Top 10 · society
Top 10 countries by foreign-born population
Share of residents born in another country. UN DESA International Migrant Stock data, latest year 2024, covering 195 countries. Ranked biggest first.
The top 10
1st of 195 · 2024
Vatican City100 % of population
- 2ndQatar76.7 % of population
- 3rdUnited Arab Emirates74 % of population
- 4thMonaco70.2 % of population
- 5thLiechtenstein69.4 % of population
- 6thKuwait67.3 % of population
- 7thAndorra59.1 % of population
- 8thBahrain52.3 % of population
- 9thLuxembourg51.2 % of population
- 10thSingapore48.7 % of population
The other end · bottom 5 of 195
- 191stMyanmar0.1 % of population
- 192ndMadagascar0.1 % of population
- 193rdChina0.1 % of population
- 194thPhilippines0.1 % of population
- 195thCuba0 % of population
Where the big countries land
- 40thUnited States15.2 % of population
- 181stIndia0.3 % of population
- 30thGermany19.8 % of population
- 166thBrazil0.7 % of population
Common questions
Questions people ask about foreign-born population
Which country ranks highest for foreign-born population?
Vatican City ranks 1st of 195 countries at 100 % of population (2024 data). Source: UN DESA International Migrant Stock.
Which countries are in the top 10 for foreign-born population?
The top 10 are Vatican City, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Kuwait, Andorra, Bahrain, Luxembourg and Singapore — computed from UN DESA International Migrant Stock data, latest year 2024.
Where does the United States rank in foreign-born population?
The United States ranks 40th of 195 countries at 15.2 % of population (2024 data). Source: UN DESA International Migrant Stock.
What is the median foreign-born population worldwide?
Across the 195 countries covered, the median is 4.4 % of population. Values run from 100 % of population (Vatican City, ranked 1st) to 0 % of population (Cuba, ranked 195th).
Is foreign-born population higher in Europe or the US?
The median across 45 European countries is 14.2 % of population, against 15.2 % of population in the United States — it is higher in the US. Source: UN DESA International Migrant Stock.
Which country ranks lowest for foreign-born population?
Cuba sits at the other end of the list: 0 % of population ranks 195th of 195 (2024 data). Source: UN DESA International Migrant Stock.
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More on society
- Median ageAge that splits the population in half.
- Birth rateLive births per 1,000 residents per year.
- Marriage rateMarriages per 1,000 residents per year.
- Divorce rateDivorces per 1,000 residents per year.
- Internet accessShare of people (countries) or households (states) online.
- Fertility rateAverage number of children a woman would have over her lifetime.
Who leads the world
- Monacotops life expectancy86.5 years
- Singaporetops homicide rate0.1 per 100k
- Bulgariatops paid maternity leave59 weeks
Vatican City leads on foreign-born population — see where it lands on every other measure, and which US state it most resembles.
From the blog: Census, BEA, CDC, BLS: why US state data is unusually good
All 68 measures →Every country ranked →Every US state →All the Top 10s →The overall board →How we read the data →