International migrants by country
Explore detailed tables on the number and share of immigrants and emigrants by country.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Explore detailed tables on the number and share of immigrants and emigrants by country.
Nearly 14% of the U.S. population is foreign-born. That’s the highest share of foreign-born people in the country since 1910, but it’s far from the highest in the world.
As the number of international migrants reaches new highs, people around the world show little appetite for more migration – both into and out of their countries.
In 2016, 17.2% of U.S. immigrants ages 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree and another 12.8% had attained a postgraduate degree. Both shares are up since 1980.
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.
Growth in the number of emigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean has slowed – due in large part to a slowdown of people leaving Mexico.
A record 276,500 foreign graduates received work permits under the Optional Practical Training program in the U.S. in 2017, up from 257,100 in 2016.
Sub-Saharan immigrants in the United States are also more highly educated than the U.S. native born population.
The number of Muslim refugees admitted to the U.S. in the first half of fiscal 2018 has dropped from the previous year more than any other religious group.
The employment of high-skilled foreign workers with H-1B visas centered in large East Coast and Texas metro areas in fiscal 2010-2016.
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