Money
Millionaire Migrants: Countries That Rich People Are Flocking To
Millionaire Migrants: Countries That Rich People Are Flocking To
The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays.
Money may not buy happiness, but it does buy the ultimate flexibility for making financial and lifestyle decisions.
For many of the world’s millionaires, money provides a highly effective means to escape their home country when times get tough. They can pack their bags, and move their family and capital to a location that will provide superior opportunities for prosperity.
According to a new report by New World Wealth, this couldn’t have been truer for 2016, as the amount of millionaire migrants increased by 28% from the previous year.
Human and Capital Flight
In 2016, there were a total of 82,000 millionaire migrants that left for greener pastures.
The Top Five Countries (Net Outflows)
Country | 2016 | 2015 | Change | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | France | -12,000 | -10,000 | 20% |
2 | China | -9,000 | -9,000 | 0% |
3 | Brazil | -8,000 | -2,000 | 300% |
4 | India | -6,000 | -4,000 | 50% |
5 | Turkey | -6,000 | -1000 | 500% |
France tops the list for a second straight year, as rich people dodge conditions that they consider to be adverse. France has rising religious tensions and populism, but it also has a tax system that is not particularly friendly to the ultra rich. The International Business Times calls the ongoing problem a “Millionaire Exodus”.
China and India both continue to have net outflows of millionaires, but two of the more interesting countries on this list are Brazil and Turkey.
Brazil continues to be deep in economic crisis, with its worst-ever recession likely continuing into its eighth-straight quarter in Q4 2016. The country also recently impeached Dilma Rousseff in August 2016. On the other hand, the Washington Post describes Turkey as a country that is in a “permanent state of crisis”. This may be a fair criticism, since in 2016 there was the assassination of a Russian ambassador, a currency crisis, an economic crisis, and also an attempted military coup.
Like most people, millionaires don’t like uncertainty – and they have the wherewithal and conviction to get out of places that have ongoing issues.
The Top Five Countries (Net Inflows)
Country | 2016 | 2015 | Increase | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Australia | +11,000 | +8,000 | 38% |
2 | USA | +10,000 | +7,000 | 43% |
3 | Canada | +8,000 | +5,000 | 60% |
4 | UAE | +5,000 | +3,000 | 67% |
5 | New Zealand | +4,000 | +2,000 | 100% |
In 2016, Australia was the number one destination for millionaire migrants, with the United States and Canada being close behind.
New Zealand also had the amount of net inflows double, while the UAE remained a popular location for the wealthy in the Middle East.
Money
Animated Chart: Remittance Flows and GDP Impact By Country
Which countries rely on remittance flows the most? This animation shows the amount of remittance income that countries received in 2022.

Visualizing Remittance Flows and GDP Impact By Country
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the flow of global immigration by 27%. Alongside it, travel restrictions, job losses, and mounting health concerns meant that many migrant workers couldn’t send money in the form of remittances back to families in their home countries.
This flow of remittances received by countries dropped by 1.5% to $711 billion globally in 2020. But over the next two years, things quickly turned back around.
As visa approvals restarted and international borders opened, so did international migration and global remittance flows. In 2021, total global remittances were estimated at $781 billion and have further risen to $794 billion in 2022.
In these images, Richie Lionell uses the World Bank’s KNOMAD data to visualize this increasing flow of money across international borders in 176 countries.
Why Do Remittances Matter?
Remittances contribute to the economy of nations worldwide, especially low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
They have been shown to help alleviate poverty, improve nutrition, and even increase school enrollment rates in these nations. Research has also found that these inflows of income can help recipient households become resilient, especially in the face of disasters.
At the same time, it’s worth noting that these transfers aren’t a silver bullet for recipient nations. In fact, some research shows that overreliance on remittances can cause a vicious cycle that doesn’t translate to consistent economic growth over time.
Countries Receiving the Highest Remittances
For the past 15 years, India has consistently topped the chart of the largest remittance beneficiaries.
