But at the country level, census forms use differing criteria. Many national censuses do not even address the issue, and estimates of indigenous peoples must be based on other information sources. This said, it can be conservatively estimated that between 33 million and 40 million indigenous peoples live in Latin America and the Caribbean. These are divided into about 400 different ethnic groups, each with a different language, social organization, world-view, economic system and mode of production adapted to the ecosystem they inhabit. Despite their heterogeneity, indigenous peoples share similar concerns and aspirations that are based on a holistic view of the relation between mankind and the natural environment, and between the individual and the community.
Indigenous peoples live in all the countries of Latin America except Uruguay.
Estimates for the Caribbean islands vary between 30,000 and 50,000 people of direct indigenous descent. Countries with the largest proportion of indigenous peoples are Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru and Ecuador. Estimates for Bolivia range between 50 percent and 70 percent. Although one-quarter of the hemisphere s indigenous peoples live in Mexico, they represent slightly less than 10 percent of that country s population. Five countries Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia and Ecuador account for nearly 90 percent of indigenous peoples in the region.