Mapped: Countries with the Largest Emigrant Populations
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Key Takeaways
- India tops the list with over 18 million citizens living abroad.
- More than 280 million people live outside their country of birth.
- Some small countries, like Guyana and Samoa, have over half their populations living outside their borders.
- Conflict, jobs, and opportunity are major drivers of emigration.
Migration is often viewed through the lens of immigration (people arriving in a country). But what about those leaving?
This infographic by Iswardi Ishak, using data from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, maps the countries with the highest number of citizens living abroad in 2024.
What is Emigration, and Why Does It Matter?
Simply put, emigration is the opposite of immigration. It refers to the act of leaving one’s country to live elsewhere. While commonly discussed in regions receiving migrants, emigration has major impacts on origin countries too, from remittances to brain drain.
The reasons for leaving vary. Common “push factors” include poverty, violence, corruption, and climate change. Conversely, “pull factors” are driven by better education, jobs, healthcare, and safety abroad.
Ranked: Top Countries by Emigrant Populations
The table below lists the top countries with the highest number of emigrants around the world.
| Rank | Country/Territory | Emigrants | Total Population | Emigrants as % of Total Pop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 18,533,845 | 1,450,935,791 | 1.3% |
| 2 | China | 11,701,619 | 1,419,321,278 | 0.8% |
| 3 | Mexico | 11,596,529 | 130,861,007 | 8.9% |
| 4 | Ukraine | 9,769,216 | 37,860,222 | 25.8% |
| 5 | Russia | 9,134,094 | 144,820,423 | 6.3% |
| 6 | Syria | 8,927,523 | 24,672,760 | 36.2% |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 8,706,947 | 173,562,364 | 5.0% |
| 8 | Venezuela | 8,328,514 | 28,405,543 | 29.3% |
| 9 | Afghanistan | 7,528,994 | 42,647,492 | 17.7% |
| 10 | Philippines | 6,988,383 | 115,843,670 | 6.0% |
| 11 | Pakistan | 6,915,057 | 251,269,164 | 2.8% |
| 12 | Egypt | 4,820,002 | 116,538,258 | 4.1% |
| 13 | United Kingdom | 4,804,944 | 69,138,192 | 6.9% |
| 14 | Romania | 4,583,819 | 19,015,088 | 24.1% |
| 15 | Poland | 4,572,613 | 38,539,201 | 11.9% |
| 16 | Myanmar | 4,320,462 | 54,500,091 | 7.9% |
| 17 | Germany | 4,297,233 | 84,552,242 | 5.1% |
| 18 | Sudan | 3,786,603 | 50,448,963 | 7.5% |
| 19 | Indonesia | 3,745,148 | 283,487,931 | 1.3% |
| 20 | Vietnam | 3,693,537 | 100,987,687 | 3.7% |
| 21 | Colombia | 3,652,238 | 52,886,364 | 6.9% |
| 22 | Morocco | 3,627,829 | 38,081,173 | 9.5% |
| 23 | United States | 3,186,999 | 345,426,571 | 0.9% |
| 24 | South Sudan | 3,168,836 | 11,943,409 | 26.5% |
| 25 | Turkiye | 3,130,337 | 87,473,805 | 3.6% |
| 26 | Italy | 2,941,444 | 59,342,867 | 5.0% |
| 27 | Kazakhstan | 2,796,572 | 20,592,571 | 13.6% |
| 28 | Nepal | 2,637,195 | 29,651,055 | 8.9% |
