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Rapa Nui people

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native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island, Chile

Wikidata facts

Instance of
ethnic group
Subclass of
inhabitant
Residence
Easter Island
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Category:Rapa Nui people
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Rapa Nui people
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Rapa Nui
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Encyclopedic overview

The Rapa Nui (Rapa Nui: [ˈɾapa ˈnu.i], Spanish: [ˈrapa ˈnu.i]) are the Indigenous Polynesian peoples of Easter Island. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the descendants of the original people of Easter Island make up about 60% of the current Easter Island population and have a significant portion of their population residing in mainland Chile. They speak Rapa Nui and Chilean Spanish. At the 2017 census there were 7,750 island inhabitants—almost all living in the village of Hanga Roa on the sheltered west coast.

As of 2011, Rapa Nui's main source of income derived from tourism, which focuses on the giant sculptures called moai.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Rapa Nui people” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.