America: The Continent of Immigrants (life, cost, country, place)
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I found this information provided by the World Bank and thought it would be of interest to many people here.
The numbers represent the international migrant stock in each country for 2010. According to the World Bank, the "international migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live, including refugees." In 2010 there were 56,840,032 people that were living in a country other than the one they were born in. In all likelihood, this is probably the largest number of immigrants for any continent, making America the land of immigrants.
United States 42,813,281
Canada 7,202,340
Argentina 1,449,293
Venezuela 1,007,380
Mexico 725,684
Brazil 688,026
Costa Rica 489,201
Dominican Republic 434,343
Ecuador 393,641
Puerto Rico 323,962
Chile 320,397
Paraguay 161,306
Bolivia 145,817
Panama 121,003
Colombia 110,297
Uruguay 79,896
Guatemala 59,457
Belize 46,807
El Salvador 40,324
Suriname 39,474
Peru 37,625
Haiti 34,966
Trinidad & Tobago 34,348
Jamaica 29,962
Honduras 24,344
Cuba 15,259
Guyana 11,599
Segmented by sub-regions (in order of importance):
NORTH AMERICA
United States
Canada
Mexico
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Puerto Rico
Panama
Guatemala
Belize
El Salvador
Haiti
Trinidad & Tobago
Jamaica
Honduras
Cuba
SOUTH AMERICA
Argentina
Venezuela
Brazil
Ecuador
Chile
Paraguay
Bolivia
Colombia
Uruguay
Suriname
Peru
Guyana
Some of the countries that shocked me because of how many immigrants they have were Venezuela, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Puerto Rico. I was also shocked with how few immigrants there are in Peru, for some reason I always thought there were more, at least in Lima. I'm also shocked that there are almost 20,000 more immigrants in Haiti than in Cuba. Considering that Cuba is in much better shape than Haiti by almost any measure, it definitely is an anomaly.
Some of the countries that shocked me because of how many immigrants they have were Venezuela, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Puerto Rico. I was also shocked with how few immigrants there are in Peru, for some reason I always thought there were more, at least in Lima. I'm also shocked that there are almost 20,000 more immigrants in Haiti than in Cuba. Considering that Cuba is in much better shape than Haiti by almost any measure, it definitely is an anomaly.
During the 50s and 60s there was a large amount of Spaniards (also Italians) who emigrated to Latin America, mainly Argentina and Venezuela. Most of these immigrants are still alive and held the Spanish nationality, so that may be one reason why the number of immigrants in that country is so high.
I know several Spaniards elderly millionaires who have moved to Dominican Republic as retirees, as Julio Iglesias. Surely there are retirees from other countries.
I don't know Costa Rica that well, but I've hear it's a popular destination for American retirees.
As a percentage of their current population, they are:
Canada 20
USA 13
Argentina 3.5
Venezuela 3.5
Mexico 0.6
Brazil 0.3
It is not clear whether the USA number included illegal aliens, but if it does, the number of legal immigrants would be closer to 30 million, or 10%. The US Census is self-declared, and there is no way of knowing how many illegals were enumerated, nor how many stated their correct place of origin.
Venezuela has granted asylum to over 250,000 refugees from Colombia alone, and reports that the number of illegal aliens is between a half million and a million, which could account for nearly all the 1,000,000 in the OP's statistics.
As a percentage of their current population, they are:
Canada 20
USA 13
Argentina 3.5
Venezuela 3.5
Mexico 0.6
Brazil 0.3
These are the percentages the World Bank estimates for each country (they round the figures):
Canada 21
Belize 14
United States 14 Costa Rica 11
Puerto Rico 9 Argentina 4
Dominican Republic 4
Ecuador 3
Panama 3
Trinidad & Tobago 3
Venezuela 3 Chile 2
Guyana 2
Paraguay 2
Uruguay 2
Bolivia 1
El Salvador 1
Mexico 1
Nicaragua 1 Brazil 0
Colombia 0
Cuba 0
Guatemala 0
Haiti 0
Honduras 0
Peru 0
These names appear to be of French, Italian and Israeli descent. But the one which most stands out was someone I met by the last name of Shokooh, who was of Iranian descent.
These names appear to be of French, Italian and Israeli descent. But the one which most stands out was someone I met by the last name of Shokooh, who was of Iranian descent.
Quite the mixed bag we Puerto Ricans are!
Due to my grandmother being German, I knew several people in Puerto Rico that were German as well but born and raised in Puerto Rico. Our ex president of the Senate was Ken McClintock Hernández, and he was replaced by someone of German descent Thomas Rivera Schatz.
I don't know Costa Rica that well, but I've hear it's a popular destination for American retirees.
Costa Rica's immigrants are mostly from neighboring Nicaragua. It's quite interesting to see the attitudes towards Nicaraguans is very similar to what you get in the US towards Mexicans.
The income/standard of living gap is the main driving force in immigration worldwide. There are some retirees or lifestyle seekers in the math, but the vast majority of people uproot themselves in search of financial opportunity.
It makes sense that Costa Rican attitudes towards Nicaraguans are similiar to US attitudes towards Mexicans, considering that in Costa Rica the foreign population makes up 11% of the total and in the US its 14%. The population pressures can be said to be similar on both societies.
With that said, right now the US isn't suffering from an illegal immigration problem while Costa Rica does continues to suffer. Migration flows on the US-Mexican border has decreased substantially and I even read an article that there are more people moving to Mexico than from Mexico to the US.
I'm sure the Costa Rican would love to be in the situation the US finds itself. To make matters worst for Costa Rica, unlike the US which borders Mexico, a country that is actually going somewhere in terms of economic development; Nicaragua is not going anywhere, especially with the socialist government they currently have. This is bad news for Costa Rica.
I'm surprised Barbados is not included; there are thousands of Guyanese on the island, not to mention those from any other country (including Us ex-pats). Their stiff immigration & deportation policies may have reversed the trend.
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