Diaspora Realities:
Afrodescendants in the
Americas according to the 2000
Census Round
Prof. Marcelo Paixão
Objective
 To provide an overview on the production
of demographic indicators on
Afrodescendant population, in the
American countries, during the 2000
Census Round
Source of information
 National Census
 National Sample Household Survey (Encuestas)
were used, when the national Census did not
contain information on Afrodescendants, but the
Survey did
Afrodescendant population
 Sub-Saharan African ancestry
 Mostly originated by the African Diaspora
during the period of the Trans-Atlantic
slave trade
 Mestizos or Mixed, who can be culturally
or physically identified with this
demographic group, were included
The use of demographic data
collection system
 Can be considered a recent fact (20th
century)
 Both in academic researches or
policy formulation
Data on Afrodescendant population
Morning (2005:6-7), based on Rallu, Piche &
Simon, appointed 4 reasons for collecting or not
ethnic and racial dimension in demographic
surveys:
1. Collecting for political control;
2. Not collecting in the name of national
integration;
3. Strengthening of the discourse of
Miscegenation (Mestizaje) within the population
(in this case either collecting or not); and
4. Collecting for adopting Anti Discrimination or
Affirmative Action Policies
During the 19th century
 Just a few national Census included
information on ethnic/racial dimension or
on social condition (free or enslaved):
 Uruguay in 1852;
 Peru in 1876;
 Argentina in 1887;
 Brazil in 1872 and 1890;
 Cuba and Puerto Rico in 1899.
In the 20th century
 In Latin America, the trend was that the ethnic/racial
variable simply disappeared from Census
questionnaires, due to the strategies of local elites to
build a project of Nation-State, ideologically linked to
Europeanization or Miscegenation (Mestizaje)
 According to Andrews (2007), in Latin America, just two
of the national census realized in the first three decades
of the 20th century contained ethnic/racial variables:
Panama (1909); and
Colombia (1912).
Since the 1980s, Latin American countries
returned to incorporate ethnic / racial variable in
the Census questionnaires
 1980s: Brazil and Cuba
 1990s: Colombia
 2000s: Costa Rica; Ecuador; Guatemala;
Honduras; and Nicaragua
In the last three cases, just incorporating the
belonging to a ethnic group (Garifuna or Creole)
In the 2000 Census Round
 In the American Hemisphere, 22 national
questionnaires incorporated a question on the
ethnic/racial/color belonging of the respondents.
 9 were Latin American countries:
Brazil; Costa Rica; Colombia; Cuba;
Ecuador; El Salvador; Honduras;
Guatemala; Nicaragua; and Puerto Rico
Country
Census Year
Ethnic / Race Question
Anguilla
2001
To what ethnic/racial group
does ... belong?
Belize
2000
To what ethnic group do
you/does ... belong?
Bermuda
2000
Brazil
2000
Canada
2001
To which racial group do you
belong?
A sua cor ou raça é?
Is this person an Aboriginal
person, that is, North
American Indian, Métis or
Inuit (Eskimo)? / Is this
person? (Question 18 and
19)
¿De acuerdo con su
CULTURA, PUEBLO o
RASGOS FÍSICOS,
... es o se reconoce como:
Colombia
2005
Costa Rica
2000
Pertence ___ a la cultura?
Cuba
2000
¿Cuál es el color de piel?
El Salvador
2007
¿Es Usted?
Ecuador
2001
Como se considera?
Guatemala
2002
¿A qué grupo étnico (pueblo)
pertenece?
