n Antigua and Barbuda, one in three residents was born abroad. In St. Lucia, it’s one in twenty. Across CARICOM, migration shapes each nation differently.
Data from the IOM’s latest migration report, drawing on UNDESA mid-year 2024 estimates, shows migrant populations ranging from 33% of the population in Antigua and Barbuda to just 5% in St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Montserrat (32%) and a cluster of three at 17% – Belize, The Bahamas, and St. Kitts and Nevis – round out the upper tier. Barbados and Dominica each sit at 13%, while Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago both record 8%.
At the lower end, Guyana (7%), Grenada and Jamaica (6% each), and St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (5% each) host proportionally smaller migrant communities.
The variation reflects geography, economic opportunity, and historical ties. For some nations, migration is central to the social fabric. For others, it plays a quieter role.
As the year closes, the data offers a reminder: the Caribbean has always been shaped by movement.
Source: IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix, Migration Trends in the English and Dutch Speaking Caribbean, 2024 (using UNDESA mid-year 2024 data)
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One in three does not necessarily mean migration to Antigua. Since the 60s Antiguan women have been going to the US to have their babies. Including former PM Lester Bird. First it was St. Thomas and St. Croix and over the past 30 years it has been New York and Miami..Antiguans never wanted to be Antiguan and it is the only country in the Caribbean that lacks a national culture and genuine love of country. Antigua me come from is more of an aggressive defense than a sense of patriotic pride.
Well we all know why Montserrat is at the top of the list.. 75% of the natives left after the Volcano blew. Montserrat was almost unknown to the outside world before the volcano.
So it shouldn’t be in the equation.
But I see what you’re trying to do here..very slick indeed.
There is more to those numbers than what you are eluding to.
Sorry *alluded to*
I absolutely do not believe that in the case of Antigua, people can always come up with figures to justify anything they want to bamboozle you with