                          | |
 Korean-Colombian Cultural Foundation in Bogota, Colombia | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 200,000 (2023, est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, Medellín, Santa Marta, Neiva, Manizales, Cúcuta, Pereira | |
| Languages | |
| Colombian Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Languages in India, Arabic, Vietnamese, Armenian, Turkish, Thai, Filipino, Malay. | |
| Religion | |
| Buddhism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Islam, Protestantism, Shintoism, Sikhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Asians, Arabs, Colombians, Arab Colombians |
Asian Colombians (Spanish: colombianos asiáticos; Latin American Spanish: [/kolombjanos/ /aˈsjatikos/]) are Asian immigrants in Colombia and their descendants. The majority of Asian Colombians are of Chinese and Japanese descent,[1][2][3] with a smaller portion being of Korean descent. There are also notable South Asian, Southeast Asian, Arab, and Middle Eastern descending populations.[4][5]
A study by Latinobarómetro in 2023 estimated that 0.4% of Colombians are Asian, this would equate to around 200,000 of Colombia's population of approximately 50 million people.[6]
History
Panama Canal Railway
In 1854, many Chinese migrants arrived in Colombian territory for the construction of the Panama Canal Railway across the Isthmus of Panama, as the domestic labor force was insufficient.[7] Around 705 Chinese immigrants came to Panama from Guandong province to work on the railway after demonstrating their skills working on the construction of the first Transcontinental Railroad on the west coast of the United States.[8][9] The Chinese migrants being brought into both projects were a desperate measure by the managers of the railway companies, who did not have enough workers among the native population for the construction and failed to import enough Irish, German, and other European migrants to make up for the deficit.[7][10]
Sugar industry
At the beginning of the 20th century, Indian Muslim migrants settled in the towns of the Cauca River valley, some just temporarily and others permanently, to engage in the commercial activity demanded by the new working population of the nascent sugar industry. These immigrants brought a variety of products to rural areas, both granting credit and accepting barter.[5]
Panamanian independence
Toraji Irie, a renowned Japanese writer, states in his work on Japanese migration to other regions of the World that the first Japanese migrants who arrived in Colombia in 1903, the year Panama gained independence and Colombia lost control of the Isthmus of Panama, came as a result of the Colombian Government seeking help from Japan in hiring workers to guard land bordering Panama against U.S. incursions.[11]
In 1928, this was the smallest migratory group, being somewhat small compared to other South American countries like Brazil, Peru or Venezuela. Despite this, some Japanese families began settling in Valle del Cauca,[12] where many became farmers.
Late 20th century
Between 1970 and 1980, there was a small yet constant flow of Asian migration (mainly from China) into Colombian cities, primarily Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, Medellín, Santa Marta, Neiva, Manizales, Cúcuta and Pereira, which continues to this day. Other very small groups of Asian migrants came from India,[4] Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines.
Between 1970 and 1980 there were more than 6,000 Chinese Immigrants in Colombia, as they continued to arrive and grow in population. Anti-Immigration policies in many other countries is a possible factor in continued Chinese immigration into Colombia. Emigration out of China into Colombia generally did not occur in the first three decades following the establishment of the People's Republic of China, as emigration was restricted. Due to Xenophobia and Sinophobia within the United States, a significant amount of Chinese people chose to immigrate into other countries, including Colombia.[13]
Arab
Most Arab Colombians are of Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian origins,[14] largely emigrating from the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century.[15][16] Many of them settled in cities like Barranquilla and Maicao.[17] The total population of Colombians of Middle Eastern descent was put at 3.2 million by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE).[18][14]
As the Arab population in Colombia grows, so does its Muslim community. From 2007 to 2023, Bogotá went from having 1 mosque to 6.[17]
Lebanese
Colombia has the third-largest Lebanese population abroad below only Argentina and Brazil, with an estimated population of between 1,200,000 and 2,500,000 people. Between 1880 and 1930, it is estimated 10,000 to 30,000 Lebanese migrants relocated to Colombia.
Palestinian
According to a 2025 article by Raúl Zibechi for The North American Congress on Latin America, there were 100,000 Palestinians in Colombia. Approximate estimations by the Embassy of Palestine in Bogotá were between 100,000 and 120,000 people in 2019, this included first, second, third, and fourth generation Palestinian immigrants.
Syrian
Most Syrian Colombians came to Colombia in the late 19th and early 20th century, with notable populations in Córdoba, Cartagena, and other cities.
