Belize City, Wed. Dec. 15, 2021– On Wednesday, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) held a press conference under the theme “Data Analysis and Reporting on Migration in Belize”. The Acting Director General for the SIB, Diana Castillo-Trejo, specified that the migration data which the SIB has been analyzing is more than a decade old and was collected in 2010, but she noted that the analysis of the data by the SIB and IOM will significantly contribute to the effectiveness of a future census. She commented that the 2010 migration data “provides valuable insight into Belize’s foreign-born population as at 2010, who they were, why they came to Belize, the economic activities in which they were engaged and how they lived in comparison to the general population. It also serves as a baseline for comparison with, and a template for the analysis of migration data from the 2022 Population and Housing Census.”
She also stated, “A follow-up report will be published. Not ten or twelve years after data has been collected, but as one in a series of thematic reports to be produced from the 2022 census data.”
Dr. Romaldo Isaac Lewis then presented key findings that were extracted from the migration data:
“The information shows that 49,816 was the migrant population in 2010. Of that population base, we must say, 31.1% lived in the Cayo District; and 8.2% lived in the Corozal District. By sex, we can say that during 1980 to 1999 there were more females than males migrating to Belize. Before 1980 and after 1999, there were more males who migrated to Belize. By age group, among foreign-born persons, forty-five and younger, there were more females than male. Among persons forty-five and older, there were more males than females. In regards to the dwelling type, the most uncommon dwelling, regardless of country of birth was undivided private houses. Foreign-born persons were most likely to live in barracks — 2.8%, compared to persons born in Belize, 0.3%. Among the foreign-born population, persons born in China made up almost one third, lived at their own business, which they call dwelling,” he said.
He additionally noted, “From the country of origin, we can say that 40.6% were from Guatemala, 15.2% are from El Salvador, and 15.1% are from Honduras. And that, we can see the distribution pattern that we’re looking at. There are 40.6% Guatemalans, 15.2% from El Salvador, and 15.1% are from Honduras. So that’s the population distribution of the migrants. In regard to the district where they are located, rural vs urban populations, as we can see, 54.9% lived in the rural population. And we can say that Orange Walk, Stann Creek, and Toledo, populations are heavily concentrated in the general rural population. In the Stann Creek District, 83.2% of the foreign-born live in rural areas.”
According to Acting Director-General of SIB, Diana Castillo-Trejo, the SIB and the IOM plan to deliver a more holistic report moving forward. “…the collaboration which has resulted in the findings being presented today will not end with the completion of this study. In September of this year, the SIB partnered with the IOM and UNICEF to include for the first time, a module on migration in the labor force survey, paving the way for more frequent collection of migration data at a relatively low cost. These results will be published in February of next year and represent another step towards closing the migration data gap,” she said.
The Acting SIB Director also encouraged migrants to participate in the 2022 Population and Housing Census to ensure that accurate data is collected to assist in providing better services and policies to migrants living in Belize.