Of the more than 61,810 migrants who have arrived in Uruguay in the last decade, 20% are Cuban (approximately 12,300).a figure exceeded only by nationals of Venezuela (27%) and Argentina (22%) and represents a significant increase in that nation’s population.
According to Diego Aboal, director of the National Institute of Statistics (INE), who presented the preliminary results of a recent census carried out in this country, the previous measurement in 2011 recorded 2% of Uruguay’s population. The number of immigrants has increased, in this one However, according to a recent study, this number is already at 3%.
According to the AFP report, the research found that the Uruguayan population today is 3,444,263 people, so the growth since the previous survey was only 1%. Likewise, the foreign-born population in the South American country grew for the first time since the 1908 census.
The INE estimated the following: Of the immigrants who entered the country between 2012 and 2023, the majority come from Venezuela (27%), Argentina (22%) and Cuba (20%).followed by nationals from Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Peru, the United States, Chile and the Dominican Republic, among others.
Aboal pointed out that the growth rate of the Uruguayan population continues to decline, having decreased from 0.72% in the period 1985-1996 to 0.30% in the period 2004-2011 and to 0.08% in the period 2011-2023.
“There is a very low growth rate and the prospect of a population decline in the future if there are no significant immigration flows.” “This demographic development is explained primarily by the fact that it is linked to a very significant decline in the birth rate in the country, which has accelerated this process,” the official said.
“The immigrants gave us a slight increase in population in the meantime,” he admitted.
Aboal added that related to the above, there is a “severe aging of the population,” citing as an example that in 1963, 28% of people were under 15 years old.
Cubans have gained a foothold in the south of the country, although last May it was announced that between 9,000 and 10,000 of them could remain undocumented.due to a request from the authorities of that country.
Many of the island’s nationals, local newspaper El Observador reported, had arrived in Uruguay and asked for refuge without being able to prove persecution. Then they abandoned this application and began to apply for a visa for regular residence within the borders. But in order to obtain this visa, the government of Brazil required entry and exit stamps proving regular transit. And that requirement left many Cubans in limbo.
Seven years ago, when the migration route from the island to Uruguay beganThe Cubans found an alternative: they entered South America via Guyana, where no visa was required, they traveled through Brazil without going through immigration controls, and they sought refuge at the Uruguayan border.
This gives them access to temporary residence documentation while their case is processed, allowing them to receive healthcare, access to education and formal employment. However, since their cases do not involve an application for refugee status – a protection that is only granted when there is a threat to life or human rights violations – they must forego this procedure and regulate their situation.