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.

Rank
Country
Share (%) of international migrants in total population (2024)
1
🇶🇦 Qatar
76.7
2
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
74.0
3
🇲🇨 Monaco
70.2
4
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein
69.4
5
🇰🇼 Kuwait
67.3
6
🇦🇩 Andorra
59.1
7
🇧🇭 Bahrain
52.3
8
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
51.2
9
🇸🇬 Singapore
48.7
10
🇯🇴 Jordan
45.7
11
🇴🇲 Oman
43.2
12
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
40.3
13
🇲🇹 Malta
37.0
14
🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda
32.5
15
🇨🇭 Switzerland
31.1
16
🇦🇺 Australia
30.4
17
🇵🇼 Palau
29.5
18
🇳🇿 New Zealand
28.2
19
🇧🇳 Brunei
25.9
20
🇦🇹 Austria
25.5
21
🇮🇸 Iceland
25.1
22
🇱🇧 Lebanon
24.5
23
🇫🇲 Micronesia
23.4
24
🇮🇪 Ireland
23.1
25
🇮🇱 Israel
22.3
26
🇨🇦 Canada
22.2
27
🇸🇪 Sweden
21.4
28
🇳🇷 Nauru
21.3
29
🇧🇪 Belgium
20.0
30
🇩🇪 Germany
19.8
31
🇪🇸 Spain
18.5
32
🇳🇴 Norway
18.2
33
🇬🇦 Gabon
17.7
34
🇸🇲 San Marino
17.4
35
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
17.1
36
🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis
17.0
37
🇧🇸 Bahamas
16.8
38
🇧🇿 Belize
16.5
39
🇳🇱 Netherlands
16.2
40
🇺🇸 United States
15.2
41
🇨🇾 Cyprus
14.9
42
🇪🇪 Estonia
14.9
43
🇸🇮 Slovenia
14.9
44
🇲🇪 Montenegro
14.4
45
🇩🇰 Denmark
14.2
46
🇬🇷 Greece
14.2
47
🇲🇻 Maldives
14.2
48
🇫🇷 France
13.8
49
🇭🇷 Croatia
13.6
50
🇺🇦 Ukraine
13.4
51
🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea
13.2
52
🇩🇲 Dominica
12.7
53
🇧🇧 Barbados
12.5
54
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
12.2
55
🇱🇾 Libya
12.2
56
🇱🇻 Latvia
11.8
57
🇧🇾 Belarus
11.6
58
🇮🇹 Italy
11.0
59
🇩🇯 Djibouti
10.8
60
🇵🇹 Portugal
10.8
61
🇲🇾 Malaysia
10.7
62
🇵🇦 Panama
10.6
63
🇷🇸 Serbia
10.6
64
🇸🇨 Seychelles
10.2
65
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
10.1
66
🇨🇿 Czechia
9.5
67
🇸🇭 Saint Helena
9.4
68
🇦🇲 Armenia
9.2
69
🇫🇮 Finland
9.2
70
🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire
9.0
71
🇲🇭 Marshall Islands
8.8
72
🇬🇲 Gambia
8.6
73
🇲🇰 North Macedonia
8.3
74
🇸🇷 Suriname
8.2
75
🇹🇷 Türkiye
8.1
76
🇨🇱 Chile
7.8
77
🇸🇸 South Sudan
7.7
78
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
7.5
79
🇭🇺 Hungary
7.1
80
🇧🇹 Bhutan
7.0
81
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
6.5
82
🇬🇾 Guyana
6.5
83
🇹🇩 Chad
6.3
84
🇬🇩 Grenada
6.3
85
🇲🇩 Moldova
6.2
86
🇨🇬 Congo
6.1
87
🇱🇹 Lithuania
6.1
88
🇸🇰 Slovakia
5.9
89
🇨🇴 Colombia
5.8
90
🇵🇪 Peru
5.4
91
🇷🇺 Russia
5.3
92
🇵🇸 State of Palestine
5.0
93
Saint Vincent and Grenadines
4.8
94
🇸🇩 Sudan
4.8
95
🇺🇾 Uruguay
4.7
96
🇧🇼 Botswana
4.6
97
🇵🇱 Poland
4.5
98
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia
