During the colonial period into the 19th century, Iztapalapa was mostly indigenous, with small population of European descent and mestizos. Migration into the area eventually would change the ethnic composition to primarily mestizo and the Nahuatl language would essentially disappear. As of 2005, only about two percent of the population speaks an indigenous language, with 94.8% bilingual in Spanish as well. This is about equal to the city average. However, the borough contains about 25% of the total ethnic indigenous of the city. Most of the indigenous languages found in the borough are those associated with the state of Oaxaca, such as Zapotec, Mixteca and Chatina. Oaxacan languages account for 34.9% of the total. Uto-Aztecan languages account for 23.32% which include Tarahumara, Mayo, Yaqui, Cora and Huichol. Another significant percentage are those of the Oto-Pamean languages which include Otomi, Mazahua and Matlatzinca.The only language which has been spoken in Mexico not represented in Iztapalapa is Kickapoo.
