In 2025, the United States recorded negative net migration - for the first time in 90 years, more people left the country than arrived, the Wall Street Journal reports, News.bg reports.
The last such phenomenon was recorded in 1935, during the Great Depression, when over 100,000 Americans emigrated to the Soviet Union in search of work and a fairer way of life.
According to data from the Brookings Institution, last year the country lost about 150,000 people, with a total of between 2.6 and 2.7 million migrations - a decrease from 6 million in 2023. Despite the lack of detailed statistics on emigration since the 1950s, the publication estimates that between 4 million and 9 million Americans live abroad based on residence permits, property purchases, student enrollment and other indicators.
The largest number of Americans live in Mexico - about 1.6 million, followed by 1.5 million in Europe, 325,000 of whom are in the UK, and 250,000 in Canada.
While some commentators link the trend to the political administration of Donald Trump, experts emphasize that the reasons are multifaceted - including increasing remote work, the high cost of living and the pursuit of a foreign lifestyle.
“A million diaspora study, work remotely and retire abroad“, the publication notes, pointing out that the number of Americans in Spain and the Netherlands has almost doubled in the past decade, and in the Czech Republic, more than twice as many.
The reasons range from students seeking adventure to young people attracted by social democratic ideals, workers seeking higher incomes, and retirees choosing more affordable social services abroad.
Some Americans also leave for personal reasons: "You don't face the prospect of your five-year-old going to kindergarten and practicing active shooting," says Chris Ford, who lives in Berlin.
The phenomenon is seen in many countries, from Dublin and Lisbon to Bali, Colombia and Thailand, where locals express irritation with newly arrived Americans.
„The Wall Street Journal“ points out that the trend is long-term and is being helped by social media that encourages international travel, and notes examples such as R&B star Kelis, who shows off her life in Kenya.
The mass exodus has sparked a boom in international moving services and raised questions about whether it represents a loss of faith in the American dream. The publication concludes: “The new American dream for some citizens is no longer to live in the United States“.