4.5
99
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
4.4
100
🇹🇭 Thailand
4.4
101
🇻🇪 Venezuela
4.4
102
🇦🇷 Argentina
4.3
103
🇮🇷 Iran
4.2
104
🇪🇨 Ecuador
4.1
105
🇿🇦 South Africa
4.1
106
🇺🇬 Uganda
4.1
107
🇲🇷 Mauritania
3.8
108
🇳🇦 Namibia
3.8
109
🇷🇼 Rwanda
3.6
110
🇸🇾 Syria
3.6
111
🇰🇷 South Korea
3.5
112
🇷🇴 Romania
3.4
113
🇹🇴 Tonga
3.4
114
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan
3.2
115
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
3.1
116
🇨🇻 Cabo Verde
3.1
117
🇹🇬 Togo
3.0
118
🇧🇯 Benin
2.9
119
🇧🇮 Burundi
2.8
120
🇯🇵 Japan
2.8
121
🇸🇿 Eswatini
2.7
122
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan
2.7
123
🇵🇾 Paraguay
2.6
124
🇹🇯 Tajikistan
2.6
125
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan
2.6
126
🇹🇻 Tuvalu
2.6
127
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
2.6
128
🇰🇮 Kiribati
2.5
129
🇲🇺 Mauritius
2.3
130
🇨🇲 Cameroon
2.2
131
🇲🇱 Mali
2.2
132
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan
2.1
133
🇬🇪 Georgia
2.1
134
🇦🇴 Angola
1.8
135
🇨🇫 Central African Republic
1.8
136
🇰🇪 Kenya
1.8
137
🇼🇸 Samoa
1.8
138
🇦🇱 Albania
1.7
139
🇧🇩 Bangladesh
1.7
140
🇳🇬 Niger
1.7
141
🇵🇰 Pakistan
1.7
142
🇳🇵 Nepal
1.6
143
🇧🇴 Bolivia
1.5
144
🇫🇯 Fiji
1.5
145
🇬🇭 Ghana
1.5
146
🇸🇳 Senegal
1.5
147
🇰🇲 Comoros
1.4
148
🇱🇷 Liberia
1.3
149
🇲🇽 Mexico
1.3
150
🇿🇲 Zambia
1.2
151
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina
1.1
152
🇨🇩 DR Congo
1.0
153
🇪🇬 Egypt
1.0
154
🇲🇿 Mozambique
1.0
155
🇻🇺 Vanuatu
1.0
156
🇾🇪 Yemen
1.0
157
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
0.9
158
🇲🇼 Malawi
0.9
159
🇬🇳 Guinea
0.8
160
🇮🇶 Iraq
0.8
161
🇯🇲 Jamaica
0.8
162
🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe
0.8
163
🇧🇷 Brazil
0.7
164
🇸🇻 El Salvador
0.7
165
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau
0.7
166
Laos
0.7
167
🇹🇿 Tanzania
0.7
168
🇩🇿 Algeria
0.6
169
🇱🇸 Lesotho
0.6
170
🇲🇳 Mongolia
0.6
171
🇳🇮 Nicaragua
0.6
172
🇳🇬 Nigeria
0.6
173
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
0.6
174
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste
0.6
175
🇰🇭 Cambodia
0.5
176
🇬🇹 Guatemala
0.5
177
🇹🇳 Tunisia
0.5
178
🇪🇷 Eritrea
0.4
179
🇭🇳 Honduras
0.4
180
🇸🇴 Somalia
0.4
181
🇮🇳 India
0.3
182
🇲🇦 Morocco
0.3
183
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea
0.3
184
🇸🇧 Solomon Islands
0.3
185
🇻🇳 Vietnam
0.3
186
🇦🇫 Afghanistan
0.2
187
🇰🇵 North Korea
0.2
188
🇭🇹 Haiti
0.2
189
🇮🇩 Indonesia
0.2
190
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
0.2
191
🇨🇳 China
0.1
192
🇲🇬 Madagascar
0.1
193
🇲🇲 Myanmar
0.1
194
🇵🇭 Philippines
0.1
195
🇨🇺 Cuba
0.0

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.