Arab Colombians

{{Lead extra info|date=May 2025}}{{infobox ethnic group

| group = Arab Colombians

| image =

| poptime =

| popplace = 3.2 million{{cite web|url=https://www.larepublica.co/analisis/simon-gaviria-munoz-401830/colombia-y-medio-oriente-3350223 |title=Colombia y Medio Oriente |date=26 April 2022 |access-date=2 July 2022}}

| langs = Colombian Spanish, Arabic

| rels = Roman Catholicism
Eastern Catholicism (Maronites)
Oriental Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy
Islam
Druze

}}

Arab Colombians ({{Langx|ar|كولومبيون عرب}}) are Arab immigrants and their descendants in the Republic of Colombia. The National Administrative Department of Statistics estimated the country's Middle Eastern descendant population to be 3.2 million people.

Most of the original Arab migrants to Colombia came from modern day Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Palestine.{{cite journal|format=PDF|first1=Louise|last1=Fawcett de Posada|first2=Eduardo|last2=Posada Carbó|url=https://publicaciones.banrepcultural.org/index.php/boletin_cultural/article/download/2252/2325|title=En la tierra de las oportunidades: los sirio-libaneses en Colombia|trans-title=In the land of opportunity: the Syrian-Lebanese in Colombia|language=es|journal=Boletín Cultural y Bibliográfico|volume=29|issue=29|pages=8–11|date=1992|publisher=publicaciones.banrepcultural.org|access-date=20 July 2017}}{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Victor |date=2025-06-09 |title=Immigrants in Colombia: Which Are the Largest Foreign Communities? |url=https://colombiaone.com/2025/06/09/colombia-immigrants-foreign-communities/ |access-date=2025-06-09 |website=Colombia One |language=en-US}} The primary wave of migration occurred in the late 19th century; when Arab immigrants were first processed through the country's ports, they were classified as Turks because the lands they came from were then territories of the Ottoman Empire. Colombia's National Administrative Department of Statistics estimated the country's Middle Eastern descendant population at 3.2 million, including 700,000 of Lebanese descent.

Most of whom were described as "Syrian-Lebanese" migrants established themselves in the Caribbean Region of Colombia, in cities and towns near the basin of the Magdalena River such as Maicao, Riohacha, Santa Marta, Lorica, Fundación, Aracataca, Ayapel, Calamar, Ciénaga, Cereté, Montería and Barranquilla. The population later expanded to other areas, and by 1945, there were Arab Middle Easterners moving inland to areas such as Ocaña, Cúcuta, Barrancabermeja, Ibagué, Girardot, Honda, Tunja, Villavicencio, Pereira, Soatá, Neiva, Buga, Chaparral and Chinácota.

The five major cities where the Levantine Middle Eastern population was present were Santa Marta, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bogotá and Cali. Most arrived as members of the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, but the majority became Roman Catholic. Estimates of the number of immigrants entering the country in 1945 vary from 40,000 to 50,000; most of these immigrants were Christian and a minority were Muslim.

Many Arabs adapted their names and surnames to the Spanish language as a way to adapt more quickly in the communities where they arrived. For example, people of Arab origin took surnames such as Guerra (originally Harb), Domínguez (Ñeca), Durán (Doura), Lara (Larach), and Cristo (Salibe).{{cite web|first=Joaquin|last=Viloria De la Hoz|url=http://www.semana.com/especiales/articulo/los-sirio-libaneses/81638-3|title=Los sirio-libaneses|trans-title=The Syrian-Lebanese|language=es|publisher=semana.com|date=28 October 2006|access-date=20 July 2017}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.semana.com/especiales/articulo/las-mil-historias/68653-3|title=Se celebra este año el centenario de la inmigración árabe al país. La contribución de esa cultura ha sido definitiva para la Colombia de hoy.|last=Semana|website=Se celebra este año el centenario de la inmigración árabe al país. La contribución de esa cultura ha sido definitiva para la Colombia de hoy.|date=10 October 2004|access-date=2017-09-19}}

Population

It was estimated by Colombia's National Administrative Department of Statistics that the country has a Middle Eastern descending population of 3.2 million.{{cite web|url=https://www.larepublica.co/analisis/simon-gaviria-munoz-401830/colombia-y-medio-oriente-3350223 |title=Colombia y Medio Oriente |date=26 April 2022 |access-date=2 July 2022}}

History

Communities

File:Arabes_en_colombia.jpg in Maicao (2014)]]

