Almost Half of Total Brazilian Emigrants Are Living in the U.S.

 

Ricardo Geromel

Contributor

Billionaires

I write about Innovation, Brazil, China, and Billions

There are over 3.1 million Brazilians living outside of Brazil, according to Brazilian Ministry of External Relations (Itamaraty). Impressively, almost half of total Brazilian emigrants are based in the U.S.

This recent study implies that only less than 2% of the total Brazilian population (about 200 million people) is living abroad.  Including 1,388,00 in the USA (or about 45% of total Brazilian emigrants). Even though the Brazilian economy has been doing very well in the past few years, with GDP growing 7,5% in 2010, and many expats have returned to Brazil, the total number of Brazilians living abroad seem too low. Clearly, these figures are not accurate since they are based in inquiries by Brazilian embassies and consulates in 2010.

Itamaraty urges all Brazilians living overseas, legally or not, to register at the local official Brazilian representation. The Brazilian government enforces that consulates and embassies do not denunciate Brazilians living abroad illegally.  More accurate numbers will help the government identify migratory fluxes and better react to tragedies. For instance, officials don’t know how many Brazilians were present in tragedies like those in Japan this year or in recent conflicts in Libya. In fact, on September 11, the Brazilian government first estimated that hundreds of Brazilians lost their lives. Later, it became clear that only 3 Brazilians died.

Brazilians go to the U.S. not only to seek the “american dream” and thus compete for jobs with Americans but also to enjoy vacation and so fuel American economy.  In 2010, 1.2 million Brazilians tourists visited the US, Brazil ranked 5th in total number of tourists. Brazilian tourists aren't even deterred by the lengthy and expensive process they are forced to endure to get a tourist visa; applications can take up to 141 days.

Further facts about Brazilian tourists in the US:

-Brazilians placed third in the spending per person ranking in the US(only behind British and Japanese).

-Brazilian tourists injected $5.9 billion in U.S. economy.

- As Tim Rogers points out: "Brazil represents the fastest-growing non-immigrant visa demand in the world, up 234% over the past five years, eclipsing even China's 124% increase in U.S. visa issuances, according to the State Department."