The racial makeup of South America’s Hispanics varies greatly.
Many are mestizos, a mix of European and Native American, but there are also mulattoes, blacks, pure whites, and pure Native Americans.
In the highlands of Andean nations live many Native Americans, representing 45 percent of Peru’s population and 55 percent of Bolivia’s. In Argentina and Uruguay, there are virtually no Native Americans and few mestizos: 85 percent of Argentina’s people and 90 percent of Uruguay’s are of pure European descent.
People of African descent live in coastal areas of such nations as Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.
