Nicaragua - Emigrantes totales 2020 (2024)

FAQs

What is the net migration rate of Nicaragua? ›

The net migration rate for Nicaragua in 2022 was -2.544 per 1000 population, a 7.02% decline from 2021. The net migration rate for Nicaragua in 2021 was -2.736 per 1000 population, a 6.53% decline from 2020.

Nicaraguan Asylum Seekers

Between April 2018 and March 2022, 200,000 citizens fled Nicaragua, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported. The United States Border Patrol apprehended 164,600 Nicaraguans from January to September 2022, up from 50,000 in all of 2021 and only a few thousand in years prior.

Nicaragua's poisonous mix of economic decline and repression has led to about half of the country's population of 6.2 million saying they want to leave their homeland, according to a new study, and 23% saying they had contemplated the possibility deeply enough to consider themselves "very prepared" to emigrate.

Mostly, emigrants have gone to neighboring Costa Rica, a popular destination due to its proximity and economic and political stability. Sometimes referred to as the Switzerland of Central America, Costa Rica has historically attracted Nicaraguan immigrants, typically low-wage workers with little education.

Nicaragua is not a country that is attracting a migrant population; on the contrary, approximately 10% of its population has already emigrated. The movement of people entering the country is minimal. In 2019, 42,172 people entered the country (58% women and 42% men).

Nicaragua remains the second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, despite averaging over four percent GDP growth annually since 1995. Nicaragua's GDP per capita reached approximately $2,100 in 2021.

Nicaragua further increased its control over civic spaces in 2024, granting the Ministry of Interior (MINT) the authority to authorize, control, and monitor all public artistic events or shows.

Data from the CIA World Factbook estimates that Nicaragua's population is around 69% Mestizos, and 17% White, with the majority being of full Spanish descent as well as Italian, German, or French ancestry.

Affordable Healthcare for Expats

Healthcare is a major concern for those relocating to Nicaragua. Rest assured, hospitals within Nicaragua provide world-class care at low costs, with the added benefit of offering English-speaking doctors at nearly every major hospital and clinic.

Travelers should exercise increased caution and be alert to the risks of crime, including violent crimes such as sexual assault and armed robbery. Poor infrastructure in parts of the country limits the Embassy's ability to assist U.S. citizens in emergencies.

What is the problem with Nicaragua today? ›

Nicaraguans continue to suffer intensified repression, the closing of all democratic spaces, and the forced exile of thousands of journalists, civil society members, human rights defenders, religious actors, and opposition figures.

Nicaraguans are the eleventh largest Hispanic group in the United States and the fourth largest Central American population. More than two-thirds of the Nicaraguan population in the U.S. resides in California or Florida.

Without access to work, many people will have no choice but to leave Costa Rica, likely to join the large number of forcibly displaced individuals from the region trying to reach the United States in search of protection and better living conditions.

According to data from the DGME, in 2020, the Nicaraguan population accounted for 79 percent of immigrants who were permanent residents in Costa Rica, more than any of the other 64 countries of origin of the foreign population in the country.

American retirees, many of whom are Baby boomers, flocked to Costa Rica's tropical beaches to retire as they're drawn to its biodiversity, the political stability, and its relative low cost health care. The number of Americans who collect their Social Security checks in Costa Rica has jumped 67% since 2002.

The net migration rate indicates the contribution of migration to the overall level of population change. The net migration rate does not distinguish between economic migrants, refugees, and other types of migrants, nor does it distinguish between lawful migrants and undocumented migrants.

Among individual countries, the United States hosts the largest number of international migrants, totaling nearly 51 million in 2020. Additionally, the Latin America and Caribbean region has experienced significant growth as an international migrant hub, with its migrant population nearly doubling since 2005.

Emigration from Nicaragua

However, Nicaragua is the only country in its region to have Costa Rica as the primary destination. Smaller numbers of Nicaraguans live in many other countries around the world such as other countries in Latin America, Europe, Canada, China and Taiwan among others.

The net migration rate is the difference between the number of immigrants (people coming into an area) and the number of emigrants (people leaving an area) divided by the population. When the number of immigrants is larger than the number of emigrants, a positive net migration rate occurs.