Roughly 138 million people worldwide, or about 2 percent of the world?s adult population, want to immigrate to the U.S. In China, as many as 19 million adults would like to move to the land of opportunity -- the largest number of any country. Based on data provided by Gallup, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the seven countries where the most people want to come to the United States.
Not surprisingly, these countries are all among the most populous in the world. All seven are among the 12 largest by population. While the numbers are quite large, given that these countries all have at least 100 million citizens, the percentage of the population looking to move to the U.S. is actually quite small. The 19 million Chinese looking to immigrate to the U.S. amount to just 1 percent of China's total population.
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In some of the world's most populous countries, however, very few citizens are looking to immigrate to the U.S. Fewer than 1 million people in Indonesia, the fourth-most populous country in the world, and in Pakistan, the sixth-most populous, want to move to the United States. Much of that likely is due to high disapproval of U.S. leadership. According to Gallup, only 23 percent of Indonesians support U.S. leadership, while only 12 percent of Pakistanis do.
The countries with the highest percentage of people who would like to move to U.S. are far different than the countries on this list. The countries with the highest percentage of people looking to immigrate -- including Liberia, Haiti and Honduras -- tend to be smaller, third-world countries with very little economic opportunity available domestically.
Economic opportunities in many of the seven countries on the list are not plentiful either. Countries such as Bangladesh and Nigeria, both on the list, have far fewer resources to get ahead than in the United States. In 2011, Nigeria?s gross domestic product (GDP) was $2,582 per capita, while in Bangladesh it was just $1,909. The U.S. GDP per capita was $48,328. None of the countries on this list had a GDP per capita in 2011 that was even a third of that in the United States.
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For countries such as Mexico and the Philippines, the desire to immigrate likely is influenced by the networks of friends and family that already exist in the United States, according to Jon Clifton, a partner at Gallup. More than 1.8 million people originally from the Philippines live in the U.S. In Mexico, the desire for greater economic opportunity led to a four decade-long mass migration to the U.S. However, this trend actually has reversed in recent years as border security has become more stringent and jobs have become more scarce as a result of the U.S. recession.
In the cases of India and China, the people that are eager to come to America tend to be more educated than the population at large, Clifton pointed out. ?Brain drain is probably more serious [in China and India] than it is in a country like the U.S., U.K. or Germany,? Clifton said. In the U.S., United Kingdom or Germany, a higher percentage of people want to leave the country, but those who want to leave for the U.S. tend to be less educated due to the lower economic opportunities for low-skilled workers.
Based on data from Gallup, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the seven countries where the largest number of adults would like to immigrate to the United States. We also looked at the percentage of adults in a particular country looking to immigrate to the U.S., as provided by Gallup. In addition, we looked at total population numbers from the CIA World Factbook. The number of people living in the U.S. from each country was taken from the U.S. Census Bureau. We also looked at well-being data for each of these countries and the percentage of people who approved and disapproved of American leadership, both provided by Gallup. In addition, we looked at data from the United Nations regarding poverty and literacy rates in the countries, and data on GDP was obtained from the International Monetary Fund.
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These are the countries sending the most people to America.
7. Philippines
? Adults looking to move to U.S.: 4 million
? Total population: 105.72 million (12th highest)
? Percent of adults looking to move: 7.3 percent
? Percent living on less than $1 a day: 3.72 percent (57th lowest)
? Percent approving of U.S. leadership: 64 percent (27th highest)
Of those in the Philippines looking to immigrate, 4 million would like their new home to be the United States. Many people from the Philippines already have made the move to the U.S., likely contributing to the desire for more to make the move. As of 2011, more than 1.8 million people currently living in the U.S. were born in the Philippines, according to the Census Bureau. Of that, nearly 45 percent of them live in California, while another 6.2 percent live in Hawaii. In addition, support for U.S. leadership is high among Filipinos -- 64 percent support U.S. leadership, while 24 percent disapprove.
6. Mexico
? Adults looking to move to U.S.: 5 million
? Total population: 116.22 million (11th highest)
? Percent of adults looking to move: 5.7 percent
? Percent living on less than $1 a day: 0.34 percent (30th lowest)
? Percent approving of U.S. leadership: 37 percent (52nd lowest)
Approximately 5 million adult residents from Mexico would like to move to the United States. According to Gallup?s Jon Clifton, the geographical proximity of the U.S. to Mexico is a major draw, as are the economic opportunities available in the county. In addition, those who wish to move to the U.S. often have a network of family and friends who help facilitate the move. Beginning in the 1970s, a large wave of immigrants from Mexico came to the U.S. They now comprise about 30 percent of all immigrants and nearly 4 percent of the entire U.S. population. However, a report by the Pew Research Center in 2012 indicated that the trend has reached a standstill and maybe even be reversing. According to Pew, this change is likely due to factors such as a weakened U.S. economy and the increased danger of crossing the U.S. Mexico border illegally.
