Immigration by Country 2026

Immigration is the international movement of people from their country of origin to another country where they settle. Immigrants, often referred to as foreign-born residents, move to a new country for many reasons, including economic opportunity, employment, family reunification, education, and access to resources.

The proportion of immigrants varies considerably from country to country, and for several reasons. Some countries are easy to immigrate to—in fact, some countries will actually encourage immigrants from the United States—while other countries are harder to immigrate to by comparison.

The data shown in this article reflects immigration levels in 2024, the most recent year with available global data as of early 2026. The table above displays countries based on the number of people who immigrated during that year.

Countries with the Highest Numbers of Immigrants

Based on the latest available data for 2024, a small number of countries accounted for the largest shares of global immigration. India (18.5 million) recorded the highest number of immigrants during the year, followed by China (11.7 million) and Mexico (11.6 million). Other countries with large immigrant inflows included Ukraine (9.8 million), Russia (9.1 million), and Syria (8.9 million), reflecting a mix of economic migration, regional mobility, and displacement linked to conflict.

The Difference between Immigrants and Emigrants

The difference between the words “immigration/immigrant” and “emigration/emigrant” can be confusing. Technically speaking, the two terms are opposites, but it can be difficult to tell from their definitions. An immigrant is someone who came to the country where they now live from somewhere else. In contrast, an emigrant is someone who left their home country and moved somewhere else. In other words, the person moving is both an immigrant and an emigrant, depending upon whether the person speaking or writing the word lives in the home country or the destination country.

This nuance is often easier to understand with an example: Imagine a person who was born in South Africa, but now lives permanently in the United States. To their new friends in the U.S., that person is an immigrant, because they immigrated to—or came to—the United States. But to their old friends in South Africa, that same person is an emigrant because they emigrated from—or left—South Africa.

When used in the context of national populations, “immigrants” refers to foreign-born residents who have moved to that country and “emigrants” refers to people who have left that country to live somewhere else.