Making the most out of international migration for Colombia

Colombia is a net emigration country, with about 1.3 million Colombians living in OECD countries. Emigration is characterised by an overrepresentation of women and highly-educated people. The United States and Spain are the primary destinations, in addition to Colombia’s neighbouring countries, Venezuela and Ecuador. With the global economic crisis, many Colombian emigrants in OECD countries lost their jobs and returned home. A number of initiatives have been put in place to engage with the emigrant community, but most are small scale.