| |
Total population | |
---|---|
200,000 (2023, est.) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, Medellín, Santa Marta, Neiva, Manizales, Cúcuta, Pereira | |
Languages | |
Colombian Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Languages in India, Arabic, Vietnamese, Armenian, Turkish, Thai, Filipino, Malay. | |
Religion | |
Buddhism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Islam, Protestantism, Shintoism, Sikhism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Asians, Arabs, Colombians, Arab Colombians |
Asian Colombians (Spanish : colombianos asiáticos; Latin American Spanish: [/kolombjanos//aˈsjatikos/] ) are Asian immigrants in Colombia and their descendants. The majority of Asian Colombians are of Chinese and Japanese descent, [1] [2] [3] with a smaller portion being of Korean descent. There are also notable South Asian, Southeast Asian, Arab, and Middle Eastern descending populations. [4] [5]
A study by Latinobarómetro in 2023 estimated that 0.4% of Colombians are Asian, this would equate to around 200,000 of Colombia's population of approximately 50 million people. [6]
In 1854, many Chinese migrants arrived in Colombian territory for the construction of the Panama Canal Railway across the Isthmus of Panama, as the domestic labor force was insufficient. [7] Around 705 Chinese immigrants came from the Guandong province, demonstrating their skills working on the construction of the first Transcontinental Railroad on the west coast of the United States. [8] [9] The Chinese migrants being brought into the projects was a desperate measure by the managers of the railway companies, who did not have enough workers among the native population for the construction and failed to import enough Irish, German, and other European migrants to make up for the deficit. [7] [10]
At the beginning of the 20th century, Indian Muslim migrants settled in the towns of the Cauca River valley, some just temporarily and others permanently, to engage in the commercial activity demanded by the new working population of the nascent sugar industry. These immigrants brought a variety of products to rural areas, both granting credit and accepting barter. [5]
Toraji Irie, a renowned Japanese writer, states in his work on Japanese migration to other regions of the World that the first Japanese migrants who arrived in Colombia in 1903, the year Panama gained independence and Colombia lost control of the Isthmus of Panama, came as a result of the Colombian Government seeking help from Japan in hiring workers to guard land bordering Panama against U.S. incursions. [11]
In 1928, this was the smallest migratory group, being somewhat small compared to other South American countries like Brazil, Peru or Venezuela. Despite this, some Japanese families began settling in Valle del Cauca, [12] where many became farmers.
Between 1970 and 1980, there was a small yet constant flow of Asian migration (mainly from China) into Colombian cities, primarily Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, Medellín, Santa Marta, Neiva, Manizales, Cúcuta and Pereira, which continues to this day. Other very small groups of Asian migrants came from India, [4] Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines.
Between 1970 and 1980 there were more than 6,000 Chinese Immigrants in Colombia, as they continued to arrive and grow in population. Anti-Immigration policies in many other countries is a possible factor in continued Chinese immigration into Colombia. Emigration out of China into Colombia generally did not occur in the first three decades following the establishment of the People's Republic of China, as emigration was restricted. Due to Xenophobia and Sinophobia within the United States, a significant amount of Chinese people chose to immigrate into other countries, including Colombia. [13]
Most Arab Colombians are of Lebanese, Jordanian, Syrian and Palestinian origins, most emigrating from the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century. [14] [15] Many of them settled in cities like Barranquilla and Maicao. [16]
As the Arab population in Colombia grows, so does it's Muslim community. From 2007 to 2023, Bogotá went from having 1 mosque to 6. [16]
Colombia has the third-largest Lebanese population abroad, with an estimated between 1,200,000 [17] and 2,500,000 [18] people, below only Argentina and Brazil. Between 1880 and 1930, it is estimated 10,000 to 30,000 Lebanese migrants relocated to Colombia. [16]
Most Syrian Colombians came to Colombia in the late 19th and early 20th century, with notable populations in Córdoba, Cartagena, and other cities. [14]
A large portion of modern (2000s-present) Chinese emigration into Colombian is composed of employees and business executives who have moved to Colombia following the multinational corporations they work for, some of which providing housing and accommodations for them directly. This has encouraged the development of diasporic Chinese enclaves in cities that welcome multinational corporations, such as Medellín, Barranquilla, and Cali. While many Chinese resident workers are on temporary visas, the enclaves are established and composed of many permanent Chinese-Colombian residents and citizens. [20] As of 2018, the Chinese embassy totaled around 20,000 Chinese citizens living in Colombian cities. [21]
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, as of 2023, there were 1,264 Japanese nationals residing in Colombia and an estimated 3,100 "Japanese descendants". [22]
Chinatowns in Latin America developed with the rise of Chinese immigration in the 19th century to various countries in Latin America as contract laborers in agricultural and fishing industries. Most came from Guangdong Province. Since the 1970s, the new arrivals have typically hailed from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Latin American Chinatowns may include the descendants of original migrants — often of mixed Chinese and Latino parentage — and more recent immigrants from East Asia. Most Asian Latin Americans are of Cantonese and Hakka origin. Estimates widely vary on the number of Chinese descendants in Latin America but it is at least 1.4 million and likely much greater than this.
Latin Americans are the citizens of Latin American countries.
