European Colombians Most of Colombia's population descends from European immigration in the mid 16th to late 20th centuries. The greatest waves of European immigration to Colombia can generally be divided into three time periods: the 1820s-1850s, which brought hundreds of immigrants mainly from
Spain,
Italy,
Germany (including
Ashkenazi Jewish); the 1880s to 1910s, which brought many immigrants from
France,
Portugal,
Belgium,
Astro-Hungary,
Denmark,
Croatia, and
Switzerland; and the 1920s-1960s, the last great wave of European immigration to Colombia, which brought many
British (including
Irish) immigrants, as well as other European groups such as the
Dutch,
Polish,
Russian,
Scandinavian, and other Eastern European immigrants who primarily settled in Colombia's great urban centers. These immigrants came to Colombia attracted by the country's growing population and business opportunities. In addition to these waves of immigration, a great number of
Jews fled to Colombia during and after the
Second World War, seeking to escape violence in Europe. Immigrants went mostly to the
Caribbean and
Andean regions. There are smaller numbers of
Dutch,
Swiss,
Austrians,
Danish,
Norwegian,
Portuguese,
Belgian,
Russian,
Polish,
Hungarian,
Bulgarian,
Lithuanian,
Ukrainian,
Czech,
Greek and
Croatian communities that immigrated during the Second World War and the
Cold War.
Mestizo Colombians Estimates of the
Mestizo population, people of mixed European (mostly
Spanish) and
Indigenous, ancestry in Colombia vary as the national census does not include Mestizo as an ethnic option. According to the 2018 census, the population of people who did not identify with any ethnic group, being mostly White or Mestizo, made up 87% of the Colombian population, while an estimated 40% of Colombians were Mestizo or mixed race. A study by Rojas et al reported an average ancestry of 47% Indigenous, 42% European, and 11% African for Mestizo Colombians.
Indigenous Colombians represent the largest indigenous group in Colombia. Originally, Colombia's territory was inhabited entirely by
Indigenous groups. Colombia's indigenous cultures evolved from three main groups—the
Quimbaya, who inhabited the western slopes of the
Cordillera Central; the
Chibcha; and the
Kalina. The
Muisca culture, a subset of the larger Chibcha ethnic group, were famous for their use of gold and responsible for the legend of
El Dorado. Today, Indigenous people comprise roughly around 10% of the population in Colombia.
Zenú,
Pastos,
Embera, and
Páez. The
departments with the biggest indigenous populations are
Cauca,
La Guajira,
Nariño,
Córdoba and
Sucre. while genetic studies have obtained between 6.6%, 9.2, and 11% Colombia has the fourth-largest
African diaspora on the planet after the
Brazil, the
United States, and
Haiti.
Asian Colombians is of
Lebanese, Spanish and
Italian descent.
Arab Colombians Jewish Colombians 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.
Genetic composition == Immigrant groups ==