Dear Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas,

The migration debate in the United States frequently focuses on how many foreign born enter and reside in the country. Much less attention is paid to Americans who live abroad. While small numbers of high-profile American expats such as Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Richard Wright or Josephine Baker have long captured the imagination of the American public for their adventures in Paris and elsewhere, there are millions of Americans living lower-profile lives around the globe.

It’s difficult business to reliably estimate the number of Americans living abroad – with estimates ranging widely from 2 million to nearly 7 million. A new article from the Migration Policy Institute’s online journal, Migration Information Source, explores the challenges of enumerating this population. It also examines what is known about Americans abroad — common destinations, livelihoods, and motivations for leaving the United States.

Read the article, “Counting the Uncountable: Overseas Americans,” here: www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?ID=951 

The Migration Policy Institute is one of the world’s pre-eminent think tanks focusing on international migration. I hope you'll find this article to be useful, and that you will share it with your networks. If you are not already a subscriber to the Source, MPI's free, bimonthly e-newsletter, I invite you to sign up to begin receiving new articles, subscriber-exclusive content, and word of other MPI resources.

Best regards,

Amber French
Editor of the Migration Information Source
Migration Policy Institute
Tel: (202) 266-1906