How Many Expats Live In Mexico? We Still Do Not Know.

I was a little disturbed this weekend when I was told that the 1,000,000 expat numbers that we had been promoting could be incorrect.

Well we did a little research and even contacted “INEGI” which is The National Institute of Statistics and Geography for Mexico and they sent us a document drafted in 2000 stating that there was a total of 492,617 foreigners living in Mexico, 69.7% of that population is coming from the U.S. (INEGI “Los Extrangeros en Mexico”, page 17).

Take a look at these articles and viewpoints from these publishers in regards to “How Many Expats Live In Mexico”

A Million Americans In Mexico “Believers”

One Million Americans in Mexico Can’t All Be Wrong

Reports are that approximately one million Americans live in Mexico. While it’s hard to verify that number, it’s not hard to imagine that it’s true. Some are working, of course, for U.S., Mexican, or other foreign corporations. You’ll find them in cities like Mexico City, Queretaro, and Monterrey.

And some live in Mexico just part-time…spending winter months in vacation homes where the weather is always warm and the cervezas are always cold.

The Great Escape: Are One Million More Americans Moving to Mexico?

I keep hearing this number from various sources. I don’t know just how they estimated this, but I do know one thing for sure.

Of those who are considering a move to Mexico, you could do no better than choosing our beautiful area right here at Lake Chapala, Ajijic.

Finding the American Dream - In Mexico

At some point last fall, the one millionth American established residency here in Mexico. That makes Mexico the host nation for the largest American expatriate community in the world. There are now more Americans living in Mexico than there are in the U.K. or Canada.

This trend is accelerating as the U.S. recession deepens and job losses across the United States accelerate. “We’ve seen an increase of almost 40 percent in the number of American citizens making inquiries about the requirements for moving to Mexico,” said an official at the Mexican Consulate in New York. “There are definitely more Americans emigrating to Mexico than this time last year.”

A Million Americans in Mexico “Non Believers”

The One Million Person Lie

"A lie told often enough becomes the truth." Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

One thing you will see everywhere when reading up on Mexico is the oft told lie that one million Americans have retired there. This is the bandwagon approach to promotion, e.g. get on the Mexico bandwagon, one million Americans cannot be wrong. Travel guides and promoters repeat that figure constantly. Even a casual look reveals these headlines.

How many Americans live in Mexico? 600,000? 500,000? Less? More? Part 1

Americans (as well as the rest of the world) are becoming more comfortable with Mexico. As the relationships between the North American countries grow closer, more Americans than ever before are considering a move to Mexico, whether it be for retirement, to start a business, look for work or just to travel. One of the key factors that comes into play when most people consider moving to another country is how many of their fellow countrymen are already there. For all of our professed desire for independence, when push comes to shove, most of us really want to be in relatively close proximity to some people who are similar to us.

How Many Americans Live In Mexico? National identity cards for foreigners Part 2

One million Americans now live in Mexico, and 600,000 of that number are in Mexico City, according to research conducted by a university professor in Mexico. These new projections, substantially greater than what both the Mexican and U.S. Government agencies heretofore have suggested, appear to be nothing more than the byproduct of sloppy research. While the guessing game continues, Mexico has announced a national identity card program for foreign residents, and the creation of a database to track their whereabouts. The national identity card program may finally produce an the answer to the question, "How many Americans live in Mexico?"

So now that we have cleared that up… I guess!

The truth is we are not exactly sure what the correct number is currently.   If you were going to ask us for our best guess we would say it is somewhere in the 100,000’s.

Tell us, how many Expats and Americans do you think are living in Mexico?