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The Countries With The Highest Share Of International Migrants May Surprise You

Tyler Durden's Photo
by Tyler Durden
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The number of international migrants worldwide hit 304 million in 2024, a figure that has doubled since 1990.

As people relocate across borders for reasons ranging from work opportunities to conflict and displacement, certain countries have become major destinations for foreign-born populations.

This map, via Visual Capitalist's Kayla Zhu, visualizes the top 20 countries with the highest proportion of international migrants in their populations as of 2024, based on data from the United Nations.

An international migrant is defined as someone living in a country other than their birth country for at least 12 months, regardless of reasons or status.

Which Country Has the Highest Share of International Migrants?

Below, we show countries by share of international migrants in their population.

RankCountryShare (%) of international migrants in total population (2024)
1🇶🇦 Qatar76.7
2🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates74.0
3🇲🇨 Monaco70.2
4🇱🇮 Liechtenstein69.4
5🇰🇼 Kuwait67.3
6🇦🇩 Andorra59.1
7🇧🇭 Bahrain52.3
8🇱🇺 Luxembourg51.2
9🇸🇬 Singapore48.7
10🇯🇴 Jordan45.7
11🇴🇲 Oman43.2
12🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia40.3
13🇲🇹 Malta37.0
14🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda32.5
15🇨🇭 Switzerland31.1
16🇦🇺 Australia30.4
17🇵🇼 Palau29.5
18🇳🇿 New Zealand28.2
19🇧🇳 Brunei25.9
20🇦🇹 Austria25.5
21🇮🇸 Iceland25.1
22🇱🇧 Lebanon24.5
23🇫🇲 Micronesia23.4
24🇮🇪 Ireland23.1
25🇮🇱 Israel22.3
26🇨🇦 Canada22.2
27🇸🇪 Sweden21.4
28🇳🇷 Nauru21.3
29🇧🇪 Belgium20.0
30🇩🇪 Germany19.8
31🇪🇸 Spain18.5
32🇳🇴 Norway18.2
33🇬🇦 Gabon17.7
34🇸🇲 San Marino17.4
35🇬🇧 United Kingdom17.1
36🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis17.0
37🇧🇸 Bahamas16.8
38🇧🇿 Belize16.5
39🇳🇱 Netherlands16.2
40🇺🇸 United States15.2
41🇨🇾 Cyprus14.9
42🇪🇪 Estonia14.9
43🇸🇮 Slovenia14.9
44🇲🇪 Montenegro14.4
45🇩🇰 Denmark14.2
46🇬🇷 Greece14.2
47🇲🇻 Maldives14.2
48🇫🇷 France13.8
49🇭🇷 Croatia13.6
50🇺🇦 Ukraine13.4
51🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea13.2
52🇩🇲 Dominica12.7
53🇧🇧 Barbados12.5
54🇨🇷 Costa Rica12.2
55🇱🇾 Libya12.2
56🇱🇻 Latvia11.8
57🇧🇾 Belarus11.6
58🇮🇹 Italy11.0
59🇩🇯 Djibouti10.8
60🇵🇹 Portugal10.8
61🇲🇾 Malaysia10.7
62🇵🇦 Panama10.6
63🇷🇸 Serbia10.6
64🇸🇨 Seychelles10.2
65🇰🇿 Kazakhstan10.1
66🇨🇿 Czechia9.5
67🇸🇭 Saint Helena9.4
68🇦🇲 Armenia9.2
69🇫🇮 Finland9.2
70🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire9.0
71🇲🇭 Marshall Islands8.8
72🇬🇲 Gambia8.6
73🇲🇰 North Macedonia8.3
74🇸🇷 Suriname8.2
75🇹🇷 Türkiye8.1
76🇨🇱 Chile7.8
77🇸🇸 South Sudan7.7
78🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago7.5
79🇭🇺 Hungary7.1
80🇧🇹 Bhutan7.0
81🇩🇴 Dominican Republic6.5
82🇬🇾 Guyana6.5
83🇹🇩 Chad6.3
84🇬🇩 Grenada6.3
85🇲🇩 Moldova6.2
86🇨🇬 Congo6.1
87🇱🇹 Lithuania6.1
88🇸🇰 Slovakia5.9
89🇨🇴 Colombia5.8
90🇵🇪 Peru5.4
91🇷🇺 Russia5.3
92🇵🇸 State of Palestine5.0
93Saint Vincent and Grenadines4.8
94🇸🇩 Sudan4.8
95🇺🇾 Uruguay4.7
96🇧🇼 Botswana4.6
97🇵🇱 Poland4.5
98🇱🇨 Saint Lucia4.5
99🇧🇬 Bulgaria4.4
100🇹🇭 Thailand4.4
101🇻🇪 Venezuela4.4
102🇦🇷 Argentina4.3
103🇮🇷 Iran4.2
104🇪🇨 Ecuador4.1
105🇿🇦 South Africa4.1
106🇺🇬 Uganda4.1
107🇲🇷 Mauritania3.8
108🇳🇦 Namibia3.8
109🇷🇼 Rwanda3.6
110🇸🇾 Syria3.6