5. Bangladesh
? Adults looking to move to U.S: 6 million
? Total population: 163.65 million (8th highest)
? Percent of adults looking to move: 5.9 percent
? Percent living on less than $1 a day: 11.17 percent (32nd highest)
? Percent approving of U.S. leadership: 37 percent (53rd lowest)
Approximately 6 million people in Bangladesh would like to move to the United States, representing roughly 5.9 percent of that country?s adult population. Living standards in Bangladesh are significantly lower than in the U.S. More than 11 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day, a higher percentage than the vast majority of countries worldwide and worse than all countries on our list except Nigeria. Bangladesh?s GDP per capita was just $1,909 in 2011, compared to $48,328 in the U.S. According to the United Nations, only 56 percent of the country?s population over the age of 15 is considered literate, lower than all but a handful of countries worldwide. As of 2011, there were 184,000 people in the U.S. who were born in Bangladesh.
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4. Brazil
? Adults looking to move to U.S.: 6 million
? Total population: 201.01 million (5th largest)
? Percent of adults looking to move: Less than 5 percent
? Percent living on less than $1 a day: 3.62 percent (56th highest)
? Percent approving of U.S. leadership: 34 percent (45th lowest)
In Brazil, 6 million would like to immigrate to the United States, more than all but three other countries. In recent years, growth in Brazil has slowed significantly -- GDP grew less than 1 percent in 2012, compared to 2.7 percent in 2011 and 7.5 percent in 2010. Brazil?s Labor Ministry indicated that while unemployment in the country is still below 5 percent, job growth was the worst in 2012 in at least a decade. GDP per capita in the South American country was $11,769, less than a quarter of that of the U.S. Nevertheless, 58.7 percent of residents are considered by Gallup to be thriving, more than the U.S.?s 56.2 percent.
3. India
? Adults looking to move to U.S.: 10 million
? Total population: 1.22 billion (2nd largest)
? Percent of adults looking to move: Less than 5 percent
? Percent living on less than $1 a day: 7.49 percent (44th highest)
? Percent approving of U.S. leadership: 26 percent (18th lowest)
About 10 million people living in India want to immigrate to the United States, more than any country except China and Nigeria. However, due to India?s population of more than 1.2 billion people, the number of willing immigrants represents less than 1 percent of the population. The people who want to come to the U.S. tend to be better educated than the majority of the population, Clifton noted. Before the 2008 financial crisis, India?s economy was growing at a rate of 8 percent annually. Growth has slowed, however. According to the country?s Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, GDP growth for the year ended in March 2013 is forecast to be 5 percent, although growth is expected to rebound in the coming years.
2. Nigeria
? Adults looking to move to U.S.: 13 million
? Total population: 174.51 million (7th largest)
? Percent of adults looking to move: Less than 5 percent
? Percent living on less than $1 a day: 33.74 percent (6th highest)
? Percent approving of U.S. leadership: 77 percent (13th highest)
The reasons that 13 million Nigerians would like to immigrate to the United States are abundant. The African country is extremely impoverished, with more than a third of its population living on less than $1 a day. Corruption is also worse than all but one other country worldwide, according to Gallup. Terrorism, too, has increasingly become a major problem, with the government struggling to enforce security measures. In addition, Nigerians overwhelmingly think favorably of the U.S. leadership. As many as 77 percent of Nigerians support the U.S. leadership, more than most of the countries surveyed.
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1. China
? Adults looking to move to U.S.: 19 million
? Total population: 1.35 billion (the largest)
? Percent of adults looking to move: Less than 5 percent
More than 19 million Chinese adults want to immigrate to the United States, more than any other country in the world. This represents a very small proportion of the total population of more than 1.3 billion people. As of 2011, 2.2 million people in the U.S. were born in China, more than any other Asian country. Like India, Clifton said, the population that wants to move to the U.S. tends to be more educated than the overall population. China's middle-class rapidly emerged in the past decade as GDP has grown an average of 10 percent annually. However, growth has begun to slow. According to a recent Federal Reserve study, China's GDP growth could be less than 1 percent by 2030.
?2013 24/7 Wall St.
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