A recent article in La Jornada by Gabriela Rodriguez, Secretary General of Conapo (National Population Council) summarizes the latest Mexican immigration trends. The article’s main source is the 2022 Mexico Yearbook of Migration and Remittances.
We’ve chosen some of the most pertinent Mexican immigration statistics from the article and its sources for you.
How Many Immigrants Live in Mexico?
It is estimated that 1,186,000 foreign residents live in the country. The majority originate from the Americas, predominantly the US, and Europe, predominantly Spain.
The number of foreign residents over 60 is more than 91,000. They generally reside in areas such as Mexico City, Tijuana-Rosarito-Ensenada, Chapala-Jocotepec and San Miguel de Allende-Querétaro. While their incentive to relocate is related to better purchasing power and climate than in their home countries.
Reasons for Recent Immigration
Another source listed in the article reports that between 2020 and 2022 Canadian residency requests more than doubled. While those from the US almost doubled, increasing from 10,705 to 19,121. Understandably, the highest influx of US and Canadian citizens into Mexico occurs in November when temperatures fall northwards. However, recent increases are largely attributed to the ‘digital nomad’ trend, remote working and the pandemic. **
Finally, the Novedades Quintana Roo publication reported INM statistics that 41 million people enter Mexico annually. Of those, 20 million arrive in Quintana Roo, and 14 million through Cancun airport.***
These observations confirm those made by us at Immigration to Mexico in blog posts in 2022. For further reading, consult our own articles on these trends:
Reasons to Move to Mexico in 2023
Why Are Digital Nomads Flocking to Mexico?
Consult the full 2022 Mexico Yearbook of Migration and Remittances in English and Spanish.
View the original La Jornada article in Spanish: ¿Qué extranjeros viven en México?
Other sources:
** Unidad de Política Migratoria de la Secretaría de Gobernación