Honduras - Diaspora

Diaspora

Since 1975, emigration from Honduras has accelerated as job-seekers and political refugees sought a better life elsewhere. Although many Hondurans have relatives in Spain, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Canada, the majority of expatriate Hondurans live in the United States.

In Spain, the Honduran community is the largest amongst the Central American people living there, with an estimated 8,500, according to Spanish statistics for 2006. The main figures indicate that 2,130 live in Barcelona and 1,100 in Madrid. In addition Catalonia has 4,854 Hondurans; Comunidad de Madrid, 1,086; Comunidad Valenciana, 556; and Castilla y Leon, 524.

According to CELADE (Investigación Migración Internacional de Latinoamérica)'s figures, by 1992, more than 8,700 Hondurans were living in El Salvador; 9,700 in Nicaragua (1995), 5,500 in Guatemala (2002), 3,000 in Costa Rica (by 2000); and 2,400 in Belize (1990). Note: figures are not comparable. Additionally, according to UN Demographic Yearbook (2000) 8,700 Honduran live in Canada.

Recent State Department estimates suggest there are between 800,000 and 1 million Hondurans living in the United States, nearly 15% of the Honduran domestic population. The large uncertainty is due to the substantial number of undocumented Honduran immigrants currently believed to be residing in the United States. The 2010 U.S. Census counted 633,401 Hondurans in the United States, up from 217,569 in 2000.