Emigration from Europe

The European diaspora refers to the communities throughout the world that are descended from the movement of peoples from Europe — predominantly to the Americas, Oceania and Africa, among other areas around the globe.

European diaspora

Europe
Total population
480,000,000 + 7% of the total world population Americas - approximately 446,394,000 Oceania - 23,185,000
Regions with significant populations
European descended population based on the references below.
United States	223,553,265[1]
Brazil	92,003,000[2]
Argentina	38,000,000+[3]
Canada	27,220,465[4]
Mexico	25.000.000
Australia	20,982,665
Colombia	17,519,500[5][6]
Venezuela	11,896,848[7][8] [9]
Cuba	7,271,926[10]
South Africa	4,472,100[11]
Chile	3,5M-5,128,000[12][13]
Costa Rica	3,500,000[14]
New Zealand	3,381,076[15]
Uruguay	3,100,000[9]
Puerto Rico	3,064,862[16]
Dominican Republic	2,000,000[9]
Bolivia	2,000,000[9]
Peru	1,4M-4,4M[17][9]
Ecuador	1,400,000[18]
Paraguay	1,300,000[14]
Nicaragua	1,000,000[9]
Languages
Languages of Europe
Religion
Majority Christianity) · Atheism  · other Jewish · Muslim · Buddhist · Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Diaspora

Emigration from Europe began on a large scale during the European colonial empires of the 17th to 19th centuries and continues to the present day. This concerns especially the Spanish Empire in the 16th to 17th centuries (expansion of the Hispanosphere), the British Empire in the 18th to 19th centuries (expansion of the Anglosphere), the Portuguese Empire and the Russian Empire in the 19th century (expansion to Central Asia and the Russian Far East).

From 1815 to 1932, 60 million people left Europe (with many returning home), primarily to "areas of European settlement," in North and South America (especially to the United States, Canada, Argentina and Brazil), Australia, New Zealand and Siberia.^[19] These populations also multiplied rapidly in their new habitat; much more so than the populations of Africa and Asia. As a result, on the eve of World War One, 38% of the world’s total population was of European ancestry.^[19]

In Asia, European-derived populations (specifically Russians) predominate in Northern Asia, which is part of the Russian Federation. Africa has no countries with European-derived majorities, but there is a significant minority in South Africa and Namibia.

The countries in the Americas that received a major European immigrants wave from 1871 to 1960, were: the United States (27 million), Argentina (6.5 million), Brazil (4.5 million), Canada (4 million), Venezuela (more than 1 million),^[20] Cuba (610,000), Uruguay (600,000); another countries received a modest and minor immigration flow (accounting less than 10% of total European emigrate flow to Latin America), they were: Chile (183,000), Peru (150,000),^[21] and Mexico (25,000).^[22][23][24]

Early emigration

• Antiquity
  • North Africa (Vandals)^[25]
  • Asia Minor (Greeks and Galatians)^[26]

• • Egypt (Greeks in Egypt)^[27]
  • Hindukush and Northern India (Indo-Greeks)^[28]

• Middle Ages
  • Asia Minor (Slavs)^[29]
  • Greenland (Greenland Vikings)^[30]
  • Kingdom of Jerusalem (Franks) - 25-35% of the population^[31][32]

Colonial period

The discovery of the Americas in 1492 stimulated a steady stream of voluntary migration from Europe. About 200,000 Spaniards settled in their American colonies prior to 1600, a small settlement compared to the 3 to 4 million Amerindians who lived in Spanish territory in the Americas. In Brazil the European emigration remained very small in the first two centuries of colonization: between 1500 and 1700, only 100,000 Portuguese settled there. However, the development of the mining economy in the 18th century raised the wages and employment opportunities in the Portuguese colony and the emigration grew: in the 18th century alone, about 400,000 Portuguese settled in Brazil, a mass emigration given that Portugal had a population of only 2 million people. In North America the immigration was dominated by British, Irish and other Northern Europeans.^[33]

