Chilean people, or simply Chileans, are the native citizens and long-term immigrants of Chile. Chileans are mainly a mixture of Spanish and Amerindian descent, with small but significant traces of 19th and 20th century European-origin immigrants. A strong correlation exists between the ancestry — or ethnicity — and socioeconomic situation of Chileans, with notable differences observed between the lower classes of high Amerindian ancestry and the upper classes of mainly European ancestry.
Post-independence immigrants have never comprised more than two percent of the total population, though their descendants are now hundreds of thousands, including Chileans of German, British, French, Croatian, Italian or Palestinian descent. Though the majority of Chileans reside in Chile, significant communities have been established in multiple countries, most noticeably Argentina and the United States. Other large Chilean communities are in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Spain, Sweden and Venezuela. Although small in number Chilean people make up a substantial part of the permanent population of Antarctica and the Falkland Islands.
Read more about Chilean People: Ethnic Structure, Indigenous Chileans, Religions, Culture, Emigration of Chileans
Famous quotes containing the word people:
“Some [adolescent] girls are depressed because they have lost their warm, open relationship with their parents. They have loved and been loved by people whom they now must betray to fit into peer culture. Furthermore, they are discouraged by peers from expressing sadness at the loss of family relationships—even to say they are sad is to admit weakness and dependency.”
—Mary Pipher (20th century)