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Emigration from Colombia

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Emigration from Colombia was a migratory phenomenon that was taking place in Colombia from the early 20th century until these days.

Overview

Emigration from Colombia was determined mostly by security issues linked mainly to the Colombian armed conflict. From 1980-2000, emigration from Colombia was one of the largest in volume in Hispanic America. According to the 2005 Colombian census or DANE, about 3,331,107 Colombian citizens currently permanently reside outside of Colombia.[1][2] Other estimates, however, suggest that the actual number could exceed 4 million, or almost 10 percent of the country's population.[3] Approximately 1.2 million Colombians are believed to have left the country during 2000–5 and not returned.[3]

In 2005, the population movement towards North America and Europe in particular has been motivated in some cases by the threat of violence but more typically by the search for greater economic opportunity.[3] Due to the current sociopolitical situation in Colombia, emigration affects Colombians of all social standings and geographic zones. The highest rates of emigration have been registered in the main urban centers of the interior zone of the country: Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Bucaramanga, Pereira, Manizales, and Cúcuta.[citation needed]

Destinations

Until 2002, external migration was primarily to the United States, Venezuela and Spain.[4] As of 2003, the estimated Colombian population in those countries was 2,020,000, 1,340,000, 240,000, and 193,000, respectively.[4] Panama, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom also have significant (>20,000) populations of Colombian emigrants.[4] In 2003, North America was the destination for 48 percent of Colombian emigrants; Hispanic America and the Caribbean, 40 percent; Europe, 11 percent; and Asia, Oceania, and Africa, 1 percent.[3]

The Colombian diaspora refers to the mass movement of Colombian people who emigrated from the country in search of safety and/or a better quality of life. Many of those who moved were educated middle and upper middle-class Colombians; because of this, the Colombian diaspora can be referred to as a brain drain. Colombian officials state that this movement peaked in the year 2000 and that the most popular destinations for emigration include North America and Europe. In Europe, Spain has the largest Colombian community on the continent, followed by Italy and the United Kingdom.[citation needed] Many Colombians are also dispersed throughout the rest of Hispanic America. Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru and Chile received political refugees in the mid-to-late 20th century, and Colombian guest workers in the early 2000s. The Colombian diaspora can also refer to the large wave of Colombian artists who migrated seeking better opportunities and new, more lucrative markets.

Colombian restaurants and bakeries are important institutions for the Colombian diaspora. These eateries have popularized formerly regional dishes like the well-portioned Bandeja paisa among Colombians from all parts of the country.

Top Colombian diaspora populations

Regions with significant populations

Country Population Rank Population [5] Rank Notes
 United States 1,081,838[6] 1 753,847 2 For further information see Colombian Americans
 Venezuela 721,791[7] 2 988,483 1
 Spain 513,583[8] 3 350,802 3 Largest community outside the Americas. See Colombians in Spain
 Chile 146,582 [9] 4 24,427 9
 Canada 76,580[10] 5 70,405 5 For further information see Colombian Canadians
 Panama 41,885 [11] 6 57,051 6
 Ecuador 77,426 [12] 7 200,539 4
 Italy 40,000 [13] 8 40,000[14] 8
 Mexico 13,922 9 20,658 13 For further information see Colombian Mexicans
 Argentina 13,876 10 8,963 18
 France 100,000[15][16] 11
 Sweden 12,865[17] 12 12,865 12 Second largest Latin American community after Chileans.[page needed]
 United Kingdom 12,331[18] 13 22,703 10 Second largest South American community after Brazilians. See Colombians in the United Kingdom
 Costa Rica 11,500 14 21,400 12
 Australia 11,318[19] 15 16,247 14 For further information see Colombian Australians
 Israel 3,127[20] 16 2,693 25
 Germany 22,190 11
 Netherlands 15,455 15
 Switzerland 12,394 16
 Brazil 8,395 19
 Norway 6,131 20
 Peru 6,086 21
 Denmark 3,750 22
 Dominican Republic 3,687 23
 Bolivia 3,085 24
 Guinea 2,548 26
 Haiti 1,758 27
 Austria 1,728 28
 Belgium 1,629 29
 Finland 1,286 30
 New Zealand 1,228 31
 Guatemala 1,202 32
 South Africa 979 33
 Honduras 876 34
 Portugal 655 35
 El Salvador 580 36
 Nicaragua 456 37
 Greece 391 38
 Hungary 238 39
 Russia 206 40
 Bahamas 201 41
 Iceland 191 42
 Czech Republic 165 43
 Cuba 146 44
 Cyprus 133 45
 Poland 128 46
 Philippines 128 47
 Romania 110 48
 Slovakia 56 49
 Turkey 54 50
 Egypt 54 51
 Bulgaria 49 52
 Slovenia 43 53
 Croatia 43 54
 Jordan 24 55
 Estonia 10 56
 Latvia 7 57
 North Macedonia 6 58

