---
title: "Mexico to America"
description: "About 11% of now living persons born in Mexico is currently living in the U.S."
date: "2009-04-30"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2009/04/30/mexico-to-america/"
---

# Mexico to America

A third of all immigrants now living in the U.S. are from Mexico; their number — 12.7 million — is very large from Mexico’s perspective, too. In fact, about one out of every 10 people born in Mexico (11%) is currently living in the U.S. The population transfer has occurred rapidly. In 1970, 760,000 Mexican immigrants lived in the U.S., only 1.4% of Mexico’s population. By 1980, the Mexican immigrant population exceeded 2 million, and the number increased exponentially in the following two decades. Mexicans also make up the largest number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. (7.0 million, or 59% of all unauthorized immigrants) as well. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/1191/mexican-immigrants-in-america-largest-group)