Ethnicity, Language, & Religion of Colombia
WARNING: Drug trafficking violence is a
risk in Colombia, please read this travel warning
before going!
Ethnicity
Nearly 60% of the people in Colombia claim to be mestizo,
which is a combination of European and Amerindian descent. Another fifth claim to
be wholly European and the rest of the people are a combination of ethnicities,
including Africans. Almost everyone with European descent of any degree tends to
be ethnically Spanish, although Italian and, to a lesser degree, German also make
up a significant part of these ethnic European groups.
There is almost no one in Colombia today who claims to
be wholly Amerindian, but many of the people have some indigenous blood. This heritage
tends to include the intermarrying of Europeans with the Muiscas, Taironas, and
Ingas (more commonly known as Quechua in other parts of South
America).
Language
Nearly everyone in Colombia speaks Spanish natively and
this is the country's only official language. Spanish is a Romance language
also spoken in Spain; it is closely related to other Romance
languages, including Portuguese, Italian, French, Romanian, others. The dialect
of Spanish in Colombia is quite distinct in comparison to that of Spain and there
are also many minor differences in the language across Latin America.