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Where do most indigenous people live?

Most indigenous people live in Asia and the Pacific. The International Labour Organization estimates that the region is home to about 70% of the world's 476 million indigenous people. Africa has the next largest share, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean. North America and Europe have much smaller numbers.

According to the International Labour Organization's 2019 estimates, about seven in ten indigenous people live in Asia and the Pacific. India and China each have indigenous or tribal and minority populations of around 100 million or more, though neither government uses the word 'indigenous' officially for them.

Africa comes second with roughly one in six, including pastoralist peoples such as the Maasai and Tuareg and forager peoples such as the San. Latin America and the Caribbean has roughly one in nine, with large populations in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia.

North America, Europe and the Arctic have smaller indigenous populations in total, though they make up a large share of people in some regions, such as Nunavut in Canada and Greenland. Not all indigenous people live in remote areas. A large and growing share live in towns and cities, often far from their home territories.

Words used here

Indigenous peopleCensusDiasporaPastoralism

Sources

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