We get this question asked quite often. What are the most popular countries for immigration?
According to the data published by United Nations, US takes the first spot for being the most popular destination for immigrants, followed by Germany in second place and Saudi Arabia in third.
This is according to UN survey for 2020 based on the international migration stocks derived from population registers
Source: UN data / 2020
Top 10 Countries
Country | International migrants (millions) in 2020 |
1. United States | 50.6 |
2. Germany | 15.7 |
3. Saudi Arabia | 13.4 |
4. Russia | 11.6 |
5. United Kingdom | 9.3 |
6. United Arab Emirates | 8.7 |
7. France | 8.5 |
8. Canada | 8 |
9. Australia | 7.6 |
10. Spain | 6.8 |
The below are full breakdown based on geographic regions for most popular countries among immigrants.
Region, development group, country or area | 2020 |
WORLD | 280598105 |
Sub-Saharan Africa | 22221538 |
Northern Africa and Western Asia | 49767746 |
Central and Southern Asia | 19427576 |
Eastern and South-Eastern Asia | 19591106 |
Latin America and the Caribbean | 14794623 |
Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand) | 313069 |
Australia and New Zealand | 9067584 |
Europe and Northern America | 145414863 |
Developed regions | 157253443 |
Less developed regions | 123344662 |
Less developed regions, excluding least developed countries | 107159937 |
Less developed regions, excluding China | 118939005 |
Least developed countries | 16184725 |
Land-locked Developing Countries (LLDC) | 15022720 |
Small island developing States (SIDS) | 5678001 |
High-income countries | 181897756 |
Middle-income countries | 85895533 |
Upper-middle-income countries | 57383443 |
Lower-middle-income countries | 28512090 |
Low-income countries | 12232043 |
AFRICA | 25389464 |
Eastern Africa | 7682801 |
Burundi | 344767 |
Comoros | 12496 |
Djibouti | 119738 |
Eritrea | 13934 |
Ethiopia | 1085517 |
Kenya | 1050147 |
Madagascar | 35563 |
Malawi | 191362 |
Mauritius* | 28893 |
Mayotte* | 111540 |
Mozambique | 338850 |
Réunion* | 131769 |
Rwanda | 513907 |
Seychelles | 13050 |
Somalia | 58590 |
South Sudan | 882252 |
Uganda | 1720313 |
United Republic of Tanzania* | 426017 |
Zambia | 187955 |
Zimbabwe | 416141 |
Middle Africa | 3861568 |
Angola | 656434 |
Cameroon | 579209 |
Central African Republic | 88546 |
Chad | 547494 |
Congo | 387606 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 952871 |
Equatorial Guinea | 230618 |
Gabon | 416651 |
Sao Tome and Principe | 2139 |
Northern Africa | 3167926 |
Algeria | 250378 |
Egypt | 543937 |
Libya | 826537 |
Morocco | 102358 |
Sudan | 1379147 |
Tunisia | 60145 |
Western Sahara | 5424 |
Southern Africa | 3125072 |
Botswana | 110268 |
Eswatini | 32858 |
Lesotho | 12060 |
Namibia | 109391 |
South Africa | 2860495 |
Western Africa | 7552097 |
Benin | 394276 |
Burkina Faso | 723989 |
Cabo Verde | 15788 |
Côte d’Ivoire | 2564857 |
Gambia | 215659 |
Ghana | 476412 |
Guinea | 121437 |
Guinea-Bissau | 17945 |
Liberia | 87947 |
Mali | 485829 |
Mauritania | 182286 |
Niger | 348056 |
Nigeria | 1308568 |
Saint Helena* | 437 |
Senegal | 274929 |
Sierra Leone | 53746 |
Togo | 279936 |
ASIA | 85618502 |
Central Asia | 5564042 |
Kazakhstan | 3732073 |
Kyrgyzstan | 199011 |
Tajikistan | 276031 |
Turkmenistan | 194920 |
Uzbekistan | 1162007 |
Eastern Asia | 8975729 |
China* | 1039675 |
China, Hong Kong SAR* | 2962492 |
China, Macao SAR* | 403490 |
China, Taiwan Province of China* | .. |
Dem. People’s Republic of Korea | 49549 |
Japan | 2770996 |
Mongolia | 21345 |
Republic of Korea | 1728182 |
South-Eastern Asia | 10615377 |
Brunei Darussalam | 111959 |
Cambodia | 79341 |
Indonesia | 355505 |
Lao People’s Democratic Republic | 48731 |
Malaysia* | 3476560 |
Myanmar | 76446 |
Philippines | 225525 |
Singapore | 2523648 |
Thailand | 3632496 |
Timor-Leste | 8399 |
Viet Nam | 76767 |
Southern Asia | 13863534 |
Afghanistan | 144098 |
Bangladesh | 2115408 |
Bhutan | 53612 |
India | 4878704 |
Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 2797235 |
