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

Most popular countries for immigration

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

Source: UN International migrant database