111🇰🇷 South Korea3.5
112🇷🇴 Romania3.4
113🇹🇴 Tonga3.4
114🇺🇿 Uzbekistan3.2
115🇧🇫 Burkina Faso3.1
116🇨🇻 Cabo Verde3.1
117🇹🇬 Togo3.0
118🇧🇯 Benin2.9
119🇧🇮 Burundi2.8
120🇯🇵 Japan2.8
121🇸🇿 Eswatini2.7
122🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan2.7
123🇵🇾 Paraguay2.6
124🇹🇯 Tajikistan2.6
125🇹🇲 Turkmenistan2.6
126🇹🇻 Tuvalu2.6
127🇿🇼 Zimbabwe2.6
128🇰🇮 Kiribati2.5
129🇲🇺 Mauritius2.3
130🇨🇲 Cameroon2.2
131🇲🇱 Mali2.2
132🇦🇿 Azerbaijan2.1
133🇬🇪 Georgia2.1
134🇦🇴 Angola1.8
135🇨🇫 Central African Republic1.8
136🇰🇪 Kenya1.8
137🇼🇸 Samoa1.8
138🇦🇱 Albania1.7
139🇧🇩 Bangladesh1.7
140🇳🇬 Niger1.7
141🇵🇰 Pakistan1.7
142🇳🇵 Nepal1.6
143🇧🇴 Bolivia1.5
144🇫🇯 Fiji1.5
145🇬🇭 Ghana1.5
146🇸🇳 Senegal1.5
147🇰🇲 Comoros1.4
148🇱🇷 Liberia1.3
149🇲🇽 Mexico1.3
150🇿🇲 Zambia1.2
151🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina1.1
152🇨🇩 DR Congo1.0
153🇪🇬 Egypt1.0
154🇲🇿 Mozambique1.0
155🇻🇺 Vanuatu1.0
156🇾🇪 Yemen1.0
157🇪🇹 Ethiopia0.9
158🇲🇼 Malawi0.9
159🇬🇳 Guinea0.8
160🇮🇶 Iraq0.8
161🇯🇲 Jamaica0.8
162🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe0.8
163🇧🇷 Brazil0.7
164🇸🇻 El Salvador0.7
165🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau0.7
166Laos0.7
167🇹🇿 Tanzania0.7
168🇩🇿 Algeria0.6
169🇱🇸 Lesotho0.6
170🇲🇳 Mongolia0.6
171🇳🇮 Nicaragua0.6
172🇳🇬 Nigeria0.6
173🇸🇱 Sierra Leone0.6
174🇹🇱 Timor-Leste0.6
175🇰🇭 Cambodia0.5
176🇬🇹 Guatemala0.5
177🇹🇳 Tunisia0.5
178🇪🇷 Eritrea0.4
179🇭🇳 Honduras0.4
180🇸🇴 Somalia0.4
181🇮🇳 India0.3
182🇲🇦 Morocco0.3
183🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea0.3
184🇸🇧 Solomon Islands0.3
185🇻🇳 Vietnam0.3
186🇦🇫 Afghanistan0.2
187🇰🇵 North Korea0.2
188🇭🇹 Haiti0.2
189🇮🇩 Indonesia0.2
190🇱🇰 Sri Lanka0.2
191🇨🇳 China0.1
192🇲🇬 Madagascar0.1
193🇲🇲 Myanmar0.1
194🇵🇭 Philippines0.1
195🇨🇺 Cuba0.0

In 2024, Qatar had the world’s highest share of foreign-born residents, with international migrants making up over three-quarters (76.7%) of its population.

Several Gulf states like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait ranked at the top of the list, as their economies rely heavily on foreign labor, with migrants making up an overwhelming majority of their workforces.

These countries host higher proportions of international migrants largely due to the kafala system—a sponsorship-based labor framework that ties foreign workers to their employers—drawing million of people for low-wage jobs.

Several small European countries such as Monaco, Liechtenstein, and Andorra also have high shares of migrants, largely due to their small populations and roles as financial or tourism hubs.

U.S. is Still Home to the Most Migrants

By total population, the U.S. recorded the highest number of international migrants in 2024 at 52.4 million.

Mexico to the U.S. was the busiest migrant corridor in the world by far in 2024, with over 10 million people born in Mexico now residing in the United States.

Europe hosted more international migrants than any other region with 94 million in 2024, followed by Northern America—which includes the U.S., Bermuda, Canada, Greenland, and St. Pierre and Miquelon—at 61 million.

These two regions have long been top destinations for immigration over the past few decades.

To learn more about international migratoin, check out this graphic that visualized international migration flows to each U.S. state.

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