Answer Options:
African, Negro, Black / Amerindian, Carib / East Indian /
Caucasian, White / Chinese, Oriental / Syrian, Lebanese /
Mixed / Others – specify / NS
Black, African / Caucasian, White / Chinese / Creole / East
Indian / Garifuna / Maya Ketchi / Maya Mopan / Maya
Yucatec / Mennonite / Mestizo / Spanish / Other – specify /
NS
Black / Black and White / Black and Other / White / White
and Other / Asian / Other Race / NS
Branca / Preta / Amarela / Parda / Indígena
North American Indian / Métis / Inuit (Eskimo) - White /
Chinese / South Asian / Black / Filipino / Latin American /
Southeast Asian / Arab / West Asian / Japanese / Korean /
Other – specify
Indígena? (¿A cuál pueblo pertenece?) / Rom? / Raizal del
Archipiélago de San Andrés y Providencia? / Palanquero
de San Basílio? / Negro (a), Mulato (a) o
Afrodescendiente? / Ninguno de los anteriores?
Indigena / Afrocostarricensse o Negra / China / Ninguna de
las anteriores
Blanco / Negro / Mestizo o Mulato
a) Blanco / Mestizo (mescla de blanco con indígena) /
Indígena (responde b) / Negro (de raza) / Otro - b) Lenca;
Kakawira (cacaopera); Nahua; Pipil; Otro (especifique)
Indígena (A qué nacionalidad indígena o pueblo indígena
pertenece?) / Negro (Afro-ecuatoriano) / Mestizo / Mulato /
Blanco / Otro
Maya (22 opciones) / Xincas / Garífunas / Ladino / Ninguno
/ Otros
Country
Census Year
Guyana
2002
Honduras
2000
Jamaica
2001
Nicaragua
2005
A cuál de los siguientes pueblos
indígenas o etnias pertenece:
Puerto Rico
(USA territory)
2000
What is your race? Mark one or
more races to indicate what you
consider yourself to be.
Saint Lucia
2001
To what ethnic, racial or national
group do you think … belongs?
Suriname
2003
Trinidad &
Tobago
Turks and
Caicos Islands
(GB territory)
USA and US
Virgin Islands
2000
2001
2000
Ethnic / Race Question
Answer Options:
To which ethnic group do you
belong?
¿A qué grupo poblacional
pertenece?
To which race or ethnic group would
you say you/..... belong(s)?
African, Black / Amerindian / East Indian / Chinese / Mixed /
Portuguese / White / Don’t know, Not stated/ Other – specify
Garífuna / Negro Inglés / Tolupan / Pech (Paya) / Misquita / Lenca /
Tawohka (Sumo) / Chorti / Otro
Black / Chinese / Mixed / East Indian / White / Other / NS
To which ethnic group does this
person belong according to
himself/herself?
To which ethnic group does …
belong?
Rama / Garífuna / Mayangna-Sumu / Miskitu / Ulwa / Creole (Kreol) /
Mestizo de la Costa Caribe / Xiu-Sutiava / Nahoa-Nicaracao /
Chorotega-Nahua-Mange / Cacaopera-Matagalpa / Otro / No Sabe
White / Black, Afro-American or Negro / American Indian or Alaska
Native (print name of enrolled or the principal tribe) / Asian Indian /
Chinese / Filipino / Japanese / Korean / Vietnamese / Other Asian
(print race) / Native Hawaiian / Guamanian or Chamororro / Samoan /
Other Pacific Island (print race) / Other Race (print race)
African Descent, Negro, Black / Indigenous People (Amerindian, Carib)
/ East Indian / Chinese / Portuguese / Syrian, Lebanese / White,
Caucasian / Mixed / Other – specify / NS
Indigenous, Amerindian / Maroon, Bushnegro / Creole / Hindostani /
Javanese/ Chinese / Caucasian, White / Mixed / Other / Don’t know, no
answer
African / Indian / Chinese / Syrian, Lebanese / Caucasian / Mixed /
Other Ethnic Group / NS
To what ethnic or racial group does
… belong?
African, Negro, Black / White / East Indian / Mixed (state 2 main ethnic
types)/ Other
Are you Spanish/Hispanic/Latino?
