Last updated: 2026-10-19

Immigration by country in 2026: foreign-born share, net migration and asylum claims compared

The United States has the most international migrants (52.4 million), and the United Arab Emirates has the highest share among the 15 countries compared here (74.0%). Net migration fell in the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and Australia in the latest figures, while Italy, Spain and the Gulf states kept growing. Figures are not strictly comparable, because each country counts migrants and flows differently.

The table uses UN DESA's 2024 estimates for the foreign-born population so that one source covers every row. National statistics offices often publish different counts, and those appear in brackets. The net migration and asylum columns use the latest national or agency figures, and the years differ.

Key figures

How do 15 countries compare on immigration?

The table ranks countries by the size of their foreign-born population. Sources for the UN DESA figures are in the annex table. Where a figure shows "not retrieved", this site did not locate a reliable source and does not estimate it.

How to read the table:

• The Spanish and Italian asylum numbers are Eurostat first-time applicants. Spain's figure is calculated from Eurostat's 21.1% share of 669,365 applicants, so it is approximate.
• US asylum data count only part of the year for one agency, as UNHCR notes.
• The UK, German and Dutch figures are agency or national counts for different years.

Which country has the most immigrants?

The United States has the most international migrants in absolute terms, at 52.4 million in 2024, about one in six of the world's migrants. Germany is second at 16.8 million, then Saudi Arabia (13.7 million), the United Kingdom (11.8 million) and France (9.2 million).

The US total is around three times Germany's. The US foreign-born share is lower than that of most countries in the table, at 15.2%. A Pew Research analysis of monthly survey data, reported by a secondary outlet, found the US foreign-born population fell from 53.3 million to 51.9 million between January and June 2025. The Census Bureau estimated net international migration at 1.3 million in the year to June 2025, down 53.8% from 2.7 million. Detailed US coverage is in the United States section.

Which country has the highest share of immigrants?

Among the countries in this table, the United Arab Emirates has the highest share of migrants at 74.0%, followed by Saudi Arabia at 40.3%. UN DESA also lists Qatar at 76.7%, Kuwait at 67.3%, Bahrain at 52.3% and Oman at 43.2%.

A second source gives higher figures for the Gulf. The Gulf Labour Markets and Migration programme estimated foreign citizens at 87% of the UAE population and 88% of Qatar's in 2022. The two sources differ because UN DESA uses a migrant-stock method and GLMM estimates foreign nationals. The UAE and Qatar do not publish a nationality split.

Outside the Gulf, the highest shares in the table are Switzerland (31.1%), Australia (30.4% on the UN DESA measure, 32.0% in ABS data) and New Zealand (28.2%). Within the EU, Luxembourg has the highest foreign-born share at 51.5% on 1 January 2025, a secondary report of Eurostat data. Ireland reached 23.3% on the same date.

At the other end, Japan's share is 2.8%, and South Korea's is 3.5%, up from 1.2% in 2010.

Which countries are cutting immigration?

The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Japan have all tightened policy or reported lower arrivals since 2024, according to the sources below. The table separates falls in numbers from changes in rules, because the two do not always go together.

The OECD found that permanent migration to its member countries fell 4% in 2024. Within Europe the average fall was 8%, and the UK fell 41%.

The reasons given by governments and advocates differ. The UK government says it wants to grow the domestic workforce and end reliance on overseas labour. The Canadian government's stated goal is to bring temporary residents below 5% of the population by end-2027, according to a law-firm summary. Migration Watch UK, an advocacy group, argues that large-scale migration strains public services and social cohesion.

The IOM's 2026 report makes the opposite case on effectiveness: it says limiting regular pathways shifts movement to irregular routes instead of stopping it. These are competing interpretations, and this site takes no position.

Which countries are still growing or loosening?

Not every destination is reducing numbers. The latest figures show growth or targeted opening in several places.

• Spain: the foreign-born population passed 10 million for the first time on 1 January 2026. A 2026 extraordinary regularisation allowed people living in Spain before 1 January 2026 to apply for a one-year residence and work permit. Application totals are disputed: an immigration-law firm cites about 900,000 applications by mid-June, while platform data cited on the same page suggest about 1.3 million, which is unconfirmed.
• Italy: net international migration was +296,000 in 2025, and foreign residents rose by 188,000 to 5.56 million.
• Gulf states: foreign numbers rose 7% between 2021 and 2022 after earlier falls.
• Japan: foreign residents passed 4 million for the first time, reaching 4,125,395 at end-2025, up 9.5%.
• Netherlands: family migration reached a record 16,500 in 2025 even as asylum requests fell.
• Germany and Japan: both continue to recruit skilled workers. Germany expanded its Opportunity Card, according to a Wikipedia summary of cited reports, and Japan had 390,296 Specified Skilled Worker visa holders at end-2025.

Why do figures for the same country differ?

Sources define "immigrant" differently, so one country can have several correct totals. Check the definition before comparing.

The main causes are different definitions (born abroad, foreign citizenship or "immigration history"), different reference dates and the fact that UN DESA extrapolated most countries from 2020 data. INSEE's figures are provisional and have a series break in 2024, and Destatis counts private households only.

Which countries receive the most asylum claims?

In 2025 the United States received 912,000 new asylum applications, the most of any country, and the world total was 2.8 million. Within the EU, Spain received the most first-time applicants in 2025 (21.1% of 669,365), followed by Italy (18.9%).

Per head of population, Greece had the EU's highest rate at 5.3 first-time applicants per 1,000 residents. For the whole EU+ area (EU plus Norway and Switzerland), the EUAA counted about 822,000 applications in 2025 and 332,000 in the first half of 2026, 17% fewer than a year earlier. In the first half of 2026 France received about 69,000 applications, the most in EU+.

Asylum is a small part of total migration in most destinations. In the OECD, about 34% of permanent entries were family reunification, and labour migration fell 21% in 2024.

What do supporters and critics say about immigration levels?

Supporters of higher immigration point to ageing and labour supply. UN projections say immigration is the main driver of population growth in 52 countries through 2054, including Australia, Canada and the United States. In the OECD, foreign-born workers make up 22% of doctors and 17% of nurses.

Critics of high immigration point to services, housing and cohesion. Migration Watch UK argues that large inflows strain public services. The sources reviewed do not include national fiscal studies, so this page does not compare costs and benefits.

The UN adds that falling mortality, alongside immigration, is the main factor slowing population decline where populations have peaked, so immigration is one factor among several.

Related pages

• World migration overview
• Immigration in the United Kingdom
• Immigration in Europe
• Canada, Australia, the Gulf and Japan
• United States immigration
• France immigration
• Somali communities
• Frequently asked questions