The Colombians flying two flags

With I Fly Two Flags, we’re celebrating our WorldRemit community of customers and staff who identify with more than one country - their country of birth or ancestry and the country where they now live. As we do so, we’re taking a more in-depth look at some of the countries that these inspiring people originally hail from. Colombia is one such country.

Many enterprising men and women have left the shores of Colombia to make a new life elsewhere - they proudly fly the Colombian flag alongside that of their new home. #IF2F

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WorldRemit Content Team

2 mins readUpdated
An image of the sky and the Colombia flag

On the move

Armed conflict and a difficult economy prompted a large migration of Colombians in the mid-20th century. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the majority moved to Venezuela, the United States and Ecuador. In fact, an estimated 557,000 Colombians migrated to Venezuela, the United States, Ecuador, Panama, Canada, Peru, Chile, and Bolivia between 1963 and 1973, according to the Administrative Department of National Statistics of Colombia (DANE).

As the armed conflict progressed in the late 1990s, , Spain and other European countries also became popular destinations. And more recently, immigration restrictions and changing socio-economic conditions have encouraged Colombians to move to other South American countries such as Chile, which experienced a 47% increase in Colombian immigrants between 2010 and 2015.

The impact - positive and negative

Colombians living abroad have had a truly positive impact on the economy of their home country. According to the newspaper El Tiempo, the value of remittances, of those sending money back to their family and friends, ranked third as the main source of foreign money in Colombia - even more than the value of coffee exports.

However, because many of the migrants moving to the US and Europe tend to be better educated and in the prime of their working life, there’s been a significant loss of talent and energy. A real brain drain!

Hot spots

Venezuela

In the 1970s & 80s, a boom in oil production and economic growth drew many Colombians to Venezuela and Ecuador. Then the armed conflict saw an estimated 1 million Colombians migrating to Venezuela, making them the largest immigrant group there. However, since the start of Venezuela’s economic and humanitarian crisis in 2015 many have returned and, in turn, many Venezualans moved to Colombia.

United States

In 2014, an estimated 1.2 million people of Colombian heritage lived in the United States, making them the seventh-largest Hispanic group in the country. Colombian immigrants, who numbered 699,000 in 2015, represented the largest group of South Americans in the United States, accounting for roughly 25 percent of all South Americans.

Spain

From the 1990s, thanks to a common language and growing economic opportunities, Spain attracted a large number of Colombian migrants. More recently, with Spain’s worsening economy and high unemployment, some Colombians have returned or migrated elsewhere in Europe. 136,000 Colombians lived in Spain in 2016 according to the Spanish National Center of Statistics.

Famous Two Flags Colombians

Perhaps one of Colombia’s most famous exports to the US is Sofía Vergara -the actress, television producer, presenter, and model. She’s been the highest paid actress in American television for seven consecutive years, from 2013 to 2020. During a TV appearance in 2014, she revealed that she had become a United States citizen after getting a perfect score on her citizenship test.

Jessie Reyes was born in Toronto Ontario to Colombian parents. Today she is an award-winning Canadian singer and songwriter. George David "Zambo" Zamka of Colombian descent is an American NASA astronaut and United States Marine Corps pilot, who could also be said to be flying a flag out in space. He piloted the Space Shuttle Discovery in its October 2007 mission to the International Space Station and served as the commander of mission STS-130 in February 2010.

Sending money home to Colombia

Many of the people who work for WorldRemit have made the very same life journey to fly two flags, as well. That’s why we do all we can to make sending money home as fast, easy and secure as possible.  You can send money anytime, night or day using your mobile or laptop. Simply choose how you’d like to send your money and our low fees and favourable exchange rates will be shown up front. In just a few taps your money will be on its way. Find out more here.

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WorldRemit Content Team

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