Before the Spanish Conquest, the land comprising the department of Sucre was mainly inhabited by two groups of indigenous people — the Zenú and the Turbacos.

The Turbaco people were part of the Cariban language family and they controlled the area adjacent to the Gulf of Morrosquillo.

This specific part of the Carib's included the coasts of the present day departments of Magdalena, Atlántico and Bolívar.

This situation led to the encomenderos to employ the indigenous workforce almost exclusively for cattle rising on the northern areas.

[7] The rest of the population does not declare any ethnicity and are descendants mainly from Spanish, Indigenous and Black people; Arabs started to come in big numbers to Colombia after 1880 and they settled particularly in the Caribbean region of the country, including Sucre, they were mainly Lebanese, Palestinians and Syriacs arrived in smaller numbers, their descendants are estimated to be more than 3 million in the country, their contribution is noticeable in the culture, economy and politics in the Caribbean region.

[10] Amazonas Antioquia Arauca Atlántico Bolívar Boyacá Caldas Caquetá Casanare Cauca Cesar Chocó Córdoba Cundinamarca Guainía Guaviare Huila La Guajira Magdalena Meta Nariño N. Santander Putumayo Quindío Risaralda San Andrés Santander Sucre Tolima Valle del Cauca Vaupés Vichada