These are lists of countries by foreign-born population (immigrants) and lists of countries by number native-born persons living in a foreign country (emigrants).
According to the United Nations, in 2019, the United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Russia and France had the largest number of immigrants of any country, while Tuvalu, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and Tokelau had the lowest. In terms of percentage of population, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait had the highest, while Cuba, Madagascar, and China had the lowest.
According to estimates from the same UN 2015 report, in 2013, India and Mexico had the highest numbers of native-born persons living in a foreign country, while Tokelau and San Marino had the lowest.
The United Nations defines "foreign-born" as "born in a country other than that in which one resides" to estimate the international migrant stock, whenever this information is available. In countries lacking data on place of birth, the UN uses the country of citizenship instead. [1]
According to the UN: "Equating international migrants with foreign citizens when estimating the migrant stock has important shortcomings. In countries where citizenship is conferred on the basis of jus sanguinis, people who were born in the country of residence may be included in the number of international migrants even though they may have never lived abroad. Conversely, persons who were born abroad and who naturalized in their country of residence are excluded from the stock of international migrants when using citizenship as the criterion to define international migrants." [1]
Major area, region, country or area of destination | Immigrants | % of total population |
---|---|---|
WORLD | 271,642,105 | 3.5 |
UN development groups | .. | .. |
More developed regions | 152,069,261 | 12.0 |
Less developed regions | 119,572,844 | 1.9 |
Least developed countries | 16,289,023 | 1.6 |
Less developed regions, excluding least developed countries | 103,283,821 | 1.9 |
World Bank income groups | .. | .. |
High-income countries | 175,811,829 | 14.0 |
Middle-income countries | 82,237,681 | 1.4 |
Upper-middle-income countries | 54,279,436 | 2.1 |
Lower-middle-income countries | 27,958,245 | 0.9 |
Low-income countries | 13,072,099 | 1.7 |
No income group available | 520,496 | 17.9 |
Geographic regions | .. | .. |
Africa | 26,529,334 | 2.0 |
Asia | 83,559,197 | 1.8 |
Europe | 82,304,539 | 11.0 |
Latin America and the Caribbean | 11,673,288 | 1.8 |
Northern America | 58,647,822 | 16.0 |
Oceania | 8,927,925 | 21.2 |
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) regions | .. | .. |
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA | 23,573,485 | 2.2 |
Eastern Africa | 7,908,176 | 1.8 |
Burundi | 321,018 | 2.8 |
Comoros | 12,504 | 1.5 |
Djibouti | 115,341 | 11.8 |
Eritrea | 16,101 | 0.5 |
Ethiopia | 1,253,083 | 1.1 |
Kenya | 1,044,854 | 2.0 |
Madagascar | 34,934 | 0.1 |
Malawi | 247,652 | 1.3 |
Mauritius | 28,849 | 2.3 |
Mayotte | 74,643 | 28.0 |
Mozambique | 334,665 | 1.1 |
Réunion | 129,153 | 14.5 |
Rwanda | 539,932 | 4.3 |