Rank | Remittance Inflows by Country | 2022 (USD) |
---|---|---|
1 | India | $100,000M |
2 | Mexico | $60,300M |
3 | China | $51,000M |
4 | Philippines | $38,000M |
5 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | $32,337M |
6 | Pakistan | $29,000M |
7 | France | $28,520M |
8 | Bangladesh | $21,000M |
9 | Nigeria | $20,945M |
10 | Vietnam | $19,000M |
11 | Ukraine | $18,421M |
12 | Guatemala | $18,112M |
13 | Germany | $18,000M |
14 | Belgium | $13,500M |
15 | Uzbekistan | $13,500M |
16 | Morocco | $11,401M |
17 | Romania | $11,064M |
18 | Dominican Republic | $9,920M |
19 | Indonesia | $9,700M |
20 | Thailand | $9,500M |
21 | Colombia | $9,133M |
22 | Italy | $9,000M |
23 | Nepal | $8,500M |
24 | Spain | $8,500M |
25 | Honduras | $8,284M |
26 | Poland | $8,000M |
27 | Korea, Rep. | $7,877M |
28 | El Salvador | $7,620M |
29 | Lebanon | $6,841M |
30 | Israel | $6,143M |
31 | United States | $6,097M |
32 | Russian Federation | $6,000M |
33 | Serbia | $5,400M |
34 | Brazil | $5,045M |
35 | Japan | $5,000M |
36 | Portugal | $4,694M |
37 | Ghana | $4,664M |
38 | Jordan | $4,646M |
39 | Czech Republic | $4,539M |
40 | Haiti | $4,532M |
41 | Ecuador | $4,468M |
42 | Georgia | $4,100M |
43 | Kenya | $4,091M |
44 | Croatia | $3,701M |
45 | Peru | $3,699M |
46 | Sri Lanka | $3,600M |
47 | West Bank and Gaza | $3,495M |
48 | Jamaica | $3,419M |
49 | Armenia | $3,350M |
50 | Tajikistan | $3,200M |
51 | Nicaragua | $3,126M |
52 | Kyrgyz Republic | $3,050M |
53 | Senegal | $2,711M |
54 | Austria | $2,700M |
55 | Switzerland | $2,631M |
56 | Sweden | $2,565M |
57 | United Kingdom | $2,501M |
58 | Hungary | $2,404M |
59 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | $2,400M |
60 | Slovak Republic | $2,300M |
61 | Moldova | $2,170M |
62 | Azerbaijan | $2,150M |
63 | Tunisia | $2,085M |
64 | Zimbabwe | $2,047M |
65 | Luxembourg | $2,000M |
66 | Netherlands | $2,000M |
67 | Myanmar | $1,900M |
68 | Algeria | $1,829M |
69 | Albania | $1,800M |
70 | Somalia | $1735M |
71 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | $1,664M |
72 | Malaysia | $1,620M |
73 | Kosovo | $1,600M |
74 | Denmark | $1,517M |
75 | Latvia | $1,500M |
76 | Bolivia | $1,403M |
77 | Belarus | $1,350M |
78 | Cambodia | $1,250M |
79 | Bermuda | $1,200M |
80 | South Sudan | $1,187M |
81 | Uganda | $1,131M |
82 | Mali | $1,094M |
83 | South Africa | $1,019M |
84 | Sudan | $1,013M |
85 | Argentina | $966M |
86 | Montenegro | $920M |
87 | Finland | $880M |
88 | Bulgaria | $850M |
89 | Slovenia | $800M |
90 | Australia | $737M |
91 | Madagascar | $718M |
92 | Turkey | $710M |
93 | Canada | $700M |
94 | Lithuania | $700M |
95 | Togo | $668M |
96 | Greece | $665M |
97 | Costa Rica | $654M |
98 | Estonia | $626M |
99 | Qatar | $624M |
100 | Iraq | $624M |
101 | Gambia, The | $615M |
102 | Tanzania | $609M |
103 | Norway | $600M |
104 | Panama | $596M |
105 | Burkina Faso | $589M |
106 | Hong Kong SAR, China | $571M |
107 | Paraguay | $554M |
108 | Mozambique | $545M |
109 | Niger | $534M |
110 | Cyprus | $527M |
111 | Lesotho | $527M |
112 | Mongolia | $500M |
113 | Rwanda | $469M |
114 | Fiji | $450M |
115 | North Macedonia | $450M |
116 | Guyana | $400M |
117 | Cabo Verde | $375M |
118 | Kazakhstan | $370M |
119 | Cameroon | $365M |
120 | Cote d'Ivoire | $360M |
121 | Liberia | $351M |
122 | Afghanistan | $350M |
123 | Ethiopia | $327M |
124 | Samoa | $280M |
125 | Mauritius | $279M |
126 | Saudi Arabia | $273M |
127 | Malta | $271M |
128 | Malawi | $267M |
129 | Zambia | $260M |
130 | Tonga | $250M |