| 29 | France | 2,547,158 | 66,548,530 | 3.8% |
| 30 | Yemen | 2,480,734 | 40,583,165 | 6.1% |
| 31 | Malaysia | 2,433,875 | 35,557,674 | 6.8% |
| 32 | Iraq | 2,313,028 | 46,042,015 | 5.0% |
| 33 | Brazil | 2,194,325 | 211,998,574 | 1.0% |
| 34 | Uzbekistan | 2,114,480 | 36,361,859 | 5.8% |
| 35 | Congo,Dem.Rep. | 2,097,387 | 109,276,265 | 1.9% |
| 36 | Nigeria | 2,094,265 | 232,679,478 | 0.9% |
| 37 | Burkina Faso | 2,050,050 | 23,548,781 | 8.7% |
| 38 | South Korea | 2,030,473 | 51,717,590 | 3.9% |
| 39 | Haiti | 2,017,692 | 11,772,557 | 17.1% |
| 40 | Somalia | 1,935,594 | 19,009,151 | 10.2% |
| 41 | Dominican Republic | 1,917,153 | 11,427,557 | 16.8% |
| 42 | El Salvador | 1,834,670 | 6,338,193 | 28.9% |
| 43 | Portugal | 1,799,179 | 10,425,293 | 17.3% |
| 44 | Algeria | 1,780,399 | 46,814,308 | 3.8% |
| 45 | Iran | 1,733,468 | 91,567,738 | 1.9% |
| 46 | Peru | 1,672,482 | 34,217,848 | 4.9% |
| 47 | Spain | 1,623,550 | 47,910,527 | 3.4% |
| 48 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1,608,324 | 3,164,253 | 50.8% |
| 49 | Zimbabwe | 1,519,324 | 16,634,373 | 9.1% |
| 50 | Sri Lanka | 1,492,103 | 23,103,565 | 6.5% |
| 51 | Guatemala | 1,460,232 | 18,406,359 | 7.9% |
| 52 | Honduras | 1,397,584 | 10,825,704 | 12.9% |
| 53 | Canada | 1,347,381 | 39,742,430 | 3.4% |
| 54 | Mali | 1,292,519 | 24,478,596 | 5.3% |
| 55 | Bulgaria | 1,252,234 | 6,757,689 | 18.5% |
| 56 | Jamaica | 1,248,512 | 2,839,175 | 44.0% |
| 57 | Ecuador | 1,243,065 | 18,135,478 | 6.9% |
| 58 | Ethiopia | 1,240,645 | 132,059,767 | 0.9% |
| 59 | Hong Kong SAR,China | 1,240,250 | 7,414,910 | 16.7% |
| 60 | Albania | 1,216,628 | 2,791,765 | 43.6% |
| 61 | Coted'Ivoire | 1,211,422 | 31,934,230 | 3.8% |
| 62 | Argentina | 1,183,381 | 45,696,159 | 2.6% |
| 63 | Thailand | 1,178,757 | 71,668,011 | 1.6% |
| 64 | Ghana | 1,055,494 | 34,427,414 | 3.1% |
| 65 | Japan | 1,008,173 | 123,753,041 | 0.8% |
| 66 | South Africa | 1,005,800 | 64,007,187 | 1.6% |
| 67 | Serbia | 963,307 | 6,736,216 | 14.3% |
| 68 | Central African Republic | 905,808 | 5,330,690 | 17.0% |
| 69 | Nicaragua | 905,251 | 6,916,140 | 13.1% |
| 70 | Moldova | 864,257 | 3,034,961 | 28.5% |
| 71 | Croatia | 826,166 | 3,875,325 | 21.3% |
| 72 | Azerbaijan | 810,116 | 10,336,578 | 7.8% |
| 73 | Belarus | 790,232 | 9,056,696 | 8.7% |
| 74 | Bolivia | 783,473 | 12,413,315 | 6.3% |
| 75 | Greece | 780,112 | 10,047,817 | 7.8% |
| 76 | Cambodia | 778,793 | 17,638,801 | 4.4% |
| 77 | Paraguay | 746,362 | 6,929,153 | 10.8% |
| 78 | Senegal | 741,357 | 18,501,985 | 4.0% |
| 79 | Benin | 726,530 | 14,462,724 | 5.0% |
| 80 | Tunisia | 715,249 | 12,277,109 | 5.8% |
| 81 | Ireland | 714,405 | 5,255,018 | 13.6% |
| 82 | Mozambique | 702,796 | 34,631,766 | 2.0% |
| 83 | Lebanon | 681,720 | 5,805,962 | 11.7% |
| 84 | New Zealand | 679,772 | 5,213,944 | 13.0% |
| 85 | Laos | 660,258 | 7,769,819 | 8.5% |
| 86 | Jordan | 659,204 | 11,552,876 | 5.7% |
