Out migration from Venezuela

The out-migration of people from Venezuela in the past five years has been one of the largest migration crises in the region, with millions leaving the country and at least 6.1 million people (estimates vary) outside the country by the end of 2021, about one fifth of the entire population.

At least one million have been or are being formally recognized as refugees (i.e. documented evidence of fear of persecution).  This makes them the largest formally identified refugee group in the Americans after the some 1.6 persons in the U.S. who are refugee applicants and by nature of residing in the U.S. are called asylum applicants. (In addition there are admitted refugees now living in the U.S., the size of which I cannot estimate.)

1.7 million or 31% are living in Columbia; 400,000 in Ecuador; 940,000 in Peru; and a half million both Chile and the United States, and 300,000 in Spain – in all, three quarters of these emigrants. These figures are a few years old.(Go here.)

The out-migration of Venezuelans has also created challenges for the countries receiving them, including increased demand for healthcare, education, and social services, as well as concerns about security and the potential for social tensions.

In 2022 the Biden Administration announced plans to spend $170 million to financially support this large out-migration, and another $130 million to support those who have left Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua.

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