Other than the occasional flare-up of anti-immigrant nativism and nationalism throughout American history, the United States has long been a harbor for immigrants seeking opportunities for freedom and opportunity. This promise is what then-President-elect John F. Kennedy described in 1961 as “the city upon a hill.” (Here are the most famous foreigners who became U.S. citizens.)
But the U.S. is not the only beacon for immigrants. Based on data from 2020, the U.S. ranks 39th among countries with the largest foreign-born populations. About 15.3% of the U.S. population, or about 50.6 million, are foreign born. (Here are the states where the most people are immigrants.)
To determine the countries with the largest foreign-born populations, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on international migrant stock from the United Nations. Countries were ranked based on the foreign-born migrant population as a percentage of their total population in 2020. Data on the size of the refugee population, a subset of the foreign-born population, is also from the U.N. All data is for 2020.
Nineteen countries also have larger shares of refugees as a percentage of their foreign-born populations than the U.S., albeit not always under great conditions. For example, 82% of Lebanon’s foreign-born population are refugees, mostly living in camps populated by Syrians who have fled conflict in recent years.
Five European countries have among the largest share of refugees as a percentage of their foreign-born populations, between 9% and 14%. By comparison, the United States’ share of refugees as a percentage of foreign-born is just 2.35%. Canada has higher shares of both foreign-born and refugee populations compared to its southern neighbor.
Fifteen European Union member states are among the 50 countries with the largest foreign-born populations with between 12.9% in Greece and Croatia to nearly 48% in Luxembourg, the tiny landlocked country bordering Belgium, Germany, and France. As a wealthy common market with shared open borders, it makes sense that so many EU countries would have such large shares of foreign-born residents.
Six of the top 10 countries with the highest share of foreign-born populations are small population-wise, including Luxembourg and Bahrain, or they are European microstates like Liechtenstein, bordering Austria and Switzerland. Singapore, the wealthy Southeast Asia city-state, comes in at No. 10, with a foreign-born population accounting for 43% of the country. The other states among this top 10 are all in the Gulf region, a popular destination for foreign laborers and professionals.
Despite its relatively low ranking, the United States is indisputably a major draw for immigrants. With a population of 331 million, the U.S. is the most populous country to rank on the list. No other country with a population above 84 million makes this list.
Here are the largest foreign-born populations.
50. Greece
> Pct. foreign-born population: 12.86%
> Foreign-born population: 1,340,456
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 13.89%
> Refugee population: 186,166
> Total population 2020: 10,423,056
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49. Croatia
> Pct. foreign-born population: 12.86%
> Foreign-born population: 528,056
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.26%
> Refugee population: 1,383
> Total population 2020: 4,105,268
48. Maldives
> Pct. foreign-born population: 12.96%
> Foreign-born population: 70,079
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: N/A
> Refugee population: N/A
> Total population 2020: 540,542
47. France
> Pct. foreign-born population: 13.06%
> Foreign-born population: 8,524,876
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 5.98%
> Refugee population: 510,080
> Total population 2020: 65,273,512
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46. Seychelles
> Pct. foreign-born population: 13.27%
> Foreign-born population: 13,050
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: N/A
> Refugee population: N/A
> Total population 2020: 98,340
45. Slovenia
> Pct. foreign-born population: 13.37%
> Foreign-born population: 277,964
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.39%
> Refugee population: 1,080
> Total population 2020: 2,078,932
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44. Netherlands
> Pct. foreign-born population: 13.76%
> Foreign-born population: 2,358,333
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 4.67%
> Refugee population: 110,052
> Total population 2020: 17,134,873
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43. United Kingdom
> Pct. foreign-born population: 13.79%
> Foreign-born population: 9,359,587
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 2.08%
> Refugee population: 195,062
> Total population 2020: 67,886,004
42. Saint Kitts and Nevis
> Pct. foreign-born population: 14.52%
> Foreign-born population: 7,725
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: N/A
> Refugee population: N/A
> Total population 2020: 53,192
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41. Spain
> Pct. foreign-born population: 14.63%
> Foreign-born population: 6,842,202
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 2.79%
> Refugee population: 190,791
> Total population 2020: 46,754,783
40. Estonia
> Pct. foreign-born population: 15.02%
> Foreign-born population: 199,277
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.19%
> Refugee population: 373
> Total population 2020: 1,326,539
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39. United States of America
> Pct. foreign-born population: 15.30%
> Foreign-born population: 50,632,836
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 2.35%
> Refugee population: 1,189,312
> Total population 2020: 331,002,647
38. Belize
> Pct. foreign-born population: 15.60%
> Foreign-born population: 62,043
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 3.51%
> Refugee population: 2,179
> Total population 2020: 397,621
37. Norway
> Pct. foreign-born population: 15.72%
> Foreign-born population: 852,238
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 6.50%
> Refugee population: 55,426
> Total population 2020: 5,421,242
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36. Cyprus
> Pct. foreign-born population: 15.77%
> Foreign-born population: 190,366
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 16.37%
> Refugee population: 31,168
> Total population 2020: 1,207,361
35. Bahamas
> Pct. foreign-born population: 16.17%
> Foreign-born population: 63,583
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.05%
> Refugee population: 30
> Total population 2020: 393,248
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34. San Marino
> Pct. foreign-born population: 16.33%
> Foreign-born population: 5,543
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: N/A
> Refugee population: N/A
> Total population 2020: 33,938
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33. Equatorial Guinea
> Pct. foreign-born population: 16.44%
