Maps

Mapped: Immigration by Country, as a Percentage of the Population

Published

1 year ago

April 18, 2022

Our World in Data

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Jenna Ross

Immigration by Country, as a Percentage of the Population

Many people move countries for work, study, or family. However, they may also be displaced by climate change, conflict, or economic instability.

There were 272 million immigrants in 2020, amounting to 3.5% of the global population. Where do they end up?

This interactive map from Our World in Data highlights immigration by country, as a percentage of the total population, using data from the United Nations (UN) Populations Division.

What Is an Immigrant?

The UN defines an immigrant as someone who has been living in a country other than their country of birth for one year or longer. In addition to new citizens or residents, a variety of people fit under this definition:

Foreign workers
International students
Refugees

The UN also includes estimates of unauthorized immigrants living in various countries. On the flip side, tourists, temporary workers, and overseas military personnel are typically not included.

Immigration by Country Over Time

With this definition in mind, here’s a breakdown of immigration by country as a percentage of the nation’s population.

Country	1990	2020	Absolute Change	Relative Change
Afghanistan	0.47%	0.37%	-0.10 p.p.	-20%
Albania	2.01%	1.70%	-0.31 p.p.	-16%
Algeria	1.06%	0.57%	-0.49 p.p.	-46%
American Samoa	45.18%	30.35%²	-14.83 p.p.	-33%
Andorra	71.35%	58.98%	-12.37 p.p.	-17%
Angola	0.28%	2.00%	1.71 p.p.	606%
Anguilla	30.59%	33.24%²	2.66 p.p.	9%
Antigua and Barbuda	19.24%	30.01%	10.77 p.p.	56%
Argentina	5.06%	5.05%	>-0.01 p.p.	>-1%
Armenia	18.62%	6.42%	-12.20 p.p.	-65%
Aruba	22.84%	34.52%²	11.67 p.p.	51%
Australia	23.32%	30.14%	6.82 p.p.	29%
Austria	10.27%	19.30%	9.03 p.p.	88%
Azerbaijan	4.98%	2.49%	-2.49 p.p.	-50%
Bahamas	10.48%	16.17%	5.69 p.p.	54%
Bahrain	34.93%	55.01%	20.09 p.p.	58%
Bangladesh	0.85%	1.28%	0.43 p.p.	50%
Barbados	9.21%	12.13%	2.93 p.p.	32%
Belarus	12.30%	11.29%	-1.01 p.p.	-8%
Belgium	12.80%	17.30%	4.51 p.p.	35%
Belize	16.21%	15.60%	-0.61 p.p.	-4%
Benin	1.54%	3.25%	1.71 p.p.	111%
Bhutan	4.49%	6.95%	2.46 p.p.	55%
Bolivia	1.07%	1.41%	0.33 p.p.	31%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1.25%	1.10%	-0.16 p.p.	-12%