What is your race? Mark one or
more races to indicate what you
consider yourself to be. (question 5
and 6)
a) If Yes (Mexican, Mexican-American, Chicano / Puerto Rican /
Cuban / Other Spanish, Hispanic / Latino (print group) – b) White /
Black, African American or Negro / American Indian or Alaska Native
[print name of enrolled or principal tribe] / Asian Indian / Native
Hawaiian / Guamanian or Chamorro / Chinese / Filipino / Samoan /
Other Pacific Islander [print race] / Korean / Vietnamese / Other Asian
[print race] / Some other race [print race]
Source: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/censusquest.htm
American Countries incorporating an Ethnic/Race
question in the National Sample Household
Surveys, but not in the Census
Country
Census
Year
Peru
2000
Uruguay
2006
Ethnic / Race
Question
Answer Options:
De origen mestizo / De origen
¿Por sus antepasados
Quechua / De origen Aymara /
y de acuerdo a sus
Indígena de Amazónia / De
costumbres Ud. se
origen Negro, Mulato o Zambo /
considera?
Otro
¿Cree
tener Afro o negra / Amarilla / Blanca /
ascendencia?
Indígena / Otro / No Sabe
Source: http://www.inei.gob.pe/ - http://www.ine.gub.uy/
The types of question can be
summarised in 4 groups
1. Ancestry
2. Culture (including ethnic group,
population group, nationality, culture)
3. Phenotypic traits (skin color, race)
4. Feeling of Belonging (without mentioning
“ethnic group” or “race”)
Observing the response options
 Can be identified 20 terms, according to
socioeconomic characteristics, cultural
background and local reality of the Diaspora
 Some terms are linked to physical traits (Black,
mixed, etc.)
 Risk of misunderstanding (whitening of richer
people) and ambiguity (pardo in Brazil)
 Some are linked to ethnic characteristics, like
language, with no reference to physical traits
 Risk of excluding Afrodescendants not linked to a
specific cultural background
Coherence between Types of Question and
Response Options is not always guaranteed
 In Belize, Costa Rica, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago,
the question makes reference to ethnic or cultural
characteristics, while the response options make
reference to racial definitions (physical traits):
Black, African (Belize)
Afrocostarricense or negra (Costa Rica)
African, Negro, Black (Guyana)
African, Mixed (Trinidad & Tobago)
 In Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and
Nicaragua, the respondent cannot point out his/her
belonging to the hegemonic group (as in the
questionnaires just “minority” groups are listed)
Can the type of question affect the
response options?
 In 1993 Colombia Census, it was asked: “Do you belong to a ethnic
group, indigenous group or a black community? If yes, which one?”
 Just 1,5% declared to belong to a black community
 In 2005 Census, the Afro presence in Colombia grown to 10,6%
SUBESTIMATION OF AFROCOLOMBIAN IN THE FIRST CENSUS
CAUSED BY THE TYPE OF QUESTION
 In Uruguay, in 1997 Encuesta de Condición de Hogares (ECH), it
was asked: “To which race do you believe to belong?” The response
options were: Asian; White; Indigenous, Black or Mixed.
 If Mixed, it was asked: “Which race do you think you “have blood”?”
Some response options as before.
The result was 5,9% Afro-Uruguayans
 In 2006 Encuesta, the question was: “Do you believe to have
ascendancy?”
