More Than 2.1 Million Women in Bolivia Identify With Indigenous Peoples

More than 2.1 million women in Bolivia identify with an Indigenous, Native Peasant or Afro-Bolivian nation or people, according to data from the 2024 census released for International Indigenous Women’s Day.

The National Statistics Institute said 2,140,434 women reported this identity. The figure illustrates the demographic presence and cultural diversity of Indigenous women in Bolivia, where the Constitution recognizes the plurality of nations and peoples that make up the state.

The date is closely linked to Bolivia’s history. September 5 commemorates Bartolina Sisa, an Aymara leader who fought Spanish colonial rule alongside Túpac Katari and was executed on September 5, 1782. The international observance was established in 1983 during the Second Meeting of Organizations and Movements of the Americas, held in Tihuanacu, Bolivia, in her honor.

In presenting the census figure, the statistics institute said, "Recognizing Indigenous women means recognizing their identity, their voice, their rights and their contribution to Bolivia’s development." More than two centuries after Sisa’s execution, and 43 years after the observance was created, the census puts a number on a presence that the article says spans Bolivia’s history, economy, culture and social life.

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Recognizing Indigenous women means recognizing their identity, their voice, their rights and their contribution to Bolivia’s development.