Mexico in Numbers: How many foreigners live in Mexico?

How many foreign-born residents does Mexico have? Where in Mexico do they live?

We answer those questions in this “Mexico in Numbers” article, which is based on the recently published results of INEGI’s 2025 Intercensal Survey.

Let’s delve into the data.

Mexico has almost 1.2 million foreign-born residents

INEGI reported that 1,170,030 (1.17 million) foreign-born residents lived in Mexico in 2025.

That figure represents an increase of just 147 people — or 0.01% — from 2020, when the most recent census was conducted in Mexico.

Mexico’s foreign-born population represents just 0.9% of Mexico’s total population, which was 130.91 million in 2025, according to the results of the Intercensal Survey.

By contrast, foreign-born residents of the United States accounted for about 14.8% of the U.S. national population in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, a large-scale survey of American households.

Just over half of Mexico’s foreign-born residents — 50.7% — have Mexican citizenship, according to INEGI.

Almost 60% of Mexico’s foreign-born residents were born in the US

Of the 1.17 million foreign-born residents of Mexico, 668,658 were born in the United States, according to INEGI.

Thus, 57.1% of Mexico’s foreign-born population was born in the United States. INEGI reported that 66.5% of U.S.-born residents are Mexican nationals.

INEGI also reported that:

• 75,826 residents of Mexico were born in Venezuela, a figure that accounts for 6.5% of the foreign-born population.
• 61,663 residents of Mexico were born in Cuba, a figure that accounts for 5.3% of the foreign-born population.
• 54,680 residents of Mexico were born in Guatemala, a figure that accounts for 4.7% of the foreign-born population.
• 309,203 residents of Mexico were born in “other countries,” a figure that accounts for 26.4% of the foreign-born population.

Just over one-fifth of the Venezuelan-born residents (21.1%) and the Cuban-born residents (22.6%) are Mexican nationals, according to INEGI.

Just over one-third of the Guatemalan-born residents (34.3%) are Mexican nationals. Among the more than 300,000 residents of Mexico born in “other countries,” 32.2% are Mexican nationals.

Baja California and CDMX have the largest foreign-born populations 

A graph published by INEGI in its Intercensal Survey results report shows that two federal entities have more than 100,000 foreign-born residents: Baja California (131,221) and Mexico City (114,273).

Seven states have more than 50,000 foreign-born residents. They are:

• Chihuahua: 98,785
• Jalisco: 76,441
• Chiapas: 73,711
• México state: 71,703
• Tamaulipas: 63,691
• Nuevo León: 56,532
• Quintana Roo: 50,325

According to INEGI, Tlaxcala has the lowest foreign-born population among Mexico’s 32 federal entities, with 3,758 residents born abroad.

Three other states have fewer than 10,000 foreign-born residents: Tabasco (6,429), Colima (6,802) and Campeche (7,595).

* This article is based on Intercensal Survey data published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) in September. MND acknowledges that there are various estimates of the number of U.S. citizens living in Mexico, including a 2024 U.S. State Department estimate of 1.6 million. The State Department estimate could include U.S. citizens born in Mexico, whom INEGI, for obvious reasons, does not classify as foreign-born. Mexican-born people who moved to the United States, obtained U.S. citizenship, and subsequently returned to Mexico fit into this category. The State Department estimate could also include part-time residents (who may or may not have a Mexican residency permit and who may or may not have been in Mexico when the Intercensal Survey was conducted) as well as temporary residents on tourist visas, including digital nomads.