⚠️ Unconfirmeddemographic2020
International migrant stock — share of population
Share of each country’s population that is international migrants (foreign-born), from UN DESA’s International Migrant Stock 2020 database.
Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Population Division•166 countries
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Key Insights
Global Average
8.6%
Median: 2.5%
Countries Covered
166
with available data
Highest
United Arab Emirates
88.4%
Lowest
Bosnia and Herzegovina
0.1%
Top 5 Countries
1United Arab Emirates88.4%
2Qatar75.0%
3Kuwait72.0%
4Luxembourg47.0%
5Oman46.3%
By Region
Oceania29.6%(2 countries)
Asia18.2%(25 countries)
Europe13.9%(32 countries)
North America9.7%(4 countries)
Other4.6%(87 countries)
Key Findings
- •Gulf states and some small high-income economies have the world’s highest migrant population shares (e.g., UAE, Qatar, Kuwait).
- •Many large-population countries (e.g., India, China) have low migrant shares despite very large absolute migration flows.
- •European and North American countries generally show mid-to-high migrant shares, reflecting long-term migration and mobility within regions.
- •Several conflict-affected states can see elevated shares when hosting refugees and other displaced populations, depending on measurement and reference year.
Country Rankings
Top 10 Countries
Bottom 10 Countries
Data Analysis
Value Distribution
How countries are distributed across the value range
Low (0.1%)High (88.4%)
Regional Comparison
Average values by world region (Global avg: 8.6%)
Oceania (2)
Asia (25)
Europe (32)
North America (4)
Other (87)
South America (7)
Africa (9)
About This Statistic
This statistic measures the percentage of people living in a country who were born in another country (international migrants). It is a useful lens on globalization, labor markets, demographic change, and the role of migration in national population dynamics.
The UN DESA International Migrant Stock dataset compiles the best-available census and administrative sources for each country/territory and harmonizes them to a common reference year. Values can be high in major destination economies and small island states, and very low in countries with historically limited in-migration or strict mobility constraints.
Full Data
| Rank ↑ | Country ↕ | Value ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Arab Emirates | 88.4% |
| 2 | Qatar | 75.0% |
| 3 | Kuwait | 72.0% |
| 4 | Luxembourg | 47.0% |
| 5 | Oman | 46.3% |
| 6 | Mauritius | 45.6% |
| 7 | Singapore | 42.6% |
| 8 | Jordan | 37.5% |
| 9 | Saudi Arabia | 37.0% |
| 10 | Switzerland | 30.1% |
| 11 | Australia | 30.1% |
| 12 | New Zealand | 29.0% |
| 13 | State of Palestine | 26.8% |
| 14 | Lebanon | 26.5% |
| 15 | Israel | 23.4% |
| 16 | Canada | 21.3% |
| 17 | Kazakhstan | 20.8% |
| 18 | Republic of The Gambia | 20.7% |
| 19 | Albania | 20.3% |
| 20 | Sweden | 20.0% |
| 21 | Austria | 19.5% |
| 22 | Cyprus | 19.2% |
| 23 | Germany | 18.8% |
| 24 | Ireland | 17.8% |
| 25 | Slovenia | 17.5% |
| 26 | Maldives | 17.4% |
| 27 | Belgium | 17.2% |
| 28 | Estonia | 16.4% |
| 29 | Norway | 16.1% |
| 30 | Spain | 15.7% |
| 31 | Iceland | 15.6% |
| 32 | United States of America | 15.3% |
| 33 | Lithuania | 15.1% |
| 34 | United Kingdom | 14.0% |
| 35 | Montenegro | 13.8% |
| 36 | Latvia | 13.7% |
| 37 | Netherlands | 13.2% |
| 38 | Croatia | 13.1% |
| 39 | France | 13.0% |
| 40 | Libya | 12.8% |
| 41 | Kyrgyzstan | 12.5% |
| 42 | Gabon | 12.1% |
| 43 | Greece | 11.8% |
| 44 | Belarus | 11.5% |
| 45 | Ukraine | 11.4% |
| 46 | Mauritania | 10.7% |