Post-independence emigration

Mass European emigration to the Americas happened in the 19th and 20th centuries. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars until 1820, some 60 million Europeans (and 10 million Asians) emigrated. Of these, 71% went to North America, 21% to Latin America (mainly Argentina and Brazil) and 7% to Australia. About 11 million of these people went to Latin America, of whom 38% were Italians, 28% were Spaniards and 11% were Portuguese.^[34]

Between 1821 and 1880, 9.5 million Europeans settled in the United States, mainly Germans and Irish. Other waves included British and Scandinavian people. Despite the large number of immigrants arriving, people born outside of the United States formed a relatively small number of U.S. population: in 1910, foreigners were 14.7% of the country's population. Nothing similar to what happened in Argentina, which was the American country where immigrants had a larger impact in the ethnic composition. By 1914, 30% of Argentina's population was foreign-born, with 12% of its population born in Italy, the largest immigrant group. Next was Canada: by 1881, 14% of Canada's population was foreign-born, and the proportion increased to 22% in 1921. In Brazil the proportion of immigrants in the national population was much smaller, because immigrants tended to be concentrated in the central and Southern parts of the country. The proportion of foreigners in Brazil peaked in 1920, with 7%, mostly Italians, Portuguese, Spaniards, Germans and Japanese.^[33] In 1901-1920 immigration was responsible for only 7 percent of Brazilian population growth but in the years of high immigration, 1891–1900, the share was as high as 30 percent (higher than Argentina's 26% in the 1880s).^[35]

Post-War

By populations

Country	Percentage of the local population	Population in (millions)
Australia	90 [36]	20
Uruguay	88[37][9]	3
Argentina	85[14] or 97[38][9]	34 or 38
Canada	80 [4]	27.2
Puerto Rico	75.8[39]	3.1
United States	72.4 [1]	223.5
Cuba	37[14] or 65.1[40]	4.5 or 7.3
Costa Rica	40[41] or 82[14]	1.7 or 3.8
Brazil	47.7[42]	91
Venezuela	42.2[43]	11.9M
Colombia	25[44] or 37[45][46]	11 or 17
Chile	20,[12] or 30.[13]	3.5 or 5.1
Paraguay	20[14]	1.3
Nicaragua	17[47]	1
Dominican Republic	16[48]	2.0
Mexico	9[49] or 15[14]	10.1 or 16.8 or 20
Bolivia	15[50]	2.0
Peru	4.9[17] or 15[51]	1.4 or 4.4
Ecuador	6.1[52]	1.3

By region

Nations and regions outside of Europe with significant populations of European ancestry:^[53]

Africa

• Africa
  •  South Africa (White South African) - 9.6-13% of the population (mostly Afrikaners and British diaspora), Cape Coloureds have Afrikaner ancestry included with African and Asian ancestry from the 17th to 19th centuries.^[54]
  •  Namibia (White Namibians) - 6% of the population, of which most are Afrikaans-speaking, in addition to a German-speaking minority.^[55]
  •  Madagascar (French people in Madagascar) - 113,000 people or 0.5% of the total population are white, mostly French. A further 76,000 are Réunionese Creole, bringing this total to 200,000 people and 1% of the total population.^[56]
  •  Réunion (mostly of French descent) approx. 25% of the population.^[57] Cafres usually have some degree of European descent.
  •  Zimbabwe - about 2% in the 2001 census. (Whites in Zimbabwe).
  •  Botswana - 5% European.^[58]
  •  Kenya (Whites in Kenya).
  •  Algeria (Pied-noir).
  •  Mauritius (Franco-Mauritian).
  •  Senegal - French/European and Lebanese communities.^[59]
  •  Canary Islands (Spaniards), known as Canarians.
  •  Seychelles (Franco-Seychellois).
  •  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (UK) - predominantly British.
  •  Swaziland - 3% of the population^[60]
  •  Morocco - European expatriates, Spanish-descent Muslims (the Moorish era in Spain), Spanish Moroccan Roman Catholics from Spanish colonial time, and Franco-Moroccans from French colonial period.^[61]
  •  Tunisia - Small community of Europeans.^[62]
  •  Angola (Portuguese Angolans) - 1% are mostly Portuguese, with 2% are of mixed Portuguese and Angolan descent
  •  Mozambique (Portuguese Mozambicans) - 0.1% of the population is mostly Portuguese, with 0.2% of mixed Portuguese and native ancestry