131 | Comoros | $250M |
132 | Ireland | $249M |
133 | Suriname | $221M |
134 | Benin | $209M |
135 | Lao PDR | $200M |
136 | Timor-Leste | $185M |
137 | Sierra Leone | $179M |
138 | Guinea-Bissau | $178M |
139 | Trinidad and Tobago | $172M |
140 | Mauritania | $168M |
141 | Iceland | $164M |
142 | Eswatini | $148M |
143 | Belize | $142M |
144 | Curacao | $131M |
145 | Uruguay | $127M |
146 | Chile | $78M |
147 | Vanuatu | $75M |
148 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | $70M |
149 | Grenada | $69M |
150 | Botswana | $56M |
151 | St. Lucia | $55M |
152 | Bhutan | $55M |
153 | Djibouti | $55M |
154 | Dominica | $52M |
155 | Burundi | $50M |
156 | Aruba | $44M |
157 | Namibia | $44M |
158 | Guinea | $41M |
159 | Solomon Islands | $40M |
160 | Oman | $39M |
161 | Antigua and Barbuda | $35M |
162 | St. Kitts and Nevis | $33M |
163 | Marshall Islands | $30M |
164 | Kuwait | $27M |
165 | New Zealand | $25M |
166 | Macao SAR, China | $17M |
167 | Angola | $16M |
168 | Kiribati | $15M |
169 | Cayman Islands | $14M |
170 | Sao Tome and Principe | $10M |
171 | Seychelles | $9M |
172 | Maldives | $5M |
173 | Gabon | $4M |
174 | Palau | $2M |
175 | Papua New Guinea | $2M |
176 | Turkmenistan | $1M |
Total | World | $794,059M |
With an estimated $100 billion in remittances received, India is said to have reached an all-time high in 2022.
This increasing flow of remittances can be partially attributed to migrant Indians switching to high-skilled jobs in high-income countries—including the U.S., the UK, and Singapore—from low-skilled and low-paying jobs in Gulf countries.
Mexico and China round out the top three remittance-receiving nations, with estimated inbound transfers of $60 billion and $51 billion respectively in 2022.
Impact on National GDP
While India tops the list of countries benefitting from remittances, its $100 billion received amounts to only 2.9% of its 2022 GDP.
Meanwhile, low and middle-income countries around the world heavily rely on this source of income to boost their economies in a more substantive way. In 2022, for example, remittances accounted for over 15% of the GDP of 25 countries.
Rank | Remittance Inflows by Country | % of GDP (2022) |
---|---|---|
1 | Tonga | 49.9% |
2 | Lebanon | 37.8% |
3 | Samoa | 33.7% |
4 | Tajikistan | 32.0% |
5 | Kyrgyz Republic | 31.2% |
6 | Gambia, The | 28.3% |
7 | Honduras | 27.1% |
8 | South Sudan | 24.8% |
9 | El Salvador | 23.8% |
10 | Haiti | 22.4% |
11 | Nepal | 21.7% |
12 | Jamaica | 21.2% |
13 | Lesotho | 21.0% |
14 | Somalia | 20.6% |
15 | Comoros | 20.1% |
16 | Nicaragua | 19.9% |
17 | Guatemala | 19.8% |
18 | Armenia | 18.9% |
19 | West Bank and Gaza | 18.5% |
20 | Cabo Verde | 18.2% |
21 | Kosovo | 17.3% |
22 | Uzbekistan | 17.0% |
23 | Georgia | 16.2% |
24 | Moldova | 15.4% |
25 | Montenegro | 15.0% |
26 | Ukraine | 13.8% |
27 | Marshall Islands | 11.0% |
28 | Guinea-Bissau | 10.9% |
29 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 10.1% |
30 | Albania | 9.8% |
31 | Senegal | 9.8% |
32 | Jordan | 9.6% |
33 | Philippines | 9.4% |
34 | Fiji | 9.2% |
35 | Liberia | 9.0% |
36 | Dominican Republic | 8.8% |
37 | Dominica | 8.6% |
38 | Serbia | 8.6% |
39 | Togo | 7.9% |
40 | Morocco | 7.9% |
41 | Pakistan | 7.7% |
42 | Vanuatu | 7.6% |
43 | Timor-Leste | 7.5% |
44 | Suriname | 7.3% |
45 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 7.3% |
46 | Kiribati | 7.2% |
47 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 6.8% |
48 | Ghana | 6.1% |
49 | Mali | 5.9% |
50 | Grenada | 5.8% |
