In 1985: 20,000 people for the parish of Zumbagua was frequently mentioned; the entire region might have twice that number of indigenous inhabitants. The inhabitants of these high, cold grasslands probably moved here from the hot lowland areas.

The indigenous people who live in the Cotopaxi area do not have a distinctive ethnic name for themselves beyond that of “Naturales” (natives, autochthonous people) or speakers of “Inga shimi” (Quichua).