European Peruvians (), also known as White Peruvians (), are

Peruvians Peruvians (''/peruanas'') are the citizens of Peru. What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Peruvian population decreased from an estimated 5–9 ...

of total or predominantly

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an ancestry (formerly called Criollos or Castizos in the viceregal era). Traditionally, this group had been more dominant in the political, commercial, and diplomatic sectors of Peruvian society. The recent 2017 census where ethnic self-identification was used,

white people White is a Race (human categorization), racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry. It is also a Human skin color, skin color specifier, although the definition can var ...

make up 5.9% of the total population of Perú aged 15 years and above.

History

European immigration to Peru began with the

Spanish colonization of the Americas The Spanish colonization of the Americas began in 1493 on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) after the initial 1492 voyage of Genoa, Genoese mariner Christopher Columbus under license from Queen Isabella ...

and continued during the Republic of Peru in the 19th century with the immigration of people from other countries of Europe (especially, Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, England and Germany, among others).

Spanish

Spanish settlement of Peru began in the early 1530s (continuing until 1821 as a

viceroyalty A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the sixteenth century. British Empire India * British Raj, India was governed by the Governor-General of India, Governor-General and Vi ...

of Spain) and continues to the present day. Spanish

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Trujillo, Spain, to a poor fam ...

founded the first Spanish settlement in Peru, San Miguel de Piura in July 1532.Hemming, J., 1970, The Conquest of the Incas, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., According to historian Napoleón Cieza Burga, the

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

Diego de Almagro founded the second Spanish settlement of Trujillo in November 1534 and one of the first modern cities in the Americas founded by the Spanish conquistadors. calling it "Villa Trujillo de Nueva Castilla" ''(Trujillo of New Castile)'' after Trujillo, the birthplace of Francisco Pizarro. Spanish cultural influence is the most notable of all European cultural groups in Peruvian culture. Spanish heritage has left an indelible mark in the country and signs of this cultural exchange can be found everywhere, from the

official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

, the dominant

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

religion, bullfighting, musical genres to the local

culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

styles.

Italians

Among Peruvians of European descent, Italians were the second largest group of immigrants to settle in the country. Italian immigration in Peru began in the colonial era, during the Spanish

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...

. However, the peak of Italian immigrants occurred after Peruvian independence, between 1840 and 1880, with the

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

export boom.

British

One cultural influence is Inca Kola, a

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

that was created in Peru in 1935 by an English immigrant Joseph Robinson Lindley. In 1911, in Rímac, one of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

's oldest and most traditional neighborhoods, an English family began a small bottling company under their family name, Lindley. In 1928, the company was formally chartered in Peru as Corporación José R. Lindley S.A., whereupon Joseph R. Lindley became its first General Manager. Today it is still a family business with the great-grandson Johnny Lindley Suarez being the current president. Danish Many Danes migrated to South America, mostly to Argentina but also to chile and Peru. Many Danes were residing in Peru during the immigrants census of 1922. One of the first Danes in the country was Jorgen Rasmussen (entered the country in 1864). His contributions to the building of the electrical system in Peru were commemorated with a plaque in the electricity museum.

Geographical distribution

According to the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

census 5.9% or 1.3 million (1,336,931) people 12 years of age and above self-identified as white. There were 619,402 (5.5%) males and 747,528 (6.3%) females. This was the first time a question for ethnic origins had been asked. The regions with the highest proportion of self-identified whites were in La Libertad Region (10.5%), Tumbes Region and

Lambayeque Region Lambayeque () is a Administrative divisions of Peru, department and Regional Government of Lambayeque, region in northwestern Peru known for its rich Moche culture, Moche and Chimú culture, Chimú historical past. The region's name originates ...

(9.0% each), Piura Region (8.1%),

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

(7.7%), Cajamarca Region (7.5%), Lima Province (7.2%),

Lima Region The Department of Lima (), known as the Department of the Capital () until 1823, is a department and region located in the central coast of Peru; the seat of the regional government is Huacho. Lima Province, which contains the city of Lima, ...

(6.0%), Ica Region and

Ancash Region Ancash (; ) is a department and region in western Peru. It is bordered by the departments of La Libertad on the north, Huánuco and Pasco on the east, Lima on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital is the city of Huaraz, ...

(5.8% each), and

Arequipa Region Arequipa () is a department and region in southwestern Peru. It is the sixth largest department in Peru, after Puno, Cuzco, Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto, its sixth most populous department, and its eleventh least densely populated dep ...

(4.9%).

Origins

The following European ethnic backgrounds form the majority of white Peruvians: Spanish, Italian, German (includes

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

due to the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

), French,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, Croatian, Irish Mexican Peruvian, Danish and Romanian Peruvian. Peru is also home to some 2,600

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, whose ancestors came ( mainly) from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, among others.

References

{{Ethnic groups in Peru European *