About 0-1 percent of the populations in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, usually are in the professional business elites. Not limited to Europeans, the "white" population includes Arab peoples: Lebanese and Syrians.^[59]

Asia

• Asia
  •  Vietnam - approximately 441,000 people or 0.5% of the total population are Vietnamese Eurasians, mainly of French and American ancestry from former French and American soldiers and settlers.^[63]
  •  India (Anglo-Indian) - approximately 312,000 people or 0.02% of the total population are mixed White (mainly British) and Indian.^[64]
  •  Bangladesh (Anglo-Indian, Firingis or Portuguese) approximately 113,000 people or 0.1% of the total population are the descendents of former British settlers who intermarried with local populations. People of Chittagong are mixture of Bengali, Portuguese and Arab descent..^[65]
  •  Myanmar (Anglo-Burmese) - approximately 51,000 people or 0.1% of the total population are the descendents of former British settlers who intermarried with local populations.^[66]
  •  Malaysia (Kristang people) - approximately 52,000 people or 0.2% of the total population are the descendents of former White settlers (including Portuguese, British, and Dutch) who intermaried with local populations.^[67]
  •  Sri Lanka (Burghers)- often from settlers in former British, Dutch, French and Portuguese colonies.
  • Siberia (Russians)^[68] - most are Russians and Russified Ukrainians, with approximately 400,000 Russified ethnic Germans, a number are part-European.
  •  Kazakhstan (Russians in Kazakhstan, Tatars of Kazakhstan, Germans of Kazakhstan) - 31.5% of the population
  •  Uzbekistan - 7% of the population^[69] (See Demographics of Uzbekistan).
  •  Kyrgyzstan - 13.5% of the population^[70]
  •  Turkmenistan - 4% of the population^[71]
  •  Tajikistan - Tajiks are ethnic relatives of both Turkic and Indo-Iranian peoples, but has a small European minority.
  •  Azerbaijan (Russians in Azerbaijan)^[72]
  •  Georgia (Russians in Georgia)^[73]
  •  Armenia - Armenia has a small minority of 21,000 Europeans, mostly of Russian and Ukrainian origin.^[74]
  •  Mongolia - 0.5% of the population or approximately 12,000 people are European, mostly of Ukrainian or Russian descent.^[75]
  •  China (Russians in China)
  •  Hong Kong (Britons in Hong Kong, Canadians in Hong Kong, Americans in Hong Kong, Russians in Hong Kong)^[76]
  •  Macau (Macanese people) of Portuguese descent.
  •  Singapore (Eurasians in Singapore) - approximately 60,000 White people reside in Singapore, or 1.3% of the total population. An additional 46,000 Eurasians (or 1% of the total population) reside in Singapore, bringing this total to approximately 106,000 people or 2.3% of the total population.^[77] Both these racial groups are mostly of British, Portuguese, and Dutch descent.
  •  Philippines (Filipino mestizo, Spanish settlement in the Philippines, American settlement in the Philippines) - Filipino-Eurasians, either of Spanish or U.S. American ancestry.

Today, the official percentage of Filipinos with Spanish ancestry is unknown. The Philippine Statistics Department does not account for the racial background or ancestry of an individual. The official population of all types of mestizos (Asian, American, Hispanic, etc.) that reside inside and outside of the Philippines remains unknown. Although a study provided by Stanford University^[78] claimed that around 3.6% of the population have White or Caucasian ancestries from both Spanish and American colonization, it only genotyped 28 individuals from the Philippines, a sample size far too small to draw conclusions on a population of over 90 million people.

