How European and U.S. unauthorized immigrant populations compare
The size of Europe’s unauthorized immigrant population in 2017 was less than half the number in the United States.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The size of Europe’s unauthorized immigrant population in 2017 was less than half the number in the United States.
Majorities in top migrant destination countries say immigrants strengthen their countries. Yet publics are divided on immigrants’ willingness to adopt their host country’s customs.
Money sent by immigrants to their home countries in sub-Saharan Africa reached a record $41 billion in 2017.
Many Nigerians, Tunisians and Kenyans say they plan to leave their countries in the next five years. Some who plan to migrate say they have taken steps to do so, such as gathering information about a destination country and saving money.
More than 22.4 million people applied in 2017 to a U.S. visa program that provides 50,000 green cards each year through a lottery system. The number of applicants nearly matched the record 23 million applicants received in 2016 and came as the Trump administration and some members of Congress have sought to eliminate the program – the only one of its kind globally.
Remittance flows decreased worldwide for a second consecutive year in 2016, the first back-to-back decline in over three decades. Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean, however, rose to a record high.
Sub-Saharan African nations account for nine of the 10 fastest growing international migrant populations since 2010.
Millions of people around the world have migrated to the U.S. and other countries in recent years – some voluntarily, others to flee political turmoil, persecution or war.
Some 244 million people worldwide have left their countries of birth – many seeking improved economic opportunities or fleeing physical danger – but the impact of out-migration has been uneven worldwide.
Worldwide, an estimated $582 billion was sent by migrants to relatives in their home countries in 2015, a 2% decline from 2014.
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