East Asian
Chinese
A large portion of Chinese emigration into Colombian in the 21st century has been composed of employees and business executives who have moved to Colombia following the multinational corporations they work for, some of which providing housing and accommodations for them directly. This has encouraged the development of ethnic enclaves in cities that welcome multinational corporations, such as Medellín, Barranquilla, and Cali. While many Chinese resident workers are on temporary visas, the enclaves are established and composed of many permanent Chinese-Colombian residents and citizens.[20] In 2014, it was estimated that there were 25,000 Chinese peolple living in Colombia.[21] As of 2018, the Chinese embassy totaled around 20,000 Chinese citizens living in Colombian cities.[22]
Due to Chinese immigration to Colombia, dishes such as arroz chino have become popular street food.[14]
Japanese
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, as of 2024, there were 1,315 Japanese nationals residing in Colombia and an estimated 3,100 "Japanese descendants".[23]
See also
References
- ^ Rodríguez, Carolina (2018). "Inmigración japonesa a bogotá: historia de vida" [Japanese Immigration into Bogota: Life Stories] (PDF). Repository Universidad Javeriana (in Spanish). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 September 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ Semana (25 October 2018). "Así llegaron los primeros migrantes japoneses a Colombia" [How the first Japanese migrants arrived in Colombia.]. Semana (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ Redacción. "Las culturas asiáticas escondidas en Colombia" [The hide-and-seek Asian cultures in Colombia]. PanoramaCultural.com.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ a b Restrepo, Estefanía Carvajal (15 April 2018). "Una pequeña India está surgiendo en el sur de Medellín" [A little bit of India is emerging in southern Medellín]. www.elcolombiano.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 September 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ a b Navarrete Pelaz, María Cristina (2017). Inmigrantes del este de la India en el valle del río Cauca. [Immigrants from Eastern India in the Cauca River Valley.] (in Spanish) Universidad del Valle. ISBN 978-958-765-324-3
- ^ "Raza/Etnia a la que pertenece". Latinobarómetro 2023 Colombia. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ a b Organizaciones chinas en Colombia Archived 2024-07-09 at the Wayback Machine [Chinese Organizations in Colombia] (in Spanish)
- ^ "Los chinos en colombia: historia, diáspora e identidad" [The Chinese in Colombia: History, Diaspora and Identity] (in Spanish).
- ^ Semana (28 October 2006). "Chinos y japoneses" [Chinese and Japanese (peoples)]. Semana.com Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ Patiño, German (28 October 2006). "Chinos y japoneses" [Chinese and Japanese (peoples)]. Semana (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2006.
- ^ "¿Por qué llegaron los japoneses a Colombia?" [Why did Japanese people arrive in Colombia?]. El Pueblo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
- ^ "La sorprendente historia de cómo una novela romántica fue el origen de la migración de japoneses a Colombia" [The surprising story of how a romantic novel was the origin of Japanese migration to Colombia] (in Spanish). BBC News Mundo. Archived from the original on 22 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ Friederike Fleischer. "La diáspora china: una aproximación a la migración china en Colombia" [The Chinese diaspora: an approximation of migration into Colombia.] (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ^ a b c Cohen, Victor (9 June 2025). "Immigrants in Colombia: Which Are the Largest Foreign Communities?". Colombia One. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ^ Fawcett de Posada, Louise; Posada Carbó, Eduardo (1992). "En la tierra de las oportunidades: los sirio-libaneses en Colombia" [In the land of opportunity: the Syrian-Lebanese in Colombia] (PDF). Boletín Cultural y Bibliográfico (in Spanish). 29 (29). publicaciones.banrepcultural.org: 8–11. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ Alexander, Inigo. "'A Colombian Wild West': Inside Maicao's Arab community". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ^ a b Alexander, Inigo (5 April 2023). "From the Ottomans to the oil boom: Inside Colombia's Arab and Muslim community". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 5 October 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
- ^ S.A.S, Editorial La República (26 April 2022). "Colombia y Medio Oriente". Diario La República (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 April 2025.
- ^ "No es cuento chino... ¡Apareció un dragón!". El Heraldo (in Spanish). 7 February 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ "Presencia de chinos en Colombia se ha duplicado en ocho años" [The presence of Chinese in Colombia has doubled in eight years]. UN News Agency | Universidad Nacional de Colombia. 20 November 2014. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ Gómez, Diana A.; Díaz, Luz M.; Gómez, Diana A.; Díaz, Luz M. (June 2016). "Las organizaciones chinas en Colombia". Migración y desarrollo (in Spanish). 14 (26): 75–110. doi:10.35533/myd.1426.dag.lmd. ISSN 1870-7599.
- ^ Radio, Redacción BLU (9 September 2018). "Chinos en Colombia: así es la vida de inmigrantes asiáticos en el país" [Chinese (people) in Colombia: How life of Asian Immigrants is in the country]. Blu Radio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Japan-Colombia Relations". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. 6 September 2024. Archived from the original on 16 February 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
External links
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