Botswana	2.14%	4.69%	2.55 p.p.	119%
Brazil	0.54%	0.51%	-0.03 p.p.	-5%
Brunei	28.29%	25.59%	-2.70 p.p.	-10%
Bulgaria	0.24%	2.65%	2.41 p.p.	992%
Burkina Faso	3.97%	3.46%	-0.50 p.p.	-13%
Burundi	6.13%	2.90%	-3.23 p.p.	-53%
Cambodia	0.43%	0.47%	0.05 p.p.	11%
Cameroon	2.26%	2.18%	-0.08 p.p.	-3%
Canada	15.73%	21.33%	5.59 p.p.	36%
Cape Verde	2.64%	2.84%	0.20 p.p.	7%
Central African Republic	2.40%	1.83%	-0.56 p.p.	-23%
Chad	1.25%	3.33%	2.09 p.p.	167%
Chile	0.81%	8.61%	7.79 p.p.	962%
China	0.03%	0.07%	0.04 p.p.	125%
Colombia	0.32%	3.75%	3.43 p.p.	1089%
Comoros	3.42%	1.44%	-1.98 p.p.	-58%
Congo	5.49%	7.02%	1.53 p.p.	28%
Costa Rica	13.39%	10.22%	-3.17 p.p.	-24%
Cote d'Ivoire	15.23%	9.72%	-5.51 p.p.	-36%
Croatia	9.95%	12.86%	2.91 p.p.	29%
Cuba	0.33%	0.03%	-0.30 p.p.	-92%
Cyprus	5.71%	15.77%	10.05 p.p.	176%
Czechia	1.07%	5.05%	3.98 p.p.	373%
Democratic Republic of Congo	2.18%	1.06%	-1.11 p.p.	-51%
Denmark	4.58%	12.39%	7.81 p.p.	171%
Djibouti	20.70%	12.12%	-8.58 p.p.	-41%
Dominica	3.58%	11.51%	7.93 p.p.	222%
Dominican Republic	4.08%	5.57%	1.48 p.p.	36%
Ecuador	0.77%	4.45%	3.68 p.p.	478%
Egypt	0.31%	0.53%	0.22 p.p.	72%
El Salvador	0.90%	0.66%	-0.24 p.p.	-27%
Equatorial Guinea	0.65%	16.44%	15.78 p.p.	2413%
Eritrea	0.53%	0.39%	-0.13 p.p.	-25%
Estonia	24.41%	15.02%	-9.38 p.p.	-38%
Eswatini	9.12%	2.83%	-6.29 p.p.	-69%
Ethiopia	2.41%	0.94%	-1.47 p.p.	-61%
Faeroe Islands	9.01%	10.96%²	1.95 p.p.	22%
Falkland Islands	42.69%	50.53%²	7.84 p.p.	18%
Fiji	1.82%	1.57%	-0.25 p.p.	-14%
Finland	1.27%	6.97%	5.70 p.p.	450%
France	10.41%	13.06%	2.65 p.p.	25%
French Guiana	54.35%	41.09%²	-13.26 p.p.	-24%
Gabon	13.50%	18.72%	5.22 p.p.	39%
Gambia	12.36%	8.92%	-3.44 p.p.	-28%
Georgia	5.63%	1.99%	-3.64 p.p.	-65%
Germany	7.51%	18.81%	11.30 p.p.	151%
Ghana	1.12%	1.53%	0.42 p.p.	37%
Greece	6.04%	12.86%	6.81 p.p.	113%
Greenland	16.71%	10.52%²	-6.19 p.p.	-37%
Grenada	4.43%	6.41%	1.98 p.p.	45%
Guadeloupe	18.72%	21.13%²	2.41 p.p.	13%
Guatemala	2.85%	0.47%	-2.38 p.p.	-83%
Guinea	6.35%	0.93%	-5.43 p.p.	-85%
Guinea-Bissau	1.58%	0.91%	-0.66 p.p.	-42%
Guyana	0.55%	3.96%	3.41 p.p.	619%
Haiti	0.27%	0.17%	-0.11 p.p.	-39%
Honduras	5.46%	0.40%	-5.06 p.p.	-93%
Hong Kong	38.73%	39.52%	0.78 p.p.	2%
Hungary	3.35%	6.05%	2.70 p.p.	81%
Iceland	3.76%	19.17%	15.41 p.p.	410%
India	0.87%	0.35%	-0.52 p.p.	-59%