Seychelles | 12,926 | 13.2 |
Somalia | 52,131 | 0.3 |
South Sudan | 865,552 | 7.8 |
Uganda | 1,734,166 | 3.9 |
United Republic of Tanzania | 509,166 | 0.9 |
Zambia | 170,249 | 1.0 |
Zimbabwe | 411,257 | 2.8 |
Middle Africa | 3,785,279 | 2.2 |
Angola | 669,479 | 2.1 |
Cameroon | 505,692 | 2.0 |
Central African Republic | 90,649 | 1.9 |
Chad | 512,230 | 3.2 |
Congo | 402,142 | 7.5 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 963,833 | 1.1 |
Equatorial Guinea | 227,617 | 16.8 |
Gabon | 411,463 | 18.9 |
Sao Tome and Principe | 2,174 | 1.0 |
Southern Africa | 4,481,651 | 6.7 |
Botswana | 110,596 | 4.8 |
Eswatini | 32,310 | 2.8 |
Lesotho | 6,928 | 0.3 |
Namibia | 107,561 | 4.3 |
South Africa | 4,224,256 | 7.2 |
Western Africa | 7,398,379 | 1.9 |
Benin | 390,112 | 3.3 |
Burkina Faso | 718,338 | 3.5 |
Cabo Verde | 15,664 | 2.8 |
Côte d'Ivoire | 2,549,141 | 9.9 |
Gambia | 215,406 | 9.2 |
Ghana | 466,780 | 1.5 |
Guinea | 120,642 | 0.9 |
Guinea-Bissau | 26,916 | 1.4 |
Liberia | 94,448 | 1.9 |
Mali | 468,230 | 2.4 |
Mauritania | 172,987 | 3.8 |
Niger | 294,161 | 1.3 |
Nigeria | 1,256,408 | 0.6 |
Saint Helena | 433 | 7.1 |
Senegal | 275,239 | 1.7 |
Sierra Leone | 54,332 | 0.7 |
Togo | 279,142 | 3.5 |
NORTHERN AFRICA AND WESTERN ASIA | 48,591,390 | 9.4 |
Northern Africa | 2,955,849 | 1.2 |
Algeria | 249,075 | 0.6 |
Egypt | 504,053 | 0.5 |
Libya | 818,216 | 12.1 |
Morocco | 98,574 | 0.3 |
Sudan | 1,223,092 | 2.9 |
Tunisia | 57,455 | 0.5 |
Western Sahara | 5,384 | 0.9 |
Western Asia | 45,635,541 | 16.6 |
Armenia | 190,159 | 6.4 |
Azerbaijan | 253,887 | 2.5 |
Bahrain | 741,161 | 45.2 |
Cyprus | 191,922 | 16.0 |
Georgia | 79,035 | 2.0 |
Iraq | 368,062 | 0.9 |
Israel | 1,956,346 | 23.0 |
Jordan | 3,346,703 | 33.1 |
Kuwait | 3,034,845 | 72.1 |
Lebanon | 1,863,873 | 27.2 |
Oman | 2,286,226 | 46.0 |
Qatar | 2,229,688 | 78.7 |
Saudi Arabia | 13,122,338 | 38.3 |
Syrian Arab Republic | 867,848 | 5.1 |
Turkey | 5,876,829 | 7.0 |
United Arab Emirates | 8,587,256 | 87.9 |
Yemen | 385,628 | 1.3 |
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ASIA | 19,627,025 | 1.0 |
Central Asia | 5,543,398 | 7.6 |
Kazakhstan | 3,705,556 | 20.0 |
Kyrgyzstan | 200,260 | 3.1 |
Tajikistan | 274,071 | 2.9 |
Turkmenistan | 195,127 | 3.3 |
Uzbekistan | 1,168,384 | 3.5 |
Southern Asia | 14,083,627 | 0.7 |
Afghanistan | 149,762 | 0.4 |
Bangladesh | 2,185,613 | 1.3 |
Bhutan | 53,254 | 7.0 |
India | 5,154,737 | 0.4 |
Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 2,682,214 | 3.2 |
Maldives | 69,249 | 13.0 |
Nepal | 490,802 | 1.7 |
Pakistan | 3,257,978 | 1.5 |
Sri Lanka | 40,018 | 0.2 |
EASTERN AND SOUTH-EASTERN ASIA | 18,296,631 | 0.8 |
Eastern Asia | 8,105,764 | 0.5 |
China | 1,030,871 | 0.1 |
China, Hong Kong SAR | 2,942,254 | 39.6 |
China, Macao SAR | 399,572 | 62.4 |
North Korea | 49,393 | 0.2 |
Japan | 2,498,891 | 2.0 |
Mongolia | 21,128 | 0.7 |
South Korea | 1,163,655 | 2.3 |
South-Eastern Asia | 10,190,867 | 1.5 |
Brunei Darussalam | 110,641 | 25.5 |
Cambodia | 78,649 | 0.5 |
Indonesia | 353,135 | 0.1 |
Lao People's Democratic Republic | 48,275 | 0.7 |
Malaysia | 3,430,380 | 10.7 |
Myanmar | 75,998 | 0.1 |
Philippines | 218,530 | 0.2 |