In addition there are different estimates of this mixed descent, either by the parent side, it is calculated that some 3,500,000 to 5,000,000. In other cases it is also estimated with a proximity of 17,000,000 to 36,550,197 (15-39% of the Philippine population) people of Hispanic descent. But none of these estimates are supported by genetic studies.^[79]

• •  Indonesia (Indo people) - 14,000 people, mostly of mixed Indonesian and Dutch descent.^[80]
  •  Cambodia - approximately 16,000 people or 0.1% of the total population are Cambodian Eurasians, mainly of French ancestry from former French settlers.^[81]
  •  Pakistan (Anglo-Indian) (Anglo-Pakistani) - approximately 11,000 people or 0.005% of the total population are the descendents of former British settlers who intermarried with local populations.^[82]
  •  East Timor - approximately 1,100 people or 0.08% of the total population are Portuguese, descended from former Portuguese settlers.^[83]
  •  Laos - an unknown number of Eurasians with French ancestry who are the descendents of former French settlers reside in Laos.
  •  Christmas Island - approximately 13% of the total population are white, with a further 2% Eurasian, both are British Australian.^[84]
  •  Cocos (Keeling) Islands - 28.5% or one third of the total population are White, mostly British Australian.^[85]

Small communities of European and American expatriates live in East Asia, such as China, Japan, Korea and Thailand.

• The Middle East
  •  Lebanon (French Lebanese, Italian Lebanese, Greeks in Lebanon) - Small community of Europeans. (mainly from French, Italian, Greek and Americans from European origin) ^[86]

Small communities of European and American expatriates in the Persian Gulf countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE; and in Aramco compounds in Saudi Arabia. Historically before 1970, small ethnic European (esp. Greek and Italian) enclaves were found in Egypt (Greeks in Egypt, Italian Egyptians) and Syria (Greeks in Syria).

Americas

Total European population in the Americas—approximately 446,394,000

Europeans in Northern America

• Northern America -- Total European population approximately 249,300,000
  •  Greenland - 12% of the population or about 7,000 people, however the Greenlandic people are of any Scandinavian (majority being Danes) or Inuit-Eskimo descent.^[87]
  •  Canada (Euro-Canadian) - 80% of the population, or 28,000,000 people, mostly divided into Anglophone (18 million) and Francophone (10 million).^[88]
  •  United States of America (European American) - 74% of the population, or 221,300,000 including Non-Hispanic Whites and White Hispanics.

