Panama City (EFE).- Venezuelan migrants are making a significant fiscal and economic contribution to countries hosting them across Latin America and the Caribbean, injecting more than 10.6 billion dollars a year in consumption in the eight analyzed countries, according to a report released Wednesday by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The Study “Analysis of the Fiscal and Economic Contribution of Venezuelan Migration” highlights how improved labor integration and regularization could further increase tax revenues and economic growth in the region.
Strong fiscal and consumer impact
Colombia, the main host country, recorded the highest overall contribution.
Venezuelan migrants paid 529.1 million dollars in taxes in 2023, equivalent to 1.91% of personal income tax revenues, while generating around 3 billion dollars annually in consumption, the report said.
Peru followed with a fiscal contribution of 526.9 million dollars in 2024, equal to 1.35% of total tax revenue or 0.23 % of GDP, alongside 2.4 billion dollars in consumption.
However, the IOM noted that fewer than 10% of Venezuelan professionals work in their trained fields due to barriers to credential recognition.
In Chile, where labor integration is higher, Venezuelan migrants show an 89% employment rate, contributing 409.7 million dollars in taxes, or 1.03% of total fiscal revenue, with household consumption estimated at 2.4 billion dollars.
Smaller economies, outsized effects
Panama registered the largest relative fiscal impact in the region.
Venezuelan migrants contributed 203. 2 million dollars, representing 4.18% of total tax revenue and 0.33% of GDP. Venezuelan-led businesses have invested more than 1.8 billion dollars over the past decade, generating nearly 40,000 jobs, the report found.
In Ecuador, despite regulatory hurdles, Venezuelan migrants contributed 46.9 million dollars in taxes and 876.2 million dollars in consumption, with per capita fiscal contributions nearly tripling in recent years.
The Dominican Republic recorded a 39.9 million dollar fiscal contribution, driven largely by entrepreneurship. Venezuelan investment has mobilized around 180 million dollars and created more than 2,500 direct jobs.
Costa Rica saw tax contributions of 40.2 million dollars, with migrants spending heavily on education and health, while in Aruba, Venezuelan migration contributed 27.2 million dollars, equivalent to 0.75% of GDP, the highest relative impact measured.
Untapped potential
“Venezuelan migration is not a burden but a development opportunity,” the IOM said, stressing that reducing informality and easing regularization could raise fiscal contributions by 25% to over 50% in several countries.
The report concludes that better integration policies would allow host countries to fully harness migrants’ human capital, boosting productivity, tax revenues, and long-term economic resilience across the region. EFE
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