Is Costa Rica really white?

[TheForeigner]

I read in Encyclopedia Britannica and other sources that the Central American country of Costa Rica has a white majority of up to 80%. Is it true that Costa Ricans are mostly European?

[TheForeigner]

I've also seen claims of Chileans being majority whites.

[Tobi]

You need expect less than 10% of whites and off whites in countries like these. Any person with light skin is counted as white.

[TheForeigner]

bump

[Costas]

I read in Encyclopedia Britannica and other sources that the Central American country of Costa Rica has a white majority of up to 80%. Is it true that Costa Ricans are mostly European?

No, that's not true.

Whites are a minority there. The thing is they're significantly whiter than their neighbours which is why they appear as White in some texts.

Costa Ricans are between 46% and 60% European on average according to this and this studies, which make most of them Mestizos/Harnizos (or triracials in some cases).

I've also seen claims of Chileans being majority whites.

Not true either. At all.

In Santiago, genetically

Whites and castizos: 15%
Mestizos and harnizos: 80%
Natives and indomestizos: 5%

That's genetically though.

Phenotypically I'd say 15% out of the Harnizo population can pass as European, and 5% out of the Mestizo population can probably pass as relatively "pure" Indigenous.

So phenotypically you could say it's 30% whites, 60% mestizos and 10% natives.

It's probably similar in Costa Rica but with more Blacks and Mulattoes (which we don't have).

Also Nicaraguans are 10% of the Costa Rican population and a lot of them are triracial.

[XenophobicPrussian]

This is self identified white. It's useless.

There's studies showing self identified whites in Argentina are only 80% European, as low as 54% in Mexico.

Anyway, Costa Rica on a whole is about 64% European, which is the highest in Central America and the fourth highest in Latin America after Uruguay, Argentina, Cuba.

[Dandelion]

This is self identified white. It's useless.

There's studies showing self identified whites in Argentina are only 80% European, as low as 54% in Mexico.

Anyway, Costa Rica on a whole is about 64% European, which is the highest in Central America and the fourth highest in Latin America after Uruguay, Argentina, Cuba.

It's the one drop rule but for whites that counts in Latin America. Having a Spanish colonial grandfather alone makes people identify as such.

[Argentano]

My brother is living in Costa Rica because of work and he told me most people loook like argentine low class mestizos.

In fact he told me he and other 3 argentines were in a bar and a drunk costa rican approached them saying something like "you gringos dont belong here" until they explained they were not gringos.

[Spyy]

No, since i know according studies, their euro component is very low
Paraguay is so euro like Costa Rica and the white population in Paraguay is something like 5%.

[TheForeigner]

I guess it is safe to say the only LA countries with white majorities are Argentina and Uruguay then. And then there is Sao Paolo state and the South of Brazil.