August the 9th is International Day of the World's Indigenous People. It is a time for the world to understand the problems of indigenous peoples around the world. The day was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1994. It wanted to strengthen international cooperation to help indigenous people. In particular, in the areas of culture, education, health, human rights and economic development. It also wanted to ensure their survival as many indigenous cultures were in danger of dying out. Many indigenous people today are under threat from globalization. Multicultural companies in search of profits are destroying their habitats. Their culture is being weakened as they move into cities in search of work.

An indigenous people is any ethnic group who have inhabited a geographic region for hundreds or thousands of years. One expert said an indigenous people is "a politically underprivileged group, who share a similar ethnic identity that is different to the nation in power, and who have been an ethnic entity in the locality before the present ruling nation took over power". The best-known examples of indigenous peoples are the Aborigines in Australia, the Inuit in the Arctic regions, and the Zulu in South Africa. Estimates are that there are 300 to 350 million indigenous people in the world today. This is just under six per cent of the total world population. This includes over 5,000 different people in more than 72 countries.

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