Syrian Venezuelan
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
12,108 - 15,632 Syrian-born residents est. 1,000,000 Venezuelans of Syrian descent. |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Caracas, Puerto La Cruz, Maracaibo, Margarita Island, Maracay, Valencia, Ciudad Guayana, Maturin, Barquisimeto, Cumaná | |
| Languages | |
| Venezuelan Spanish and Syrian Arabic | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Christianity, minority Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Syrian and Syrian diaspora |
Syrian Venezuelans refers to Venezuelan citizens of Syrian origin. Syrians are the largest immigrant group of Arabic origin in Venezuela.
Syrian migration to Venezuela began towards the end of the nineteenth century, when thousands of Syrian Christians and Jews arrived escaping the downfall of the last years of existence of the Ottoman Empire. Since then, the flow of people between Syria and Venezuela has been constant.
The huge Syrian migration to Venezuela took place during the oil boom of the 1950s. Almost every town and village which had missed having Syrian settlers from the earlier immigrations, which began in the late 1880s, now has at least one Syrian family. They have joined the approximately 500,000 prior immigrants and their descendants, reinforcing Arab culture amongst the older Syrian community which had been almost totally assimilated.
Some Syrian-Venezuelans returned during the last decade to Syria, establishing themselves mainly in Aleppo, Tartus and Jaramana (in the outskirts of Damascus), besides in As-Suwayda; which is known also as Little Venezuela, stands out because of the mix of its streets between the Syrian and Venezuelan dialects, the presence of both languages in posters and advertisements, the restaurants and cafes where both gastronomy are merged and where Caribbean Salsa and the music of Umm Kulthum can be heard. More than 200,000 people from the Sweida area carry Venezuelan citizenship and most are members of Syria's Druse sect, who immigrated to Venezuela in the past century.
The majority of Syrian-Venezuelans are Druzes, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox.
A few Syrian Muslims settled in Venezuela.
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Wikipedia