African continent. It was

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The Indigenous World 2025: Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Rapa Nui is an island located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, more than 3,700 kilometres off the coast of continental Chile, with an area of 16,628 hectares. It is inhabited by the Rapa Nui people, descendants of an age-old culture recognized for the creation of large megalithic structures

...

The Indigenous World 2025: UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)

The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is an expert body under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Its mandate includes advising ECOSOC and UN agencies on Indigenous issues, raising awareness of these concerns, coordinating related activities across the UN system, and

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The Indigenous World 2025: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

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 ten Member States: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The other five Member States

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The Indigenous World 2025: UNESCO’S World Heritage Convention

The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (“World Heritage Convention”) was adopted by UNESCO’s General Conference in 1972. With 196 States Parties, it is today one of the most widely ratified multilateral treaties. Its

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The Indigenous World 2025

The Indigenous World 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.
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Le Monde Autochtone 2024

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

...

Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to a healthy environment

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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The Indigenous World 2024

The Indigenous World 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.
...

The Indigenous World 2024: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

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 Indigenous World 2024: UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

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

...

The Indigenous World 2024: UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)

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 Indigenous World 2024: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

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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The Indigenous World 2024: Indigenous Navigator: Self-Determined Development

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 World 2024: IFAD's Engagement with Indigenous Peoples

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 Indigenous World 2024: Green Climate Fund (GCF)

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 Indigenous World 2024: FAO and Indigenous Peoples: Indigenous Youth

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 Indigenous World 2024: European Union Engagement with Indigenous Issues

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

...

The Indigenous World 2024: Defending the Rights of Indigenous Women

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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The Indigenous World 2024: Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

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 Indigenous World 2024: Business and Indigenous Peoples' Rights

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 Indigenous World 2024: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

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

...

The Indigenous World 2024: Arctic Council

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 Indigenous World 2024: African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)

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

...

The Indigenous World 2024: Arctic Peoples’ Conference 2023

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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The Indigenous World 2024: Editorial

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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Rapport om inuits menneskerettighedsforhold i Kalaallit Nunaat og Danmark

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...

Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders visits Denmark

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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Le Monde Autochtone 2023

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

...

IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC)

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,

...

The Indigenous World 2023

The Indigenous World is the unique result of a collaborative effort between ...

The Indigenous World 2023: United States of America

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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The Indigenous World 2023: Canada

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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The Indigenous World 2023: Russia

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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The Indigenous World 2023: Editorial

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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The Indigenous World 2023: Israel

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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The Indigenous World 2023: Palestine

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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The Indigenous World 2023: Australia

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

...

The Indigenous World 2023: French Polynesia

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 Indigenous World 2023: African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)

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

...

The Indigenous World 2023: Business and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

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 Indigenous World 2023: Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

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.

...

The Indigenous World 2023: Defending the Rights of Indigenous Women

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 Indigenous World 2023: European Union Engagement with Indigenous Issues

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

...

The Indigenous World 2023: IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC)

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,

...

The Indigenous World 2023: The Green Climate Fund (GCF)

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

...

The Indigenous World 2023: The Indigenous Navigator: Self-Determined Development

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 Indigenous World 2023: The Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS)

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 Indigenous World 2023: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

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

...

The Indigenous World 2023: UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)

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

...

The Indigenous World 2023: UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

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

...

The Indigenous World 2023: Aotearoa (New Zealand)

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 World 2023: Thailand

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 Indigenous World 2023: Taiwan

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 Indigenous World 2023: Philippines

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 Indigenous World 2023: Nepal

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....

The Indigenous World 2023: Myanmar

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 Indigenous World 2023: Malaysia

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.

The Indigenous World 2023: Laos

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 Indigenous World 2023: Japan

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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The Indigenous World 2023: Indonesia

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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The Indigenous World 2023: India

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 Indigenous World 2023: China

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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The Indigenous World 2023: Cambodia

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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The Indigenous World 2023: Bangladesh

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...

The Indigenous World 2023: Venezuela

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 World 2023: Suriname

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.

...

The Indigenous World 2023: Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

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

...

The Indigenous World 2023: Peru

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.

...

The Indigenous World 2023: Paraguay

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

...

The Indigenous World 2023: Nicaragua

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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The Indigenous World 2023: Mexico

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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The Indigenous World 2023: Guyana

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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About IWGIA

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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Indigenous World

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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