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Crossborder migration soars… Venezuelans account for largest chunk of 400% increase – Census data
(Kaieteur News) – Since 2012, cross-border migration from Guyana’s neighbouring countries has increased sharply to almost 400% as of 2022, with Venezuelans accounting for the largest share of migrants. This is according to the preliminary findings of the Guyana National Population and Housing Census 2022, released on Monday.
According to the census data, the number of migrants from Venezuela, Suriname and Brazil rose by 384.4 percent, moving from 3,193 migrants in 2012 to 15,467 in the 2022 census.
Cross Border Migration to Guyana: 2012-2022
However, the report notes that there were various challenges in counting migrants, which led to an understatement of their population.
Notably, when the census figures are compared with administrative records it highlights the challenges. Administrative data show that 19,709 Venezuelans were registered in Guyana between 2018 and 2022, compared with 12,654 Venezuelans recorded in the census. At the same time, the administrative records do not account for migrants who may have returned to Venezuela, died, or used Guyana as a transit point to other countries, nor do they capture the number of undocumented migrants.
The report also noted that the United Nations has estimated that the number of Venezuelan migrants in Guyana stood at approximately 40,456 as of mid-2024, underscoring the likelihood that a substantial number of migrants were not captured during the census exercise.
Further, the census findings indicate that Venezuelans made up 81.81 percent of the total migrant population from the three neighbouring countries in 2022.
In previous censuses, Venezuelans represented the smallest group of migrants, but by 2022 their numbers had surged by 1,452.64 percent. Migrants from Suriname and Brazil followed, with Brazilians accounting for the smallest share, although their population still grew by 23.83 percent since 2012.
The report links the surge in Venezuelan migration to the socio-economic and political situation in Venezuela, which has prompted sections of the population to leave the country in search of relief from ongoing hardships.
“Further study is warranted to provide a more accurate representation of the number of migrants in Guyana, particularly those who may be undocumented… note that the data presented in this table does not account for migrants who are among the no-contact population,” the report states.
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