The result was 9,1% Afro-Uruguayans
Afrodescendant presence in the Americas
according to 2000 Census Round
Afrodescendant
Population
Afro on the Total
Population
African, Negro, Black
Black, African, Garífuna
Black, Black and White, Black and Others
Preto, Pardo
Black
Raizal Del Arquipélago de San Andres y
Providencia, Palenqueros de San Basílio,
Negro, Mulato o Afrodescendiente
Afrocostarricense o Negra
Negro, Mestizo, Mulato
Negro (de raza)
Negro (Afro-equatoriano); Mulato
Garífuna
African, Negro, Black
Garífuna, Negro Inglês
Black, Mixed
Garífuna, Creole
10.296
72.502
37.056
75.872.424
783.795
90,1 %
31,2 %
59,7 %
44,7 %
2,5 %
4.311.757
10,6 %
72.784
3.905.817
5.744
604.009
5.040
221.680
58.818
2.539.834
23.161
2,0 %
34,9 %
0,1 %
5,0 %
0,04 %
29,9 %
1,0 %
97,4 %
0,5 %
Origem Negra, Mulato, Zambo
293.260
1,1 %
Black, Afroamerican, Negro
Afro descendant, Negro, Black
Maroon-Bushnegro, Creole
African, Mixed
302.933
156.733
133.700
418.268
8,3 %
82,5 %
31,0 %
37,5 %
African, Negro, Black
17.422
87,6 %
Ascendência Afro o Negra
278.829
9,1 %
Black, Black and White, Black and Others
36.213.467
126.339.329
12,9 %
20,5 %
Country
Census Year
Afrodescendant Groups Names
Anguilla
Belize
Bermuda
Brazil
Canada
2001
2000
2000
2000
2001
Colombia
2005
Costa Rica
Cuba
El Salvador
Ecuador
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Jamaica
Nicaragua
2000
2000
2007
2001
2002
2002
2000
2001
2005
2001
(Encuesta)
2000
2001
2003
2000
Peru (*)
Puerto Rico
Saint Lucia
Suriname
Trinidad & Tobago
Turks and Caicos
Islands
Uruguay
USA
Total
2001
2006
(Encuesta)
2000
We can list 4 situations:
1. The Afrodescendants are the majority of the population:





Anguilla (90,1%);
Bermudas (59,7%);
Jamaica (97,4%);
Saint Lucia (82,5%); and
Turks & Caicos Islands (87,6%).
2. The Afrodescendants are a minority, but over 20% of
the total population:






Belize (31,4%);
Brazil (44,7%);
Cuba (34,9%);
Guyana (29,9%);
Suriname (31%); and
Trinidad & Tobago (37,5%).
3. The presence of Afrodescendants is remarkable, but
proportionally inferior to 20% of the population:
 Colombia (10,6%);
 Ecuador (5%);
 Puerto Rico (8,3%);
 USA (12,9%); and
 Uruguay (9,1%).
4. Afrodescendants are less than 5% of the total
population:
 Costa Rica (2%);
 El Salvador (0,1%);
 Guatemala (0,04%);
 Honduras (2%);
 Nicaragua (0,5%); and
 Peru (1,1%).
 In this last group the form how the question was done (Belonging to
a population or ethnic group) may have led to a subestimation of
Afrodescendant presence in these countries
Expectation for the 2010 Census
Round
 The countries, which have already introduced an
ethnic/racial dimension, will keep the question in the
Census
 The question will be introduced in the Census
questionnaires of:
Argentina
Bolivia
Panama
Paraguay
Venezuela (Rep. Bol.)
Uruguay
 Maybe in Bolivia, Chile and Mexico
 New possibilities for reflection on Ethnic/Racial
Composition of the American Hemisphere
Brazilian Sources of Information
 In the past decades, Brazil has been improving
the number and quality of databases and
surveys capturing the racial dimension
 The main source of information is the National
Statistics Office: IBGE
 IBGE produces many surveys containing the
race/color variable: Census, National Household
Sample Survey (PNAD), Monthly Employment
Survey (PME), Consumer Expenditure Survey
(POF), etc.
Many databases and surveys produced by other
government agencies have included the race/color
variable in recent years
 Ministry of Health – DATASUS/MS: the Mortality
Information System (SIM); the Live Birth Information
System (SINASC); and the National Reporting
Information System (SINAN)
 Ministry of Education (MEC) – INEP/MEC: the National
System for Evaluation of the Basic Education
(SAEB); the National Secondary Education Examination
(ENEM); and the School Census (Censo Escolar)
 Ministry of Labor – MT: the Annual Report of Social
Information (RAIS) and the General Register of
Employment and Unemployment (CAGED)
 Ministry of Social Development – MDS: Unified
Databases of Social Programmes (CADUNICO)