| 87 | Armenia | 637,604 | 2,973,841 | 21.4% |
| 88 | Netherlands | 631,391 | 18,228,742 | 3.5% |
| 89 | Angola | 616,967 | 37,885,850 | 1.6% |
| 90 | Togo | 584,790 | 9,515,236 | 6.1% |
| 91 | Czechia | 583,214 | 10,735,859 | 5.4% |
| 92 | Uganda | 578,034 | 50,015,093 | 1.2% |
| 93 | Burundi | 576,530 | 14,047,786 | 4.1% |
| 94 | Kyrgyzstan | 540,573 | 7,186,009 | 7.5% |
| 95 | Kenya | 540,466 | 56,432,945 | 1.0% |
| 96 | Rwanda | 539,046 | 14,256,567 | 3.8% |
| 97 | Hungary | 538,794 | 9,676,135 | 5.6% |
| 98 | North Macedonia | 534,616 | 1,823,009 | 29.3% |
| 99 | Belgium | 521,884 | 11,738,764 | 4.4% |
| 100 | Tajikistan | 514,478 | 10,590,928 | 4.9% |
| 101 | Switzerland | 512,547 | 8,921,981 | 5.7% |
| 102 | Guinea | 508,203 | 14,754,786 | 3.4% |
| 103 | Georgia | 496,486 | 3,807,670 | 13.0% |
| 104 | Guyana | 469,649 | 831,087 | 56.5% |
| 105 | Lithuania | 459,268 | 2,859,110 | 16.1% |
| 106 | Chile | 444,451 | 19,764,772 | 2.2% |
| 107 | Niger | 439,378 | 27,032,413 | 1.6% |
| 108 | Australia | 430,718 | 26,713,205 | 1.6% |
| 109 | Austria | 430,560 | 9,120,813 | 4.7% |
| 110 | Malawi | 427,573 | 21,655,286 | 2.0% |
| 111 | Cameroon | 409,677 | 29,123,744 | 1.4% |
| 112 | Slovakia | 389,909 | 5,506,760 | 7.1% |
| 113 | Comoros | 367,574 | 866,628 | 42.4% |
| 114 | Turkmenistan | 365,787 | 7,494,499 | 4.9% |
| 115 | Israel | 324,804 | 9,387,021 | 3.5% |
| 116 | Trinidad and Tobago | 323,630 | 1,507,782 | 21.5% |
| 117 | Chad | 292,298 | 20,299,123 | 1.4% |
| 118 | Singapore | 269,613 | 5,832,387 | 4.6% |
| 119 | Uruguay | 263,285 | 3,386,588 | 7.8% |
| 120 | Suriname | 258,026 | 634,431 | 40.7% |
| 121 | Lesotho | 246,938 | 2,337,423 | 10.6% |
| 122 | Saudi Arabia | 236,699 | 33,962,757 | 0.7% |
| 123 | Congo | 231,080 | 6,332,961 | 3.6% |
| 124 | Tanzania | 225,017 | 68,560,157 | 0.3% |
| 125 | Sweden | 223,508 | 10,606,999 | 2.1% |
| 126 | Madagascar | 212,455 | 31,964,956 | 0.7% |
| 127 | Panama | 194,816 | 4,515,577 | 4.3% |
| 128 | Finland | 181,834 | 5,617,311 | 3.2% |
| 129 | Fiji | 181,025 | 928,784 | 19.5% |
| 130 | Mongolia | 175,596 | 3,475,540 | 5.1% |
| 131 | Kuwait | 167,850 | 4,934,508 | 3.4% |
| 132 | United Arab Emirates | 166,074 | 11,027,129 | 1.5% |
| 133 | Latvia | 161,014 | 1,871,872 | 8.6% |
| 134 | Libya | 156,874 | 7,381,023 | 2.1% |
| 135 | Liberia | 145,919 | 5,612,817 | 2.6% |
| 136 | Equatorial Guinea | 136,825 | 1,892,517 | 7.2% |
| 137 | Denmark | 124,665 | 5,977,412 | 2.1% |
| 138 | Estonia | 124,216 | 1,360,546 | 9.1% |
| 139 | Zambia | 122,793 | 21,314,956 | 0.6% |
| 140 | Norway | 120,891 | 5,576,660 | 2.2% |
| 141 | Samoa | 119,313 | 218,020 | 54.7% |
| 142 | Mauritius | 114,314 | 1,271,169 | 9.0% |
| 143 | Timor-Leste | 109,613 | 1,400,638 | 7.8% |
| 144 | Guinea-Bissau | 103,999 | 2,201,352 | 4.7% |
| 145 | Mauritania | 91,705 | 5,169,396 | 1.8% |
| 146 | Montenegro | 90,678 | 638,479 | 14.2% |
| 147 | Cyprus | 80,760 | 1,358,282 | 5.9% |