Indonesia	0.26%	0.13%	-0.13 p.p.	-49%
Iran	7.61%	3.33%	-4.28 p.p.	-56%
Iraq	0.48%	0.91%	0.43 p.p.	89%
Ireland	6.49%	17.64%	11.15 p.p.	172%
Israel	36.70%	22.57%	-14.13 p.p.	-39%
Italy	2.50%	10.56%	8.06 p.p.	322%
Jamaica	0.85%	0.80%	-0.05 p.p.	-6%
Japan	0.86%	2.19%	1.33 p.p.	154%
Jordan	32.15%	33.89%	1.74 p.p.	5%
Kazakhstan	22.09%	19.88%	-2.21 p.p.	-10%
Kenya	1.26%	1.95%	0.70 p.p.	55%
Kiribati	2.99%	2.62%	-0.37 p.p.	-12%
Kuwait	51.27%	72.83%	21.55 p.p.	42%
Kyrgyzstan	14.25%	3.05%	-11.20 p.p.	-79%
Laos	0.54%	0.67%	0.13 p.p.	25%
Latvia	24.25%	12.69%	-11.55 p.p.	-48%
Lebanon	18.68%	25.09%	6.41 p.p.	34%
Lesotho	0.48%	0.56%	0.08 p.p.	16%
Liberia	4.58%	1.74%	-2.84 p.p.	-62%
Libya	10.30%	12.03%	1.73 p.p.	17%
Liechtenstein	37.88%	67.85%	29.97 p.p.	79%
Lithuania	9.45%	5.33%	-4.12 p.p.	-44%
Luxembourg	29.81%	47.62%	17.81 p.p.	60%
Madagascar	0.21%	0.13%	-0.08 p.p.	-38%
Malawi	11.99%	1.00%	-10.99 p.p.	-92%
Malaysia	3.86%	10.74%	6.88 p.p.	178%
Maldives	3.89%	12.96%	9.07 p.p.	233%
Mali	1.90%	2.40%	0.50 p.p.	26%
Malta	4.17%	25.99%	21.83 p.p.	524%
Marshall Islands	2.45%	5.57%	3.12 p.p.	127%
Martinique	10.77%	16.75%²	5.98 p.p.	55%
Mauritania	5.49%	3.92%	-1.57 p.p.	-29%
Mauritius	0.34%	2.27%	1.93 p.p.	564%
Mexico	0.83%	0.93%	0.10 p.p.	12%
Moldova	12.46%	2.59%	-9.88 p.p.	-79%
Monaco	69.17%	67.78%	-1.39 p.p.	-2%
Mongolia	0.31%	0.65%	0.34 p.p.	111%
Montenegro	12.58%¹	11.30%	-1.27 p.p.	-10%
Montserrat	18.76%	21.79%²	3.03 p.p.	16%
Morocco	0.22%	0.28%	0.06 p.p.	25%
Mozambique	0.94%	1.08%	0.14 p.p.	15%
Myanmar	0.32%	0.14%	-0.18 p.p.	-56%
Namibia	8.42%	4.30%	-4.11 p.p.	-49%
Nauru	29.61%	20.32%	-9.30 p.p.	-31%
Nepal	2.27%	1.67%	-0.60 p.p.	-26%
Netherlands	7.90%	13.76%	5.86 p.p.	74%
New Caledonia	22.20%	25.45%²	3.25 p.p.	15%
New Zealand	15.24%	28.65%	13.41 p.p.	88%
Nicaragua	0.99%	0.64%	-0.35 p.p.	-36%
Niger	1.44%	1.44%	>-0.01 p.p.	>-1%
Nigeria	0.48%	0.64%	0.16 p.p.	32%
North Korea	0.17%	0.19%	0.02 p.p.	14%
North Macedonia	4.77%	6.30%	1.54 p.p.	32%
Norway	4.53%	15.72%	11.19 p.p.	247%
Oman	16.78%	46.47%	29.69 p.p.	177%
Pakistan	5.77%	1.48%	-4.28 p.p.	-74%
Palau	18.59%	28.12%	9.53 p.p.	51%
Palestine	13.72%	5.35%	-8.37 p.p.	-61%
Panama	2.54%	7.26%	4.72 p.p.	186%
Papua New Guinea	0.73%	0.35%	-0.38 p.p.	-52%
Paraguay	4.64%	2.38%	-2.26 p.p.	-49%
Peru	0.26%	3.71%	3.46 p.p.	1345%
Philip.p.ines	0.25%	0.21%	-0.04 p.p.	-17%
