Demography

The latest population census, which took place nationwide during the year 2005, reported 3,241,444 inhabitants in the state of Chihuahua, each gender taking 50% of the total. The northern state is placed seventh in the nation regarding quality of life and sixth in terms of life expectancy at 75.2 years of age. The median age is located at 25 years.

Chihuahua holds one of the largest proportion of white population of Mexico, as is the case in much of northern Mexico. Caucasians make up 55% of the population, most of them of Spaniard origin, but also of French, Basque, Italian, German, Dutch and Middle Eastern descent, while the rest of the population are Mestizo groups of predominant Spaniard descent. Indians form 5% of the state habitants and remain isolated in the woods of southwestern Chihuahua. The admixture with Indians never existed in Nueva Vizcaya due to the scarcity of natives (most of them warrior and anti-European Conchos and Tarahumaras), and the size of the territory.

85% of people in Chihuahua claim to follow the Catholic faith; only 3% of those over 5 years of age speak a native dialect, mostly Tarahumara, the largest indigenous group, followed by the Pimas, Tepehuanes and Warojios.