I have been using others’ estimates that 2-3% of the US population is living abroad at any point in time.
A new estimate is that only about 1.6% of American (not in the military) are living abroad – or about 5.5 million people.
How Many Americans Live Abroad?
Estimates vary widely depending on how they are counted. The US State Department had a count but includes both those living abroad and also those who are traveling abroad in certain situations – which leads to a much higher estimate of 9 million. The State Department no longer relies on that estimate.
Some estimates may include US military personnel (and their families) living abroad while some do not include them in the count (military assignments are temporary).
Various sources estimate the total living abroad as 3 million, 4 million, 5.5 million and the now discarded State Department figure of 9 million. These new numbers put the % of Americans living abroad in to the 1-2% range.
It appears that between 0.7% and 1.3% of retired Americans live abroad – which is close to zero. Yet a frequent topic in the faux travel news is that Americans are “flocking” abroad to retire. In reality, about half of those who retire abroad either already had dual citizenship, had a right of descent residency or citizenship option, had family living in the destination country – or were already living abroad. For example, an American working in Toronto for the past 20 years has permanent residency in Canada, owns their home there, and chooses to retire in Toronto. In fact, almost 40% of Americans who are living abroad are in either Mexico or Canada, contrary to the fake news stories of “flocking” to European countries.
Also, Americans who live abroad do not have access to pre-paid Medicare Part A coverage, and Part B does not provide benefits abroad. If Americans stop paying Part B premiums, and then later return to the U.S., they are assessed a high penalty (10% per year they were not paying Part B) on all future Part B premiums.