economy
May 9, 2026
Venezuelan migrants in Argentina show "greatest potential for return" to their country
The Survey of Living Conditions (Encovi-2025), conducted by the Catholic University Andrés Bello of Caracas (UCAB), found that Venezuelan migrants residing in Argentina are those who show the "greatest potential for return" to the country. In the absence of official statistics, Encovi has become the main source for evaluating social indicators in Venezuela.
TL;DR
- Venezuelan migrants in Argentina have the highest "potential for return" compared to those in Colombia, the United States, and Chile.
- The likelihood of return seems higher when the migrant's origin household is poor.
- Ecuador and Colombia have the highest percentages of "returned migrants" reported by households.
- 68.5% of Venezuelan households are classified as poor, and 31.7% are in extreme poverty, showing a slight decrease from 2024.
- Educational coverage has not reached pre-pandemic levels, with a gap of nearly 4 million children and adolescents excluded from the system.
- Social gaps in education persist, with significantly lower coverage in the poorest quintile (57%) compared to the richest (82%).
- Venezuela's population is estimated at 28.5 million, a decrease from previous projections due to migration, increased mortality, and fewer births in the country.
- The average household size has decreased, and the demographic dependency ratio is higher than previously projected for 2040.