Social and economic impact

Colombians living abroad—1.5 million of whom departed during the economic downturn between 1996 and 2002—have had a positive effect on the balance of payments thanks to remittances to family and friends at home.[3] According to Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, the value of remittances from Colombians living abroad is ranked third as the main source of foreign money in Colombia and has already surpassed the value of coffee exports.[citation needed]

But external migration to the United States or Europe has represented a definite loss of talent and energy because migrants to the developed world tend to be better educated and in the prime of working life.[3] Some estimates would have roughly half the physicians trained in Colombia during certain years, at great expense to fellow Colombian taxpayers, now working in the United States.[3] Then, too, there are communities (as in Mexico, for example) that have been so drained of young workers that they find themselves dependent on the flow of remittances.[3] Several municipalities in the vicinity of Pereira in western Colombia, hard hit by troubles in the coffee industry and the competition of cheap Asian labor in garment exporting, exemplify the latter phenomenon.[3]

Human trafficking

The Colombian government has developed prevention programs against illegal groups that offer emigration help to unsuspecting people, many of whom are eventually forced into slavery, forced prostitution and human trafficking in foreign countries.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/efe/20070917/twl-colombia-advierte-que-la-migracion-h-e1e34ad_1.html
  2. ^ DANE - Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bushnell, David and Rex A. Hudson. "Emigration". In Colombia: A Country Study (Rex A. Hudson, ed.), pp. 98-99. Library of Congress Federal Research Division (2010). Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ a b c Myriam Bérubé, Colombia: In the Crossfire, Migration Information Source
  5. ^ "Colombia - Emigrantes totales 2017". datosmacro.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  6. ^ The Hispanic Population: 2010 U.S. Census Bureau
  7. ^ INE (2011). "Población nacida en el exterior, por año llegada a Venezuela, según pais de nacimiento, Censo 2011" (PDF). Ine.gob.ve (in Spanish).
  8. ^ Población (españoles/extranjeros) por País de Nacimiento, sexo y año Instituto Nacional de Estadística
  9. ^ Los extranjeros en Chile suman 1.251.225 personas y en su mayoría son venezolanos, peruanos, haitianos y colombianos, theclinic.cl, 10 April 2019
  10. ^ Statistics Canada (2011). "2011 National Household Survey: Data tables". 12.statcan.gc.ca.
  11. ^ Cuadro 7: Población nacida en el extranjero en la República, por grupos de edad, según sexo y país de nacimiento. INEC Panamá
  12. ^ Más allá de las fronteras: la población colombiana en su proceso de integración urbana en la ciudad de Quito. ACNUR
  13. ^ "Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Country of Origin and Destination - mid-2017 UN Population Division estimates".
  14. ^ https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/immigrant-and-emigrant-populations-country-origin-and-destination
  15. ^ "La communauté colombienne en France". lepetitjournal.com. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  16. ^ "LOS COLOMBIANOS EN FRANCIA: UNA MIGRACIÓN PENDULARIA DEL "ENTRE DOS"". revistas.unal.edu.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Utrikes födda efter födelseland, kön och år". www.scb.se. Statistiska Centralbyrån. Retrieved 23 February 2020.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ "Country of Birth Database" (XLS). Oecd.org. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
  19. ^ Department of Social Services (2011). "The Colombia-born Community". Archived from the original on 2017-09-24. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
  20. ^ IMMIGRANTS(1), BY PERIOD OF IMMIGRATION, COUNTRY OF BIRTH AND LAST COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE Archived 2013-10-15 at the Wayback Machine Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008
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