Emigration from Colombia

Emigration from Colombia is a migratory phenomenon that started in the early 20th century.^{[ citation needed ]}

Overview

Immigration from Colombia was determined mostly by security issues linked mainly to the Colombian armed conflict. From 1980 to 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 7,6 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 ]}

Between January 2019 and July 2023, a total of 1,300,353 people left Colombia, according to The City Paper Bogotá. ^[4] In January 2025 some sources put the number of Colombians that have left the country in the last 30 months at more than two million people. Since 2018, the number of people leaving Colombia has steadily increased. ^[5]

Destinations

Colombians in Spain.

Until 2002, external migration was primarily to the United States, Venezuela, Spain and Ecuador. ^[6] As of 2003, the estimated Colombian population in those countries was 2,020,000, 1,340,000, 240,000, and 193,000, respectively. ^[6] Panama, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom also have significant (>20,000) populations of Colombian emigrants. ^[6] 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, better quality of life and/or get away from government corruption. 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, Ajiaco among Colombians from all parts of the country.

Top Colombian diaspora populations

Regions with significant populations

Country	Population	Rank	Population [7]	Rank	Notes
United States	2,458,468 [8]	1	753,847	2	For further information see Colombian Americans
Venezuela	721,791 [9]	2	988,483	1
Spain	513,583 [10]	3	350,802	3	Largest community outside the Americas. See Colombians in Spain
Mexico	36,234 [11]	4	36,234	4	For further information see Colombian Mexicans
Chile	146,582 [12]	5	24,427	9
Canada	96,325 [13]	6	70,405	5	For further information see Colombian Canadians
Panama	41,885 [14]	7	57,051	6
Ecuador	77,426 [15]	8	200,539	4
Italy	40,000 [16]	9	40,000 [16]	8
Australia	35,033 [17]	10	16,247	14	For further information see Colombian Australians
Argentina	13,876	12	8,963	18	For further information see Colombian Argentines
France	100,000 [18] [19]	13
Sweden	14,055 [20]	14	14,055	12	Second largest Latin American community after Chileans.[ page needed ]
United Kingdom	12,331 [21]	15	22,703	10	Second largest South American community after Brazilians. See Colombians in the United Kingdom
Costa Rica	11,500	16	21,400	12
Vietnam	7,275 [22]	17
Israel	3,127 [23]	18	2,693	25
Netherlands		19	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
Japan			2,471 [24]	27
Haiti			1,758	28
Austria			1,728	29
Belgium			1,629	30
Finland			1,286	31
New Zealand			1,228	32
Guatemala			1,202	33
South Africa			979	34
Honduras			876	35
Portugal			655	36
El Salvador			580	37
Poland			18,000 [25]	38
Nicaragua			456	39
Greece			391	40
Hungary			238	41
Russia			206	42
Bahamas			201	43
Iceland			191	44
Czech Republic			165	45
Cuba			146	46
Cyprus			133	47
Philippines			128	48
Romania			110	49
Estonia			85 [26]	50
Slovakia			56	51
Turkey			54	52
Egypt			54	53
Bulgaria			49	54
Slovenia			43	55
Croatia			43	56
Latvia			30 [27]	57
Jordan			24	58
North Macedonia			6	59

Social and economic impact

Colombian bar in La Coruña, Galicia, (Spain).

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

See also

• Colombia portal

• Demographics of Colombia
• Foreign relations of Colombia
• Immigration to Colombia
• Colombian people
• Venezuelan refugee crisis

References

1. "Yahoo forma parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo". Yahoo forma parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo (in Spanish). 17 September 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
2. "Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE)". www.dane.gov.co.
3. 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). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
4. Emblin, Richard (4 June 2024). "Colombians are emigrating in record numbers, some 1,200 every day". The City Paper Bogotá. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
5. Batalova, Jeanne; Chaves-González, Diego (10 July 2023). "Colombian Immigrants in the United States". migrationpolicy.org. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
6. "Migration Information Source". migrationpolicy.org. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
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8. "American FactFinder – Results". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
9. INE (2011). "Población nacida en el exterior, por año llegada a Venezuela, según pais de nacimiento, Censo 2011" (PDF). Ine.gob.ve (in Spanish).
10. Población (españoles/extranjeros) por País de Nacimiento, sexo y año Instituto Nacional de Estadística
11. Tabla Población de connacionales en el exterior por país: México (in Spanish)
12. Los extranjeros en Chile suman 1.251.225 personas y en su mayoría son venezolanos, peruanos, haitianos y colombianos, theclinic.cl, 10 April 2019
13. Statistics Canada (2016). "Data tables, 2016 Census – Immigration and ethnocultural diversity". 12.statcan.gc.ca.
14. "Cuadro 7: Población nacida en el extranjero en la República, por grupos de edad, según sexo y país de nacimiento. INEC Panamá".
15. Refugiados, Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los. "ACNUR – Página no encontrada". UNHCR.
16. "Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Country of Origin and Destination". migrationpolicy.org. 10 February 2014.
17. "2021 People in Australia who were born in Colombia, Census Country of birth QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
18. "La communauté colombienne en France". lepetitjournal.com. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
19. Collazos, Anne Gincel (January 2010). "LOS COLOMBIANOS EN FRANCIA: UNA MIGRACIÓN PENDULARIA DEL "ENTRE DOS"". Análisis Político (in Spanish). 23 (68): 62–78. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
20. "Utrikes födda efter födelseland, kön och år". www.scb.se. Statistiska Centralbyrån. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
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22. Data Basical Immigrants. "Immigration to Vietnam". databasicalimmigrants.weebly.com. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
23. IMMIGRANTS(1), BY PERIOD OF IMMIGRATION, COUNTRY OF BIRTH AND LAST COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE Archived 15 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008
24. 在留外国人統計（旧登録外国人統計）統計表 法務省
25. "Statystyki: Polska: Mapa". Migracje.gov.pl (in Polish).
26. Statistics Estonia. "RL21421: POPULATION BY CITIZENSHIP, SEX AND PLACE OF RESIDENCE (SETTLEMENT REGION), 31 DECEMBER 2021". Statistical database.
27. "Latvijas iedzīvotāju sadalījums pēc nacionālā sastāva un valstiskās piederības". Pilsonības un migrācijas lietu pārvalde (in Latvian). Retrieved 29 November 2024.