Poland	2.97%	2.16%	-0.81 p.p.	-27%
Portugal	4.40%	9.83%	5.42 p.p.	123%
Puerto Rico	9.12%	7.59%²	-1.53 p.p.	-17%
Qatar	65.04%	77.27%	12.23 p.p.	19%
Reunion	9.47%	14.39%²	4.91 p.p.	52%
Romania	0.58%	3.67%	3.09 p.p.	534%
Russia	7.81%	7.97%	0.16 p.p.	2%
Rwanda	2.19%	3.97%	1.77 p.p.	81%
Saint Kitts and Nevis	7.97%	14.52%	6.55 p.p.	82%
Saint Lucia	3.84%	4.54%	0.70 p.p.	18%
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	19.69%	19.14%²	-0.55 p.p.	-3%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	3.69%	4.27%	0.58 p.p.	16%
Samoa	2.06%	2.03%	-0.03 p.p.	-2%
San Marino	13.72%	16.33%	2.61 p.p.	19%
Sao Tome and Principe	4.68%	0.98%	-3.71 p.p.	-79%
Saudi Arabia	30.79%	38.65%	7.86 p.p.	26%
Senegal	3.59%	1.64%	-1.95 p.p.	-54%
Serbia	1.04%	9.42%	8.38 p.p.	803%
Seychelles	5.27%	13.27%	8.00 p.p.	152%
Sierra Leone	5.14%	0.67%	-4.47 p.p.	-87%
Singapore	24.14%	43.14%	19.00 p.p.	79%
Slovakia	0.78%	3.61%	2.83 p.p.	362%
Slovenia	8.88%	13.37%	4.50 p.p.	51%
Solomon Islands	1.35%	0.37%	-0.99 p.p.	-73%
Somalia	6.62%	0.37%	-6.25 p.p.	-94%
South Africa	3.16%	4.82%	1.66 p.p.	52%
South Korea	0.10%	3.37%	3.27 p.p.	3238%
South Sudan	2.43%¹	7.88%	5.46 p.p.	225%
Spain	2.10%	14.63%	12.54 p.p.	598%
Sri Lanka	0.24%	0.19%	-0.05 p.p.	-22%
Sudan	6.96%	3.15%	-3.82 p.p.	-55%
Suriname	4.46%	8.15%	3.68 p.p.	83%
Sweden	9.21%	19.84%	10.63 p.p.	116%
Switzerland	20.93%	28.79%	7.86 p.p.	38%
Syria	5.74%	4.96%	-0.77 p.p.	-13%
Tajikistan	8.12%	2.89%	-5.22 p.p.	-64%
Tanzania	2.28%	0.71%	-1.56 p.p.	-69%
Thailand	0.94%	5.20%	4.27 p.p.	457%
Togo	2.25%	3.38%	1.13 p.p.	50%
Tonga	3.06%	3.54%	0.48 p.p.	16%
Trinidad and Tobago	4.15%	5.63%	1.49 p.p.	36%
Tunisia	0.46%	0.51%	0.05 p.p.	10%
Turkey	2.16%	7.18%	5.02 p.p.	233%
Turkmenistan	8.32%	3.23%	-5.09 p.p.	-61%
Tuvalu	3.57%	2.03%	-1.54 p.p.	-43%
Uganda	3.14%	3.76%	0.63 p.p.	20%
Ukraine	13.39%	11.43%	-1.97 p.p.	-15%
United Arab Emirates	71.46%	88.13%	16.67 p.p.	23%
United Kingdom	6.39%	13.79%	7.40 p.p.	116%
United States	9.22%	15.30%	6.08 p.p.	66%
Uruguay	3.15%	3.12%	-0.04 p.p.	-1%
Uzbekistan	8.10%	3.47%	-4.63 p.p.	-57%
Vanuatu	1.57%	1.06%	-0.51 p.p.	-33%
Venezuela	5.22%	4.66%	-0.56 p.p.	-11%
Vietnam	0.04%	0.08%	0.04 p.p.	93%
Western Sahara	0.97%	0.83%²	-0.14 p.p.	-15%
World	2.87%	3.60%	0.73 p.p.	25%
Yemen	1.01%	1.30%	0.28 p.p.	28%
Zambia	3.48%	1.02%	-2.46 p.p.	-71%
Zimbabwe	6.08%	2.80%	-3.28 p.p.	-54%