51 | Zimbabwe | 5.3% |
52 | Croatia | 5.3% |
53 | Belize | 5.3% |
54 | Sri Lanka | 4.8% |
55 | Madagascar | 4.7% |
56 | Vietnam | 4.5% |
57 | Bangladesh | 4.5% |
58 | Tunisia | 4.5% |
59 | Cambodia | 4.4% |
60 | Sierra Leone | 4.3% |
61 | Mexico | 4.2% |
62 | Nigeria | 4.1% |
63 | Rwanda | 3.8% |
64 | Ecuador | 3.8% |
65 | Latvia | 3.6% |
66 | Romania | 3.6% |
67 | Niger | 3.6% |
68 | Kenya | 3.5% |
69 | Bolivia | 3.2% |
70 | Burkina Faso | 3.2% |
71 | Myanmar | 3.1% |
72 | North Macedonia | 3.1% |
73 | Mongolia | 3.1% |
74 | Eswatini | 3.1% |
75 | Azerbaijan | 3.0% |
76 | Mozambique | 3.0% |
77 | St. Kitts and Nevis | 2.9% |
78 | India | 2.8% |
79 | St. Lucia | 2.7% |
80 | Guyana | 2.6% |
81 | Colombia | 2.6% |
82 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | 2.6% |
83 | Solomon Islands | 2.4% |
84 | Luxembourg | 2.4% |
85 | Mauritius | 2.4% |
86 | Sudan | 2.3% |
87 | Uganda | 2.3% |
88 | Malawi | 2.3% |
89 | Belgium | 2.2% |
90 | Sao Tome and Principe | 2.0% |
91 | Afghanistan | 2.0% |
92 | Slovak Republic | 2.0% |
93 | Antigua and Barbuda | 2.0% |
94 | Bhutan | 2.0% |
95 | Cyprus | 1.9% |
96 | Portugal | 1.8% |
97 | Thailand | 1.7% |
98 | Belarus | 1.6% |
99 | Mauritania | 1.6% |
100 | Estonia | 1.6% |
101 | Malta | 1.5% |
102 | Peru | 1.5% |
103 | Czech Republic | 1.5% |
104 | Djibouti | 1.4% |
105 | Burundi | 1.3% |
106 | Paraguay | 1.3% |
107 | Hungary | 1.3% |
108 | Slovenia | 1.2% |
109 | Aruba | 1.2% |
110 | Lao PDR | 1.2% |
111 | Benin | 1.1% |
112 | Israel | 1.1% |
113 | Poland | 1.1% |
114 | Lithuania | 1.0% |
115 | France | 1.0% |
116 | Bulgaria | 0.9% |
117 | Algeria | 0.9% |
118 | Zambia | 0.9% |
119 | Costa Rica | 0.9% |
120 | Palau | 0.8% |
121 | Panama | 0.8% |
122 | Cameroon | 0.8% |
123 | Tanzania | 0.7% |
124 | Indonesia | 0.7% |
125 | Spain | 0.6% |
126 | Iceland | 0.5% |
127 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.5% |
128 | Austria | 0.5% |
129 | Cote d'Ivoire | 0.5% |
130 | Seychelles | 0.4% |
131 | Korea, Rep. | 0.4% |
132 | Italy | 0.4% |
133 | Germany | 0.4% |
134 | Sweden | 0.4% |
135 | Denmark | 0.3% |
136 | Malaysia | 0.3% |
137 | Namibia | 0.3% |
138 | Switzerland | 0.3% |
139 | Finland | 0.3% |
140 | Botswana | 0.3% |
141 | Greece | 0.2% |
142 | Ethiopia | 0.2% |
143 | Qatar | 0.2% |
144 | Russian Federation | 0.2% |
145 | Brazil | 0.2% |
146 | China | 0.2% |
147 | South Africa | 0.2% |
148 | Iraq | 0.2% |
149 | Guinea | 0.2% |
150 | Netherlands | 0.2% |
151 | Uruguay | 0.1% |
152 | Kazakhstan | 0.1% |
153 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 0.1% |
154 | Argentina | 0.1% |
155 | Norway | 0.1% |
156 | Japan | 0.1% |
157 | Maldives | 0.08% |
158 | Turkey | 0.08% |
159 | United Kingdom | 0.07% |
160 | Macao SAR, China | 0.07% |
161 | Ireland | 0.05% |
162 | Australia | 0.04% |
163 | Oman | 0.04% |
164 | Saudi Arabia | 0.03% |
165 | Chile | 0.02% |
166 | United States | 0.02% |
167 | Gabon | 0.02% |
168 | Kuwait | 0.01% |
169 | Angola | 0.01% |
170 | New Zealand | 0.01% |
171 | Papua New Guinea | 0.01% |
172 | Turkmenistan | 0.001% |
Known primarily as a tourist destination, the Polynesian country of Tonga banks on remittance inflows to support its economy. In 2022, the country’s incoming remittance flows were equal to almost 50% of its GDP.
Next on this list is Lebanon. The country received $6.8 billion in remittances in 2022, estimated to equal almost 38% of its GDP and making it a key support to the nation’s shrinking economy.
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