I wrote about this topic previously but have new and surprising data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WOW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To put that in context, 89% of U.S. adults have a driver’s license. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My perception was that 100% of my peers had traveled internationally – and my perception was spot on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How many Americans have, at some point, lived in another country?<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Could not find an answer to that so produced a broad estimate – near 1 in 3 residents of the U.S. may have lived in another country at some point in their life. (See revision below – it’s probably 40+%.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n An estimated 15% of U.S. residents were born in another country. For some states, such as California, the percentage is higher, at about 27%. Within some specific work fields, like tech in Silicon Valley, it may be 70%, and up to 50% in Seattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In any year, about 1.4-2.7% of Americans are estimated as living or working abroad. This group includes persons who work abroad for 6 months, or a few years, and then return. Over time, this cumulatively is a large percentage as new persons replace those who have returned to the U.S. For example, if the rotation in this group is 1\/2% per year, that could add up to 10% of the population over 20 years, and more over a longer period of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I understand most military personnel will be stationed abroad at least once during time in the military – about 1 million are stationed abroad each year. As of 2018, about 7% of the adult population of the US was a veteran. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost one-half million students study and live abroad each year, as high school exchange students or as college study abroad students. Over a period of time, this adds up cumulatively to a large number of U.S. residents who have lived abroad. Up to 20% of 4-year students that have graduated, have studied abroad. (Note – the # varies by year and has been increasing over time.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 15% + 3% + 7% is 25%. That’s 1 in 4 U.S. residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, add in those who worked abroad in the past, but have moved back to the U.S., or those who have studied abroad, and this can add 10-15% more to the total over 20 or more years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, a reasonable estimate is 35% or more of U.S. residents have had experiencing living abroad for some period ranging from a summer to years long trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously, there may be overlap between these groups – for example, a foreign-born American resident may do a study abroad in college and then join the U.S. military, and then take a foreign job! My simple estimate would count that person 3 times!<\/p>\n\n\n\n A reasonable guess is at least 1 in 4, and probably 1 in 3 U.S. residents have studied, lived or worked abroad. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Related – why do people move abroad? “25% have done it for family reasons, 23% for work reasons, and 23% for \u201cother reasons\u201d.<\/a>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n Update 2: Many who lived abroad had children who accompanied them during their work assignment or other experiences abroad. These children were not included in my original estimate of 1 in 3, above. For example: I moved with my 3 kids to Spain. They had a hard time adjusting to the food and schools when we moved back to the US.<\/a> (military family).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Update 3:<\/strong> Many Americans experienced foreign countries and cultures due to annual travel to visit relatives in their “home country” – this is common for those whose parents and\/or grandparents were immigrants. As children growing up, their families visited their “home country” for 2-6 weeks every summer. Over the course of their childhood, some effectively lived 1-2 years abroad (6 weeks times 15 years is 90 weeks). Many learned to speak their native language in order to converse with relatives in their “home country”. These people were not included in the 1 in 3 estimates, above.<\/p>\n\n\n\nUPDATE 1: Up to 40+% of the U.S. population may have lived abroad at some point in their life. <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n