Young, educated and an even gender mix is the profile of a Peruvian
migrant according to the results of an IOM research aimed at
identifying who Peru’s migrants are in a bid to better design
programmes linking the Peruvian diaspora to the development of
their country.

Ranging from 25-44 years old, nearly a third of Peruvian
migrants have secondary education with nearly 20 per cent being
graduates.

The data was gathered through questionnaires filled by 774
Peruvian migrants living in Santiago de Chile, Guatemala, Miami,
New York and Madrid, all cities with significant Peruvian
diasporas.

The research, financed by a special IOM fund which provides
support for developing countries and countries with economies in
transition on one-off programmes, was implemented by IOM offices in
Peru and Guatemala, the Institute of International Studies of the
Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru and the Peruvian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.

The results, which also showed that 95 per cent of Peru’s
international migrants were all in active employment and maintained
strong links with their families back home, will also help the
Peruvian government in the development of migration policies.

In addition to the report, the project has created specific
software for Peruvian Consulates to keep track of migrants and to
update information.

Approximately 3 million Peruvians, representing nearly 10 per
cent of the population, live abroad and are spread out between the
USA, Europe (Spain and Italy) and other South American countries
such as Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia. In 2005, they
sent US$ 1.36 billion in remittances. In spite of their economic
importance, little is known about them.

For more information, you can access the report online:
class="paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"http://www.peruanosenelexterior.org.pe" target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.peruanosenelexterior.org.pe or contact:

Oscar Sandoval

E-mail: "mailto:osandoval@iom.int">osandoval@iom.int 

Jorge Del Castillo

Tel: 0051 1 221 7209

E-mail: "mailto:jdelcastillo@iom.intTel">jdelcastillo@iom.int