Demographics
In 2005, the state had a population of 5,383,133 according to the INEGI census, ranking fifth in the country. Over 93% of the state’s population identifies as Roman Catholic with 4.4% identifying as Protestant or Evangelical.
In 1921, Puebla had the second largest population, after Oaxaca, of purely indigenous people according to the national census. Since then, the official census has eliminated categories for race, counting only those who speak an indigenous language. In 2000, an attempt was made to count indigenous ethnicities, regardless of language spoken. This count ranked Puebla as fifth with a total population of 957,650. However, according to the 2005 census, there were 548,723 people who spoke an indigenous language.
The state has five major indigenous ethnic groups: the Nahuas, the Totonacs, the Mixtecs, the Popolocas and the Otomi . The state has two well-defined areas in which indigenous peoples still maintain many ancient traditions, rites and customs. These two regions are called the Sierra Norte in the north and the Sierra Negra in the south. In these areas, these traditions, and the agriculture they are dependent on, have survived because industrialization has not penetrated the rugged landscape.
The Sierra Norte, especially the municipalities of Cuetzalan, Pahuatlán, Huehuetla el Grande and Teziutlán, are dominated by the Nahuas, Totonacas and Otomi. There is also a small region locally called the Sierra Negra in which there are communities of Popolocas, Nahuas and Mazatecos, especially in the municipality of Eloxochitlán, Tlacotepec and part of the city of Tehuacán.
The Mixtec people who live in the south of Puebla are part of an ethnic group which are still the dominant indigenous group in an area that stretches over Puebla, Oaxaca and the mountains of Guerrero. They are the fourth largest indigenous group in Mexico. The Sierra Mixteca region in Puebla is part of the Mixteca Baja region, which crosses into parts of Oaxaca as well. In the Mesoamerican period, the Mixtecs of Puebla dominated further north than they do now and archeologists classify “Mixteca-Puebla” art as distinct from other Mixtec arts and crafts. There are an estimated 6,700 Mixtecs living in Puebla, however, many have emigrated out of traditional Mixtec areas into other parts of the state, Mexico City and even the United States to work.
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