Migration In and Out of Argentina

Argentina in the past was seen predominantly as a country of immigration, but recent issues have caused the transformation to immigration, emigration, and transit through the country.  Immigration in Argentina has been fairly persistent, with some ups and downs.  In the early 1800’s, Argentina adopted a policy to encourage immigrants to embrace the country as their own.  This was important because between 1870 and 1930, Argentina received over 7 million immigrants, that mainly came from Spain and Italy.  The New World seemed to be a great opportunity for Europeans who were struggling economically.  Although, the number of immigrants into Argentina was high, the return rate was 50 percent.  That means that 50 percent of the people who immigrated to Argentina returned home in the following decades.  Migration then dropped again in the 1930’s during the global depression.  And after rising slightly, it dropped again after World War II when conditions in Europe were improving.  Up until the 1980’s, the immigration rates from southern cone nations around Argentina were rising because of the higher wages and employment opportunities.  The collapse of the Argentine economy in 2001 and 2002 led to a decrease in immigration, and a rise in emigration.  In total, 65 percent of the countries foreign-born immigrants are from neighboring countries.  The demand for low wage workers allows for those neighboring countries to want to migrate to Argentina because it provides more opportunities than at home.  The highest immigration from neighboring countries come from Paraguay, Bolivia, and Chile.  Emigration, on the other hand, has risen over the years.  In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the economic conditions led to the first significant migration of native-born citizens.  Between the 1960’s and 1980’s the number if emigrants rose to 200,000.  The emigrants were native-born, and were primarily highly skilled, young individuals.  Emigration especially rose between 1976 and 1983 because of the military dictatorships and the issue of the “disappeared.”  Some migrants returned, but most stayed in their new host country.  The United States has had an increase in Argentine immigrants in the past decade.  60 percent of the immigrants to the United States live in California, Florida, and New York.  Many Argentina immigrants also go to Span and Italy.  The shared ancestry allow for fairly free movement  for Argentines in Europe.