Maldives | 70079 |
Nepal | 487564 |
Pakistan | 3276580 |
Sri Lanka | 40254 |
Western Asia | 46599820 |
Armenia | 190349 |
Azerbaijan* | 252228 |
Bahrain | 936094 |
Cyprus* | 190366 |
Georgia* | 79368 |
Iraq | 365766 |
Israel | 1953575 |
Jordan | 3457691 |
Kuwait | 3110159 |
Lebanon | 1712762 |
Oman | 2372836 |
Qatar | 2226192 |
Saudi Arabia | 13454842 |
State of Palestine* | 272784 |
Syrian Arab Republic | 868711 |
Turkey | 6052652 |
United Arab Emirates | 8716332 |
Yemen | 387113 |
EUROPE | 86706068 |
Eastern Europe | 20835402 |
Belarus | 1067090 |
Bulgaria | 184363 |
Czechia | 540921 |
Hungary | 584567 |
Poland | 817254 |
Republic of Moldova* | 104438 |
Romania | 705310 |
Russian Federation | 11636911 |
Slovakia | 197161 |
Ukraine* | 4997387 |
Northern Europe | 14973861 |
Channel Islands* | 84087 |
Denmark* | 717574 |
Estonia | 199277 |
Faroe Islands* | 6812 |
Finland* | 386052 |
Iceland | 65424 |
Ireland | 871256 |
Isle of Man* | 43040 |
Latvia | 239422 |
Lithuania | 145184 |
Norway* | 852238 |
Sweden | 2003908 |
United Kingdom* | 9359587 |
Southern Europe | 17665688 |
Albania | 48810 |
Andorra | 45574 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 36042 |
Croatia | 528056 |
Gibraltar* | 11190 |
Greece | 1340456 |
Holy See* | 809 |
Italy | 6386998 |
Malta | 114760 |
Montenegro | 70999 |
North Macedonia | 131311 |
Portugal | 1001963 |
San Marino | 5543 |
Serbia* | 823011 |
Slovenia | 277964 |
Spain* | 6842202 |
Western Europe | 33231117 |
Austria | 1738183 |
Belgium | 2005479 |
France* | 8524876 |
Germany | 15762457 |
Liechtenstein | 25877 |
Luxembourg | 298062 |
Monaco | 26601 |
Netherlands* | 2358333 |
Switzerland | 2491249 |
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN | 14794623 |
Caribbean | 1605148 |
Anguilla* | 5715 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 29386 |
Aruba* | 53593 |
Bahamas | 63583 |
Barbados | 34869 |
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba* | 26221 |
British Virgin Islands* | 22164 |
Cayman Islands* | 29242 |
Cuba | 3024 |
Curaçao* | 57210 |
Dominica | 8284 |
Dominican Republic | 603794 |
Grenada | 7213 |
Guadeloupe* | 90206 |
Haiti | 18884 |
Jamaica | 23629 |
Martinique* | 68624 |
Montserrat* | 1379 |
Puerto Rico* | 247132 |
Saint Barthélemy* | .. |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 7725 |
Saint Lucia | 8338 |
Saint Martin (French part)* | .. |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 4738 |
Sint Maarten (Dutch part)* | 28845 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 78849 |
Turks and Caicos Islands* | 25748 |
United States Virgin Islands* | 56753 |
Central America | 2302001 |
Belize | 62043 |
Costa Rica | 520729 |
El Salvador | 42767 |
Guatemala | 84311 |
Honduras | 39195 |
Mexico | 1197624 |
Nicaragua | 42167 |
Panama | 313165 |
South America | 10887474 |
Argentina | 2281728 |
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | 164121 |
Brazil | 1079708 |
Chile | 1645015 |
Colombia | 1905393 |
Ecuador | 784787 |
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)* | 1957 |
French Guiana* | 119249 |
Guyana | 31169 |
Paraguay | 169567 |
Peru | 1224519 |
Suriname | 47801 |
Uruguay | 108267 |
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | 1324193 |
NORTHERN AMERICA | 58708795 |
Bermuda* | 19739 |
Canada | 8049323 |
Greenland* | 5899 |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon* | 998 |
United States of America* | 50632836 |
OCEANIA | 9380653 |
Australia and New Zealand | 9067584 |
Australia* | 7685860 |
New Zealand* | 1381724 |
Melanesia | 124073 |
Fiji | 14087 |
New Caledonia* | 73141 |
Papua New Guinea | 31068 |
Solomon Islands | 2520 |
Vanuatu | 3257 |
Micronesia | 118860 |
Guam* | 80472 |
Kiribati | 3126 |
Marshall Islands | 3298 |
Micronesia (Fed. States of) | 2832 |
Nauru | 2201 |
Northern Mariana Islands* | 21843 |
Palau | 5088 |
Polynesia* | 70136 |
American Samoa* | 23608 |
Cook Islands* | 4579 |
French Polynesia* | 30081 |
Niue* | 588 |
Samoa | 4021 |
Tokelau* | 1238 |
Tonga | 3742 |
Tuvalu | 239 |
Wallis and Futuna Islands* | 2040 |