|
Colombia Urbanization, Migration, and Immigration
Colombia had one of the highest urbanization rates of
any Latin
American nation. The proportion of the population living
in urban
areas increased from 31 percent to nearly 60 percent from
1938 to
1973. Over the 1951 to 1964 period, the rate of
urbanization
averaged 5.5 percent per year. In the 1980s, however, the
rates of
both population growth and urbanization fell.
Massive rural-urban migration since the late 1930s was
the main
factor in increasing the urban share of the population
from less
than one-third to almost two-thirds in 1982 (see
table 4,
Appendix). Urban growth between 1951 and 1973 was
dominated by the
growth of the four largest cities: Barranquilla, Cali,
Medellín,
and Bogotá--all of which were already large metropolitan
areas of
more than 500,000 people in 1951. The share of total
population in
these four cities nearly quintupled from 5 percent in 1951
to 25
percent in 1973--compared with an increase in the total
urban share
of less than 50 percent during the same period.
Observers disagreed about whether the growth of these
cities,
which averaged 5.2 percent a year between 1964 and 1973,
persisted
into the late 1980s. Since city size determined the
allocation of
federal funds for various public programs, the controversy
was
charged with heightened political and economic interest.
Preliminary results from a survey of households indicated
that the
growth rate of Bogotá declined from nearly 6 percent
during the
1964-73 period to less than 4 percent between 1973 and
1981.
The decline in the urban growth rate was mainly the
result of
lower fertility in the more recent period and a higher
base size of
the cities, rather than a dramatic reduction in the pace
of
migration. Indeed, it appears that throughout the 1970s
the
absolute number of persons migrating to urban areas
continued to
increase. However, after 1979 the slowdown in economic
activity,
particularly in manufacturing and trade, probably lowered
the pace
of rural-urban migration somewhat as job opportunities in
the
cities declined.
Colombia has experienced little foreign influence or
immigration. During the colonial period, Spain discouraged
the
admission of non-Spaniards into the colonies. After
independence
there were few economic attractions for immigrants. Civil
wars were
another deterrent. The country generally lacked a clear
policy on
immigration but never favored it on a large scale. Those
who
entered from abroad came as individuals or in small family
units.
Immigration laws provided for the admission of persons
who did
not jeopardize the social order for personal, ethnic, or
racial
reasons. In 1953 the Institute of Land Settlement and
Immigration
was set up to direct the colonialization of the
underdeveloped
regions of the country and was given the power to organize
immigration for this purpose. After World War II, Colombia
encouraged the immigration of skilled technicians, and in
1958
procedures were specified for the admission of refugees.
Little was
done, however, to implement these measures.
There were several identifiable ethnic groups of
foreign origin
in Colombia, all of them small. The Jewish population was
estimated
at 25,000, although in the 1980s many of them emigrated
because of
widespread kidnapping for ransom. There was a constant
trickle of
Spanish immigrants, many of them members of the clergy.
Residents
from the United States were mainly in business or
missionary work.
Germans, Italians, and Lebanese--usually referred to as
Turks
(turcos) or Syrians because they came from the
Christian
Lebanese part of Syria that formerly belonged to
Turkey--were
active in commerce, particularly in the port cities of
Barranquilla, Cartagena, and Buenaventura.
Germans, as well as other foreigners, found acceptance
in the
upper class and frequently married into the white group.
Some
Lebanese married into the Guajira Indian tribe, but
immigrants
generally were most closely associated with the white
upper class,
which was generally receptive to ties with foreigners.
Data as of December 1988
|
