Top Migration Destinations

Gallup recently surveyed more than 260,000 people to know the worldwide migration trend. They asked two simple question: If given the possibility, would you like to move permanently to another country, and if so, which country would you like to move to? The following graph shows where migrants are most likely to be found:

The following graph shows the net migration for each country – add the number of people who wish to move there, and subtract the number of people that want to leave. Not surprisingly, developed countries top the charts, with the USA as the preferred destination with a net change of 165 million people. More surprisingly, Saudi Arabia, Russia and  Malaysia are also very attractive…

Interestingly, most of the desired move would be from a developing country to a developed country, while according to the 2009 United Nations’ Human Development Report, most of the world’s international immigrants move from one developing country to another developing country or between developed countries.

Understandably, migration policies of developed countries do not facilitate the job of migrants from developing countries. Were borders to be open without restrictions, some countries would see drastic change in their populations.