Singapore | 2,155,653 | 37.1 |
Thailand | 3,635,085 | 5.2 |
Timor-Leste | 8,417 | 0.7 |
Vietnam | 76,104 | 0.1 |
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN | 11,673,288 | 1.8 |
Caribbean | 1,524,793 | 3.5 |
Anguilla | 5,679 | 38.2 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 29,207 | 30.1 |
Aruba | 36,532 | 34.4 |
Bahamas | 62,962 | 16.2 |
Barbados | 34,807 | 12.1 |
British Virgin Islands | 20,778 | 69.2 |
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba | 15,484 | 59.6 |
Cayman Islands | 28,985 | 44.6 |
Cuba | 4,886 | 0.0 |
Curaçao | 40,883 | 25.0 |
Dominica | 8,264 | 11.5 |
Dominican Republic | 567,648 | 5.3 |
Grenada | 7,124 | 6.4 |
Guadeloupe | 100,030 | 22.3 |
Haiti | 18,756 | 0.2 |
Jamaica | 23,468 | 0.8 |
Martinique | 61,647 | 16.4 |
Montserrat | 1,375 | 27.6 |
Puerto Rico | 266,828 | 9.1 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 7,587 | 14.4 |
Saint Lucia | 8,383 | 4.6 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 4,692 | 4.2 |
Sint Maarten (Dutch part) | 28,260 | 66.7 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 59,249 | 4.2 |
Turks and Caicos Islands | 24,534 | 64.2 |
United States Virgin Islands | 56,745 | 54.3 |
Central America | 1,927,688 | 1.1 |
Belize | 59,998 | 15.4 |
Costa Rica | 417,768 | 8.3 |
El Salvador | 42,617 | 0.7 |
Guatemala | 80,421 | 0.5 |
Honduras | 38,933 | 0.4 |
Mexico | 1,060,707 | 0.8 |
Nicaragua | 42,172 | 0.6 |
Panama | 185,072 | 4.4 |
South America | 8,820,807 | 2.9 |
Argentina | 2,212,879 | 4.9 |
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | 156,114 | 1.4 |
Brazil | 807,006 | 0.4 |
Chile | 1,625,074 | 8.7 |
Colombia | 1,142,319 | 2.3 |
Ecuador | 381,507 | 2.2 |
Falkland Islands | 1,902 | 56.3 |
French Guiana | 117,372 | 40.4 |
Guyana | 15,699 | 2.0 |
Paraguay | 160,519 | 2.3 |
Peru | 782,169 | 2.4 |
Suriname | 46,157 | 7.9 |
Uruguay | 81,482 | 2.4 |
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | 1,375,690 | 4.8 |
OCEANIA | 8,927,925 | 21.2 |
Australia / New Zealand | 8,618,009 | 28.7 |
Australia | 7,549,270 | 30.0 |
New Zealand | 1,401,866 | 27.4 |
Melanesia | 123,564 | 1.1 |
Fiji | 14,038 | 1.6 |
New Caledonia | 72,537 | 25.7 |
Papua New Guinea | 31,212 | 0.4 |
Solomon Islands | 2,532 | 0.4 |
Vanuatu | 3,245 | 1.1 |
Micronesia | 117,978 | 21.7 |
Guam | 79,846 | 47.7 |
Kiribati | 3,022 | 2.6 |
Marshall Islands | 3,296 | 5.6 |
Micronesia | 2,819 | 2.5 |
Nauru | 2,114 | 19.7 |
Northern Mariana Islands | 21,815 | 38.1 |
Palau | 5,066 | 28.1 |
Polynesia | 68,374 | 10.1 |
American Samoa | 23,539 | 42.6 |
Cook Islands | 3,491 | 19.9 |
French Polynesia | 31,205 | 11.2 |
Niue | 588 | 36.4 |
Samoa | 4,035 | 2.0 |
Tokelau | 504 | 37.6 |
Tonga | 3,752 | 3.6 |
Tuvalu | 238 | 2.0 |
Wallis and Futuna | 1,022 | 8.9 |
EUROPE AND NORTHERN AMERICA | 140,952,361 | 12.7 |
EUROPE | 82,304,539 | 11.0 |
Eastern Europe | 20,278,745 | 6.9 |
Belarus | 1,069,395 | 11.3 |
Bulgaria | 168,516 | 2.4 |
Czech Republic | 512,705 | 4.8 |
Hungary | 512,043 | 5.3 |
Poland | 655,985 | 1.7 |
Republic of Moldova | 104,713 | 2.6 |
Romania | 462,552 | 2.4 |
Russian Federation | 11,640,559 | 8.0 |