| 148 | Slovenia | 78,808 | 2,118,697 | 3.7% |
| 149 | Gambia | 72,452 | 2,759,988 | 2.6% |
| 150 | Sierra Leone | 63,631 | 8,642,023 | 0.7% |
| 151 | Luxembourg | 61,859 | 673,036 | 9.2% |
| 152 | Gabon | 61,160 | 2,538,952 | 2.4% |
| 153 | Bahrain | 57,160 | 1,607,049 | 3.6% |
| 154 | Costa Rica | 50,982 | 5,129,910 | 1.0% |
| 155 | Brunei Darussalam | 46,552 | 462,722 | 10.1% |
| 156 | Malta | 43,940 | 539,607 | 8.1% |
| 157 | Sao Tome and Principe | 41,433 | 235,537 | 17.6% |
| 158 | Namibia | 40,371 | 3,030,131 | 1.3% |
| 159 | Papua New Guinea | 35,050 | 10,576,502 | 0.3% |
| 160 | Grenada | 26,300 | 117,208 | 22.4% |
| 161 | Iceland | 23,326 | 393,396 | 5.9% |
| 162 | Seychelles | 22,191 | 130,419 | 17.0% |
| 163 | Dominica | 21,384 | 66,205 | 32.3% |
| 164 | Qatar | 19,821 | 3,048,423 | 0.7% |
| 165 | Barbados | 19,558 | 282,468 | 6.9% |
| 166 | Oman | 17,095 | 5,281,538 | 0.3% |
| 167 | Botswana | 16,731 | 2,521,139 | 0.7% |
| 168 | Vanuatu | 15,202 | 327,778 | 4.6% |
| 169 | Antigua and Barbuda | 13,111 | 93,772 | 14.0% |
| 170 | Eswatini | 11,561 | 1,242,822 | 0.9% |
| 171 | Solomon Islands | 8,352 | 819,198 | 1.0% |
| 172 | Belize | 7,383 | 417,072 | 1.8% |
| 173 | Kiribati | 6,306 | 134,518 | 4.7% |
| 174 | Djibouti | 3,576 | 1,168,722 | 0.3% |
| 175 | Maldives | 2,773 | 527,799 | 0.5% |
| 176 | Bahamas | 2,174 | 401,283 | 0.5% |
| 177 | Andorra | 1,982 | 81,938 | 2.4% |
| 178 | Bermuda | 1,100 | 64,637 | 1.7% |
A closer look at the data shows that just five countries account for roughly one in five global emigrants.
Unsurprisingly, populous countries dominate the top of the list. India leads with over 18 million citizens abroad, followed by China (11.7 million), Mexico (11.6 million) and Ukraine (9.8 million). Meanwhile, countries like South Sudan and Syria have high emigration numbers relative to their total populations, driven by conflict and instability.
Of developed nations, the UK stands out with 4.8 million emigrants, largely driven by retirees, expats, and long-standing diasporas.
The “Brain Drain” and High Emigration Rates
When viewed as a share of total population, smaller countries top the list. In Guyana, Samoa, and Bosnia & Herzegovina, over 50% of citizens live abroad. This reflects a classic “brain drain” effect, where educated or skilled workers leave for better prospects, often slowing economic growth at home.
Explaining the “Migration Hump”
A key theory in migration studies is the “Migration Hump”. It suggests that emigration rises as countries move from low- to middle-income status, when people gain the means and motivation to move. As prosperity continues and countries become high-income, emigration rates drop.
This phenomenon helps explain why middle-income nations like Egypt, the Philippines, and Pakistan feature prominently in the dataset.
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Check out our related chart: The Top Sources of Immigrants: 1995 vs 2020 on Voronoi.