Europeans in Latin America and the Caribbean

• Middle America (including Central America and the Caribbean) and South America (see White Latin American) -- Total European population approximately 197,094,000
  •  Argentina - 97% of the population or 38,913,000, may include a still unknown percentage of mestizos and mulattos.^[89]
  •  Bahamas (European Bahamian) - 12% of the population or 39,600, the majority are African or other races.^[90]
  •  Barbados (White Barbadian) - 4% of the population or 11,238, it's thought to be the highest of all British West Indies islands.^[91]
  •  Bermuda - 34.1% of the population or 23,064, with a black or part-white/black majority.^[92]
  •  Bolivia - 15% of the population or 1,636,000, the country except for Paraguay have the lowest white populations of South America.^[93]
  •  Brazil (White Brazilian) - 49.7% of the population or 93,000,000. Another 42.6% are pardos of mixed White, African and/or Amerindian descent (showed by genetic research to be of about 80% European ancestry). Afro-Brazilians by genetical research showed to be of about 37.1% European ancestry (the majority inherited by colonial or Imperial times and of Portuguese origin). Some people of claimed Asian and Indigenous origin can also have European descent.^[94]
  •  Chile - 20% of population (4,500,000),^[12] or 30% of the population (5,128,000) is from European descent;^[13] Francisco Lizcano estimates whites Chilean in a cultural base (not ethnic) at 52.7% (9,100,000).^[14]
  •  Colombia (white Colombian) - 37% of the population or 17,519,500, 40 to 60% are part white (mestizo or mulatto).^[5][6]
  •  Costa Rica - up to 90% white and/or mestizo (European and Amerindian descent), or 3,827,000.^[95]
  •  Cuba - 65% of the population or 7,204,000^[96]
  •  Dominican Republic - 16% of the population or 1,614,000, with 50-60% are mulatto or European-African.^[97]
  •  Ecuador - 7% of the population or 1,000,000, while 40% are mestizos.^[98]
  •  El Salvador - 9% of the population or 720,000, but the remainder 90% have some European ancestry.^[99]
  •  French Guiana - 12% of the population or 26,000, but the French government insists all citizens of France regardless of race are "French".^[100]
  •  Guatemala 18% of the population or 2,490,000 people.
  •  Haiti - 4% of the population in Haiti are white and mulatto (both African and European ancestry) and 1% European, or 97,000. White Haitians are chiefly of French, Italian, or German origin not including Middle Eastern & North American whites. This figure excludes the percentage of Haitians with less than noticeable European admixture.
  •  Jamaica - Approximately 2% of the population or 40,000 people are White, mainly British, American, and Portuguese (This number increases to 60,000 people and 3% of the total population when Arabs and Lebanese are included). However, the vast majority of the population in Jamaica have some degree of European Ancestry.^[101]
  •  Martinique - 2% of the population or 8,000, with another 3% mulatto descent.^[102]
  •  Mexico^[103] (White Mexican) - About 18% of the population European or about 20,160,000, and an additional 72% of mixed European and Amerindian descent ^{[104][105][106]}
  •  Nicaragua - 17% of the population or 1,000,000 people, and 70% mestizo.^[107]
  •  Panama 14.0% of the population is White of European origin or 352,000 people, 58.1% mestizo, 7% mulatto, 6.7% Amerindian, 5.5% Asian, and 7.1% other (2000 Census).
  •  Puerto Rico approx. 80% of the population or 2,980,000 are self-declared European ancestry, but over half of Puerto Ricans have some degree of African ancestry, and 10% of males and 84% of females have some indigenous Carib Indians ancestry.^[108]
  •  Peru (European Peruvian) - 15% of the population or 3,425,000, about 40% mestizo or partial European descent.^[109]
  •  Trinidad and Tobago - 1.7% of European descent or 24,600, mainly British, Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese, with a number of Scandinavian descent, although 30-40% have East Indian or 5% are Lebanese/Syrian Arab backgrounds.^[110]
  •  Venezuela (white Venezuelan) - 42,2% of the population or 11,490,018, about 49,9% are part white (mestizo or partial European descent.) making it 92,1% of the population white and/or mestizo (European and Amerindian descent) or 25,076,755.^[111]
  •  Uruguay - 88% of the population or 3,074,000, the rest have various levels of European descent.^[112]
  •  Saint Barthélemy—90% or 7,940; Saint Martin (Statistics not available).^[113]
  •  Falkland Islands, 100% European of British descent—total population 3,140.

The Virgin Islands divided between U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands, each have a small European minority.

Oceania

• Oceania -- Total population of Europeans in Oceania is approximately 23,185,000 or approximately 22,818,000 excluding Hawaii.
  •  Australia (European Australian) - 93.2% of the population or 20,299,000 people, and part-white-Australian Aborigines number about 500,000 as opposed to the approximately 50,000 pure blooded Australian Aborigines who can speak Australian languages.
  •  New Zealand (New Zealand European) - 59.1% of the population or 2,361,000, plus some Māori of mixed white-European descent.
  •  New Caledonia (Caldoche) - 44.6% of the population or about 112,050; the territory is under French rule.
  •  French Polynesia - 10% of the population (mostly French with some white Americans) or 26,700, and 6 to 8% are Euronesian (part white-Polynesian).^[114]
  •  Hawaii - Europeans are 27.1% of the population (2008 survey) or 367,000 (called Haoles), although 65% of all Hawaiians have white-European descent.
  •  Guam - 10% of the population have Spanish and white American descent (2000 Census) or about 17,800 people. Guam has a history of Spanish settlement before 1900, now a U.S. territory.^[115]
  •  Norfolk Island, about 50% British-Polynesian from Pitcairn Island (1,070 people) and 50% white-British descent mainly via Australia (1,070 people).

Contemporary European diasporas

National diasporas:

See also

• Emigration from Africa
• History of colonialism
• Immigration to Europe
• Indigenous people
• Western world
• Western culture
• White people

References