Slovakia | 187,984 | 3.4 |
Ukraine | 4,964,293 | 11.3 |
Northern Europe | 15,094,924 | 14.3 |
Channel Islands | 83,833 | 48.7 |
Denmark | 722,878 | 12.5 |
Estonia | 190,242 | 14.4 |
Faroe Islands | 6,454 | 13.3 |
Finland | 383,116 | 6.9 |
Iceland | 52,404 | 15.5 |
Ireland | 833,564 | 17.1 |
Isle of Man | 42,864 | 50.7 |
Latvia | 237,266 | 12.4 |
Lithuania | 117,218 | 4.2 |
Norway | 867,765 | 16.1 |
Sweden | 2,005,210 | 20.0 |
United Kingdom | 9,552,110 | 14.1 |
Southern Europe | 16,503,552 | 10.8 |
Albania | 49,160 | 1.7 |
Andorra | 45,102 | 58.5 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 35,735 | 1.1 |
Croatia | 518,083 | 12.5 |
Gibraltar | 11,172 | 33.2 |
Greece | 1,211,382 | 11.6 |
Holy See | 799 | 100.0 |
Italy | 6,273,722 | 10.4 |
Malta | 84,949 | 19.3 |
Montenegro | 70,967 | 11.3 |
North Macedonia | 131,175 | 6.3 |
Portugal | 888,162 | 8.7 |
San Marino | 5,507 | 16.3 |
Serbia | 820,312 | 9.4 |
Slovenia | 253,122 | 12.2 |
Spain | 7,231,195 | 15.2 |
Western Europe | 30,427,318 | 15.6 |
Austria | 1,779,857 | 19.9 |
Belgium | 1,981,919 | 17.2 |
France | 9,589,322 | 14.1 |
Germany | 13,132,146 | 15.7 |
Liechtenstein | 25,467 | 67.0 |
Luxembourg | 291,723 | 47.4 |
Monaco | 26,511 | 68.0 |
Netherlands | 2,282,791 | 13.4 |
Switzerland | 2,572,029 | 29.9 |
NORTHERN AMERICA | 58,647,822 | 16.0 |
Bermuda | 19,336 | 30.9 |
Canada | 7,960,657 | 21.3 |
Greenland | 5,690 | 10.0 |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 990 | 17.0 |
United States of America | 50,661,149 | 15.4 |
Demographic features of the population of Denmark proper, part of the Danish Realm, include ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects.
The demographics of Israel, monitored by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, encompass various attributes that define the nation's populace. Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has witnessed significant changes in its demographics. Formed as a homeland for the Jewish people, Israel has attracted Jewish immigrants from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Demographic features of the population of the Netherlands include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the population, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Indian nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds Indian nationality. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the Constitution of India and the Citizenship Act, 1955.
In law, an alien is generally any person who is not a citizen or a national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ across legal systems.
The foreign-born population of the United Kingdom includes immigrants from a wide range of countries who are resident in the United Kingdom. In the period January to December 2016, there were groups from 23 foreign countries that were estimated to consist of at least 100,000 individuals residing in the UK.
Foreign-born people are those born outside of their country of residence. Foreign born are often non-citizens, but many are naturalized citizens of the country in which they live, and others are citizens by descent, typically through a parent.
