The Centre for World Indigenous Studies estimated that the number of indigenous peoples worldwide in 1999 was between 300 and 500 million. This figure includes more than 7,000 indigenous societies or cultures, living in more than seventy countries, constituting approximately 5 percent of the global population. In the absence of reliable statistics, however, these figures are only approximate.

Who Are Indigenous Peoples?

Indigenous peoples are generally referred to in the plural, because they include many different communities. The use of the plural peoples indicates the diversity of people within the concept as a whole.

There is currently no agreed-upon definition of who is indigenous. Indigenous peoples themselves claim the right to define who they are. They argue that self-identification as indigenous is one of the basic rights. Nevertheless, the term indigenous peoples is generally used to describe a nondominant group in a particular territory, with a more...