Asian Latin Americans are Latin Americans of Asian descent. Asian immigrants to Latin America have largely been from East Asia or West Asia. Historically, Asians in Latin America have a centuries-long history in the region, starting with Filipinos in the 16th century. The peak of Asian immigration occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are currently more than four million Asian Latin Americans, nearly 1% of Latin America's population. Chinese, Japanese, and Lebanese are the largest Asian ancestries; other major ethnic groups include Filipinos, Syrians, Koreans and Indians, many of whom are Indo-Caribbean and came from neighboring countries in the Caribbean and the Guianas. Brazil is home to the largest population of East Asian descent, estimated at 2.08 million. The country is also home to a large percentage of West Asian descendants. With as much as 5% of their population having some degree of Chinese ancestry, Peru and Mexico have the highest ratio of any country for East Asian descent. Though the most recent official census, which relied on self-identification, gave a much lower percentage.
Asian Argentines, are Argentine citizens or residents of Asian ancestry. The vast majority trace their ancestry to West Asia, primarily from Lebanon, Syria and Armenia, and the Far East, primarily from China and Japan. However, there are other communities of Indian origin as well. Asian Argentines settled in Argentina in large numbers during several waves of immigration in the 20th century.
Asian Brazilians refers to Brazilian citizens or residents of Asian ancestry. The vast majority trace their origins to Western Asia, particularly Lebanon, or East Asia, namely Japan. The Brazilian census does not use "Asian" as a racial category, though the term "yellow" refers to people of East Asian ethnic origin.
Immigration to Mexico has been important in shaping the country's demographics. Since the early 16th century, with the arrival of the Spanish, Mexico has received immigrants from Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Today, millions of their Indigenous mixed descendants still live in Mexico and can be found working in different professions and industries.
Colombians are people identified with the country of Colombia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Colombians, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Colombian.
Arab Colombians refers to Arab immigrants and their descendants in the Republic of Colombia. Most of the migrants came from Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Palestine. When they were first processed in the ports of Colombia, they were classified as Turks because what is now Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine were then territories of the Ottoman Empire. It is estimated that Colombia has a Lebanese population of 3.2 million. Meanwhile, the Palestine population is estimated between 100,000-120,000.
Emigration from Colombia is a migratory phenomenon that started in the early 20th century.
Immigration to Colombia during the early 19th and late 20th Century, is what makes it one of the most diverse countries in the world, above other countries in the Latin region. Colombia inherited from the Spanish Empire harsh rules against immigration, first in the Viceroyalty of New Granada and later in the Colombian Republic. The Constituent Assembly of Colombia and the subsequent reforms to the national constitution were much more open to the immigrants and the economic aperture. However naturalization of foreigners, with the exception of those children of Colombians born abroad, it is still difficult to acquire due 'Jus soli' law is not allowed by the government, and only 'Jus sanguinis' law is accepted. Immigration in Colombia is managed by the "Migración Colombia" agency.
Japanese Mexicans are Mexican citizens of Japanese descent. Organized Japanese immigration to Mexico occurred in the 1890s with the foundation of a coffee-growing colony in the state of Chiapas. Although this initiative failed, it was followed by greater immigration from 1900 to the beginning of World War II. However, it never reached the levels of Japanese immigration to the Americas such as Brazil or the United States.
Japanese Colombians are Japanese immigrants and their descendants in Colombia. They have their own culture and organizations. In the early 20th century, Ryôji Noda, secretary consulate in both Peru and Brazil and expert advisor to the Japanese government on immigration to South America, was assigned to survey Colombia. On his return to Japan, he presented a report of his tour of Colombia to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This geographical area of Colombia would be occupied by Japanese farmers twenty years later. In 1920, the Farmers Society of Colombia sent a proposal to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Trade, drawing the government's attention to the lack of agricultural workers. Following this, Colombian President Rafael Reyes offered to travel and make contracts himself.
Lebanese Colombians are Colombians of Lebanese descent. Most of the Lebanese community's forebears immigrated to Colombia from the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for economic, political and religious reasons. The first Lebanese moved to Colombia in the late nineteenth century. There was another wave in the early twentieth century. It is estimated that over 10,000 Lebanese immigrated to Colombia from 1900 to 1930.
Race and ethnicity in Colombia descend mainly from three racial groups—Europeans, Amerindians, and Africans—that have mixed throughout the last 500 years of the country's history. Some demographers describe Colombia as one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the Western Hemisphere and in the World, with 900 different ethnic groups. Most Colombians identify themselves and others according to ancestry, physical appearance, and sociocultural status. Social relations reflect the importance attached to certain characteristics associated with a given racial group. Although these characteristics no longer accurately differentiate social categories, they still contribute to one's rank in the social hierarchy. A study from Rojas et al. involving 15 departments determined that the average Colombian has a mixture of 47% Amerindian, 42% European, and 11% African. These proportions also vary widely among ethnicities.
The history of the Jews in Colombia begins in the Spanish colonial period with the arrival of the first Jews during the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Asian Mexicans are Mexicans of Asian descent. Asians are considered cuarta raíz of Mexico in conjunction with the two main roots: Native and European, and the third African root.
At the 2011 census, the number of immigrants in Costa Rica totaled about 390,000 individuals, or about 9% of the country's population. Following a considerable drop from 1950 through 1980, immigration to Costa Rica has increased in recent decades.
Italian Colombians are Colombian-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Colombia during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people in Colombia. Italians have been immigrating to Colombia since the early 16th century.
Indian Colombians are Indian immigrants in Colombia and their descendants. The Indian community in Colombia is not as large as other Asian Colombian communities, but there are some places in Colombia where they have an established presence Indian-made businesses. The vast majority of Colombians who have Indian ancestry are of Indo-Caribbean origin, this includes those from Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Of Indian nationals in Colombia, most cite work related motivations in relocating to Colombia.