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, from poorer to richer countries. Illegal residence in another country creates the risk of detention, deportation, and other imposed sanctions.
Immigration to South Korea is low due to restrictive immigration policies resulting from strong opposition to immigrants from the general Korean public. However, in recent years with the loosening of the law, influx of immigrants into South Korea has been on the rise, with foreign residents accounting for 4.9% of the total population in 2019. Between 1990 and 2020, South Korea's migrant population has grown 3.896%, second highest level of growth in the world.
The Somali diaspora or Qurbajoogta refers to Somalis who were born in Greater Somalia and reside in areas of the world that they were not born in. The civil war in Somalia greatly increased the size of the Somali diaspora, as many Somalis moved from Greater Somalia primarily to Europe, North America, Oceania and South Africa. There are also small Somali populations in Asia. The UN estimates that in 2015, approximately 2 million people from Somalia were living outside of the country's borders.
Immigration to Spain increased significantly in the beginning of the 21st century. In 1998, immigrants accounted for 1.6% of the population, and by 2009, that number had risen to over 12%. Until 2014, the numbers were decreasing due to the economic crisis, but since 2015, immigration to Spain has increased again, especially after 2021.
Overseas Pakistanis, or the Pakistani diaspora, refer to Pakistanis who live outside of Pakistan. These include citizens who have migrated to another country as well as people born abroad of Pakistani descent. According to a December 2017 estimate by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, approximately 8.8 million Pakistanis live abroad. Data released in 2023 by the Ministry of Emigration and Overseas Employment states that more than 10.80 million people have moved abroad since 1990.
Immigration to Europe has a long history, but increased substantially after World War II. Western European countries, especially, saw high growth in immigration post 1945, and many European nations today have sizeable immigrant populations, both of European and non-European origin. In contemporary globalization, migrations to Europe have accelerated in speed and scale. Over the last decades, there has been an increase in negative attitudes towards immigration, and many studies have emphasized marked differences in the strength of anti-immigrant attitudes among European countries.
Emigration from the United States is the process where citizens from the United States move to live in countries other than the US, creating an American Diaspora. The process is the reverse of the immigration to the United States. The United States does not keep track of emigration and counts of Americans abroad are thus only available based on statistics kept by the destination countries.
The Emirati diaspora comprises Emirati citizens who have emigrated from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to other countries, and people of Emirati descent born or residing in other countries.
The Malaysian diaspora are Malaysian emigrants from Malaysia and their descendants that reside in a foreign country. Population estimates vary from seven hundred thousand to one million, both descendants of early emigrants from Malaysia, as well as more recent emigrants from Malaysia. The largest of these foreign communities are in Singapore, Australia, Brunei and the United Kingdom.
Malaysians are citizens who are identified with the country of Malaysia. Although citizens make up the majority of Malaysians, non-citizen residents may also claim a Malaysian identity.
An illegal immigrant in India is a foreigner who has entered India either without valid documents or who initially had a valid document, but has overstayed beyond the permitted time, as per the general provisions of the Citizenship Act as amended in 2003. Such persons are not eligible for citizenship by registration or naturalisation. They are also liable to be imprisoned for 2–8 years and fined.
Latin American migration to Europe is the diaspora of Latin Americans to the continent of Europe, dating back to the first decades of the Spanish and Portuguese empires in the Americas. Latin Americans in Europe are now a rapidly growing group consisting of immigrants from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. It may also include individuals from certain French-speaking territories depending on the definition of Latin America used.
In Azerbaijan, migration policy is handled by the State Migration Service, and appropriate departments of Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population, Ministry of Healthcare, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of İnternal Affairs, State Border Service, State Committee of Republic of Azerbaijan for Refugees and IDPs and State Security Service. Migration Code, Law on Citizenship, Law on Immigration are the foundations of migration policy in Azerbaijan. An independent migration office - State Migration Service was established on March 19, 2007 to regulate fast-paced migrant and prepare comprehensive and efficient migration policies.