= Lebanese =

Colombia has the third-largest Lebanese population abroad below only Argentina and Brazil, with an estimated population of between 1,200,000{{cite web |title=Geographical Distribution of the Lebanese Diaspora |url=http://theidentitychef.com/2009/09/06/lebanese-diaspora-worldwide-geographical-distribution/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024042758/http://theidentitychef.com/2009/09/06/lebanese-diaspora-worldwide-geographical-distribution |archive-date=24 October 2018 |access-date=18 October 2024 |work=The Identity Chef}} and 2,500,000{{cite web |date=September 2007 |title=Proyecciones nacionales y departamentales de población. 2006–2020 |trans-title=National and departmental population projections. 2006–2020 |url=http://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/poblacion/proyepobla06_20/7Proyecciones_poblacion.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123051243/http://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/poblacion/proyepobla06_20/7Proyecciones_poblacion.pdf |archive-date=23 November 2007 |access-date=18 October 2024 |publisher=DANE National Statistical Service, Colombia |language=es}}{{Page needed|date=April 2025}} people. Between 1880 and 1930, it is estimated 10,000 to 30,000 Lebanese migrants relocated to Colombia.{{Cite web |last=Alexander |first=Inigo |date=5 April 2023 |title=From the Ottomans to the oil boom: Inside Colombia's Arab and Muslim community |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/colombia-inside-arab-muslim-community |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005034254/https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/colombia-inside-arab-muslim-community |archive-date=5 October 2024 |access-date=26 October 2024 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}}

= Palestinian =

According to a 2025 article by Raúl Zibechi for The North American Congress on Latin America, there were 100,000 Palestinians in Colombia.{{Cite news |title=Palestine and Latin America: Deep Ties Rooted in Shared Experiences |url=https://nacla.org/palestine-and-latin-america-deep-ties-rooted-shared-experiences |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240918210336/https://nacla.org/palestine-and-latin-america-deep-ties-rooted-shared-experiences |archive-date=2024-09-18 |access-date=2025-05-16 |work=NACLA |language=en}} Approximate estimations by the Embassy of Palestine in Bogotá were between 100,000 and 120,000 people in 2019, this included first, second, third, and fourth generation Palestinian immigrants.{{Cite web |last=Tiempo |first=Casa Editorial El |date=2019-03-07 |title=Los palestinos que encontraron un segundo hogar en el centro de Bogotá |url=https://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/mas-regiones/los-palestinos-que-encontraron-un-segundo-hogar-en-el-centro-de-bogota-334782 |access-date=2022-06-19 |website=El Tiempo |language=spanish}}

= Syrian =

Most Syrian Colombians came to Colombia in the late 19th and early 20th century, with notable populations in Córdoba, Cartagena, and other cities.{{cite journal |last1=Fawcett de Posada |first1=Louise |last2=Posada Carbó |first2=Eduardo |date=1992 |title=En la tierra de las oportunidades: los sirio-libaneses en Colombia |trans-title=In the land of opportunity: the Syrian-Lebanese in Colombia |url=https://publicaciones.banrepcultural.org/index.php/boletin_cultural/article/download/2252/2325 |url-status=live |format=PDF |journal=Boletín Cultural y Bibliográfico |language=es |publisher=publicaciones.banrepcultural.org |volume=29 |issue=29 |pages=8–11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302135545/https://publicaciones.banrepcultural.org/index.php/boletin_cultural/article/download/2252/2325 |archive-date=2 March 2016 |access-date=18 October 2024}}

Notable people

Yamid Amat, journalist; (born 1941).
Fuad Char, 48th Governor of Atlántico Department, Minister of Economic Development, and senator. His father immigrated to Colombia from Damascus, Syria; (born 1937).{{Cite journal |last=Di Ricco |first=Massimo |date=14 May 2014 |title=Llenando el vacío: el surgimiento de los Colombo Arabes como actores políticos en Barranquilla y la región Caribe |url=https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=85131029008 |journal=Revista Derecho |issue=41 |pages=211–241 |issn=0121-8697 |access-date=16 July 2014}}
Shakira, singer-songwriter. Her great-grandmother immigrated to Colombia from Lebanon; (born 1977).{{cite interview |last=Mebarak |first=William |subject-link= |interviewer=Jairo Martínez |title=Entre Amigos con Jairo Martínez - William Mebarak |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsu7sZKgA2o |work=Entre Amigos con Jairo Martínez |publisher=Mar De Leva Producciones |location=Barranquilla |date=March 2, 2020}}
Julio César Turbay Ayala, 25th President of Colombia. His father, Antonio Amín Turbay immigrated to Colombia from Tannourine, Lebanon; (1916–2005).EFE, [http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2005/09/13/obituarios/1126619391.html Julio César Turbay Ayala, ex presidente de Colombia], El Mundo, September 15, 2005
Diana Turbay, journalist kidnapped by the Medellín Cartel and killed in a botched rescue operation. Her grandfather immigrated to Colombia from Tannourine, Lebanon; (1950–1991).
Gabriel Turbay, 1946 presidential candidate, representative, and senator. His parents were immigrants from Lebanon; (1901–1947).{{cite web |title=Turbay, Gabriel |url=http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/biografias/turbay-gabriel |accessdate=December 28, 2016 |website=Luis Ángel Arango Library}}
Nydia Quintero Turbay, former First Lady of Colombia; (born 1932).

References

Colombia

Category:Asian diaspora in Colombia