¹Data as of 2010 due to data availability
²Data as of 2015 due to data availability

Higher immigration levels are generally correlated with higher standards of living and advanced economies. For instance, North America, Europe, and Oceania all have a relatively high proportion of immigrants.

The United States is home to the largest number of immigrants—over 50 million—which now make up 15% of the country’s population. Since 1990, the proportion of immigrants in the country has continued to rise. As with most advanced economies, immigration has helped to counter a decline in fertility rates.

Over the last 30 years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has had the highest immigration by country, with 88% of its population being defined as immigrants in 2020. The country has the highest GDP per capita of any of its neighboring countries, and draws many migrant workers.

Meanwhile, South Korea has seen the largest relative increase in immigrants over the last three decades. Faced with the lowest fertility rate in the world and an aging population, the country has enacted policy reforms to encourage immigration, including a formal guest worker program and local voting rights for permanent foreign residents.

Integration or Separation?

Immigrants can help fill labor gaps and drive economic innovation in their new country of residence. Depending on their destination, they may benefit from things like higher pay, access to better education, and a more stable political climate.

Notably, countries respond to immigration in different ways. In one study measuring what governments are doing to integrate migrants, Sweden ranked at the top. The country offers non-EU citizens equal access to education, labor market rights and its social safety net, and it also has strong anti-discrimination laws.

On the flip side, immigrants may face challenges integrating into other countries. For instance, the UAE’s kafala (sponsorship) system is structured so that employment visas are granted by local individuals or companies rather than the state. This gives employers enhanced power over their workers, and in the past it has resulted in alleged human rights abuses.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Energy

Mapped: Renewable Energy and Battery Installations in the U.S. in 2023

This graphic describes new U.S. renewable energy installations by state along with nameplate capacity, planned to come online in 2023.

Published

3 days ago

May 30, 2023

Alan Kennedy

Renewable and Battery Installations in the U.S. in 2023

This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on real assets and resource megatrends each week.

Renewable energy, in particular solar power, is set to shine in 2023. This year, the U.S. plans to get over 80% of its new energy installations from sources like battery, solar, and wind.

The above map uses data from EIA to highlight planned U.S. renewable energy and battery storage installations by state for 2023.

Total U.S. renewable energy and battery installations, broken down by share

Texas and California Leading in Renewable Energy

Nearly every state in the U.S. has plans to produce new clean energy in 2023, but it’s not a surprise to see the two most populous states in the lead of the pack.

Even though the majority of its power comes from natural gas, Texas currently leads the U.S. in planned renewable energy installations. The state also has plans to power nearly 900,000 homes using new wind energy.

California is second, which could be partially attributable to the passing of Title 24, an energy code that makes it compulsory for new buildings to have the equipment necessary to allow the easy installation of solar panels, battery storage, and EV charging.

New solar power in the U.S. isn’t just coming from places like Texas and California. In 2023, Ohio will add 1,917 MW of new nameplate solar capacity, with Nevada and Colorado not far behind.

Top 10 States	Battery (MW)	Solar (MW)	Wind (MW)	Total (MW)
Texas	1,981	6,462	1,941	10,385
California	4,555	4,293	123	8,970
Nevada	678	1,596	0	2,274
Ohio	12	1,917	5	1,934
Colorado	230	1,187	200	1,617
New York	58	509	559	1,125
Wisconsin	4	939	92	1,034
Florida	3	978	0	980
Kansas	0	0	843	843
Illinois	0	363	477	840

The state of New York is also looking to become one of the nation’s leading renewable energy providers. The New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) is making real strides towards this objective with 11% of the nation’s new wind power projects expected to come online in 2023.

According to the data, New Hampshire is the only state in the U.S. that has no new utility-scale renewable energy installations planned for 2023. However, the state does have plans for a massive hydroelectric plant that should come online in 2024.

Decarbonizing Energy

Renewable energy is considered essential to reduce global warming and CO2 emissions.

In line with the efforts by each state to build new renewable installations, the Biden administration has set a goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and a net zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.

The EIA forecasts the share of U.S. electricity generation from renewable sources rising from 22% in 2022 to 23% in 2023 and to 26% in 2024.