| 47 | Denmark | 10.6% |
| 48 | Italy | 10.6% |
| 49 | Malaysia | 10.3% |
| 50 | Portugal | 9.2% |
| 51 | Costa Rica | 9.0% |
| 52 | Botswana | 9.0% |
| 53 | Serbia | 8.6% |
| 54 | Trinidad and Tobago | 8.6% |
| 55 | Russian Federation | 8.2% |
| 56 | South Africa | 7.8% |
| 57 | Finland | 7.6% |
| 58 | Türkiye | 7.0% |
| 59 | Guinea-Bissau | 6.6% |
| 60 | Hungary | 6.1% |
| 61 | Dominica | 6.0% |
| 62 | The Republic of North Macedonia | 6.0% |
| 63 | Turkmenistan | 5.6% |
| 64 | Czech Republic | 5.3% |
| 65 | Thailand | 5.1% |
| 66 | Benin | 4.9% |
| 67 | Panama | 4.9% |
| 68 | Argentina | 4.9% |
| 69 | Venezuela | 4.7% |
| 70 | Tajikistan | 4.5% |
| 71 | Peru | 4.2% |
| 72 | Cape Verde | 4.0% |
| 73 | Suriname | 4.0% |
| 74 | Romania | 3.9% |
| 75 | Malta | 3.6% |
| 76 | Slovakia | 3.6% |
| 77 | Senegal | 3.5% |
| 78 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 3.3% |
| 79 | Jamaica | 2.9% |
| 80 | Liberia | 2.8% |
| 81 | Cote d'Ivoire | 2.6% |
| 82 | South Korea | 2.5% |
| 83 | Paraguay | 2.5% |
| 84 | Poland | 2.5% |
| 85 | Ecuador | 2.4% |
| 86 | Uruguay | 2.4% |
| 87 | Japan | 2.3% |
| 88 | Dominican Republic | 2.2% |
| 89 | Namibia | 2.2% |
| 90 | Kenya | 2.1% |
| 91 | Moldova, Republic of | 2.1% |
| 92 | Sri Lanka | 2.0% |
| 93 | Colombia | 2.0% |
| 94 | Armenia | 2.0% |
| 95 | Pakistan | 1.8% |
| 96 | South Sudan | 1.7% |
| 97 | Syrian Arab Republic | 1.7% |
| 98 | Chile | 1.6% |
| 99 | Ethiopia | 1.5% |
| 100 | Ghana | 1.5% |
| 101 | Belize | 1.5% |
| 102 | Guinea | 1.4% |
| 103 | Bolivia | 1.4% |
| 104 | Georgia | 1.3% |
| 105 | Eswatini | 1.3% |
| 106 | Eritrea | 1.2% |
| 107 | Guatemala | 1.2% |
| 108 | Bangladesh | 1.2% |
| 109 | Bulgaria | 1.1% |
| 110 | Sudan | 1.1% |
| 111 | Uganda | 1.1% |
| 112 | El Salvador | 1.0% |
| 113 | New Caledonia | 1.0% |
| 114 | Yemen | 1.0% |
| 115 | Mexico | 0.9% |
| 116 | Brazil | 0.9% |
| 117 | Republic of the Congo | 0.8% |
| 118 | Fiji | 0.8% |
| 119 | Honduras | 0.8% |
| 120 | Timor-Leste | 0.8% |
| 121 | Zimbabwe | 0.8% |
| 122 | Algeria | 0.8% |
| 123 | People's Republic of China | 0.7% |
| 124 | Djibouti | 0.7% |
| 125 | Malawi | 0.7% |
| 126 | Nigeria | 0.7% |
| 127 | Togo | 0.7% |
| 128 | Uzbekistan | 0.7% |
| 129 | Cameroon | 0.6% |
| 130 | Nepal | 0.6% |
| 131 | Nicaragua | 0.6% |
| 132 | Tunisia | 0.6% |
| 133 | Afghanistan | 0.6% |
| 134 | Solomon Islands | 0.6% |
| 135 | Mozambique | 0.5% |
| 136 | Philippines | 0.5% |
| 137 | Egypt | 0.5% |
| 138 | Cuba | 0.4% |
| 139 | India | 0.4% |
| 140 | Indonesia | 0.4% |
| 141 | Lesotho | 0.4% |
| 142 | Mali | 0.4% |
| 143 | Mongolia | 0.4% |
| 144 | Niger | 0.4% |
| 145 | Rwanda | 0.4% |
| 146 | Sierra Leone | 0.4% |
| 147 | United Republic of Tanzania | 0.4% |
| 148 | Angola | 0.4% |
| 149 | Cambodia | 0.3% |
| 150 | Haiti | 0.3% |
| 151 | Iraq | 0.3% |
| 152 | Morocco | 0.3% |
| 153 | Papua New Guinea | 0.3% |
| 154 | Myanmar | 0.2% |
| 155 | Burundi | 0.2% |
| 156 | Cayman Islands | 0.2% |
| 157 | Central African Republic | 0.2% |
| 158 | Chad | 0.2% |
| 159 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 0.2% |
| 160 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 0.2% |
| 161 | Madagascar | 0.2% |
| 162 | Somalia | 0.2% |
| 163 | Zambia | 0.2% |
| 164 | North Korea | 0.1% |
| 165 | Vietnam | 0.1% |
| 166 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.1% |
Showing 166 of 166 countries
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Data Source
This data comes from United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Population Division (2020).
View Original Source