White Peruvians

White Peruvians (Spanish: Peruanos blancos) are Peruvians of completely or predominantly European ancestry (formerly called Criollos). In a more official sense, the census by the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics, which collects demographic data on Peruvians, uses the term "white". The 2017 census where ethnic self-identification was used, white people make up 5.9% or 1,366,931 of the population aged 12 years and above. Traditionally, this group had been more dominant in the political, commercial, and diplomatic sectors of Peruvian society.

The 2025 census will use the same terminology.

European immigration to Peru began with the Spanish colonization of the Americas 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 settlement of Peru began in the early 1530s (continuing until 1821 as a viceroyalty of Spain) and continues to the present day. Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro founded the first Spanish settlement in Peru, San Miguel de Piura in July 1532. According to historian Napoleón Cieza Burga, the conquistador 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 with signs of this cultural exchange found everywhere, from the official language, the dominant Roman Catholic religion, bullfighting, musical genres to the local culinary styles.

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

One cultural influence is Inca Kola, a soft drink that was created in Peru in 1935 by an English immigrant Joseph Robinson Lindley. In 1911, in Rímac, one of Lima'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.

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.