> Foreign-born population: 230,618
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: N/A
> Refugee population: N/A
> Total population 2020: 1,402,985
32. Belgium
> Pct. foreign-born population: 17.30%
> Foreign-born population: 2,005,479
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 3.62%
> Refugee population: 72,570
> Total population 2020: 11,589,616
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31. Ireland
> Pct. foreign-born population: 17.64%
> Foreign-born population: 871,256
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 1.80%
> Refugee population: 15,680
> Total population 2020: 4,937,796
30. Gabon
> Pct. foreign-born population: 18.72%
> Foreign-born population: 416,651
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.13%
> Refugee population: 537
> Total population 2020: 2,225,728
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29. Germany
> Pct. foreign-born population: 18.81%
> Foreign-born population: 15,762,457
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 9.24%
> Refugee population: 1,455,947
> Total population 2020: 83,783,945
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28. Iceland
> Pct. foreign-born population: 19.17%
> Foreign-born population: 65,424
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 2.02%
> Refugee population: 1,323
> Total population 2020: 341,250
27. Austria
> Pct. foreign-born population: 19.30%
> Foreign-born population: 1,738,183
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 9.36%
> Refugee population: 162,680
> Total population 2020: 9,006,400
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26. Sweden
> Pct. foreign-born population: 19.84%
> Foreign-born population: 2,003,908
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 14.07%
> Refugee population: 281,869
> Total population 2020: 10,099,270
25. Kazakhstan
> Pct. foreign-born population: 19.88%
> Foreign-born population: 3,732,073
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.02%
> Refugee population: 742
> Total population 2020: 18,776,707
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24. Nauru
> Pct. foreign-born population: 20.32%
> Foreign-born population: 2,201
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 53.57%
> Refugee population: 1,179
> Total population 2020: 10,834
23. Canada
> Pct. foreign-born population: 21.33%
> Foreign-born population: 8,049,323
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 2.47%
> Refugee population: 198,772
> Total population 2020: 37,742,157
22. Israel
> Pct. foreign-born population: 22.57%
> Foreign-born population: 1,953,575
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 2.80%
> Refugee population: 54,611
> Total population 2020: 8,655,541
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21. Lebanon
> Pct. foreign-born population: 25.09%
> Foreign-born population: 1,712,762
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 81.99%
> Refugee population: 1,404,312
> Total population 2020: 6,825,442
20. Brunei Darussalam
> Pct. foreign-born population: 25.59%
> Foreign-born population: 111,959
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: N/A
> Refugee population: N/A
> Total population 2020: 437,483
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19. Malta
> Pct. foreign-born population: 25.99%
> Foreign-born population: 114,760
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 10.98%
> Refugee population: 12,601
> Total population 2020: 441,539
18. Palau
> Pct. foreign-born population: 28.12%
> Foreign-born population: 5,088
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: N/A
> Refugee population: N/A
> Total population 2020: 18,092
17. New Zealand
> Pct. foreign-born population: 28.65%
> Foreign-born population: 1,381,724
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.24%
> Refugee population: 3,326
> Total population 2020: 4,822,233
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16. Switzerland
> Pct. foreign-born population: 28.79%
> Foreign-born population: 2,491,249
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 4.87%
> Refugee population: 121,368
> Total population 2020: 8,654,618
15. Antigua and Barbuda
> Pct. foreign-born population: 30.01%
> Foreign-born population: 29,386
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: N/A
> Refugee population: N/A
> Total population 2020: 97,928
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14. Australia
> Pct. foreign-born population: 30.14%
> Foreign-born population: 7,685,860
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 2.01%
> Refugee population: 154,129
> Total population 2020: 25,499,881
13. Jordan
> Pct. foreign-born population: 33.89%
> Foreign-born population: 3,457,691
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 87.27%
> Refugee population: 3,017,401
> Total population 2020: 10,203,140
12. Curaçao
> Pct. foreign-born population: 34.86%
> Foreign-born population: 57,210
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 28.99%
> Refugee population: 16,585
> Total population 2020: 164,100
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11. Saudi Arabia
> Pct. foreign-born population: 38.65%
> Foreign-born population: 13,454,842
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.02%
> Refugee population: 2,651
> Total population 2020: 34,813,867
10. Singapore
> Pct. foreign-born population: 43.14%
> Foreign-born population: 2,523,648
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: N/A
> Refugee population: N/A
> Total population 2020: 5,850,343
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9. Oman
> Pct. foreign-born population: 46.47%
> Foreign-born population: 2,372,836
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.02%
> Refugee population: 563
> Total population 2020: 5,106,622
8. Luxembourg
> Pct. foreign-born population: 47.62%
> Foreign-born population: 298,062
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 1.46%
> Refugee population: 4,357
> Total population 2020: 625,976
7. Bahrain
> Pct. foreign-born population: 55.01%
> Foreign-born population: 936,094
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.03%
> Refugee population: 312
> Total population 2020: 1,701,583
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6. Andorra
> Pct. foreign-born population: 58.98%
> Foreign-born population: 45,574
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: N/A
> Refugee population: N/A
> Total population 2020: 77,265
5. Monaco
> Pct. foreign-born population: 67.78%
> Foreign-born population: 26,601
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.08%
> Refugee population: 22
> Total population 2020: 39,244
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4. Liechtenstein
> Pct. foreign-born population: 67.85%
> Foreign-born population: 25,877
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.63%
> Refugee population: 162
> Total population 2020: 38,137
3. Kuwait
> Pct. foreign-born population: 72.83%
> Foreign-born population: 3,110,159
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.06%
> Refugee population: 1,765
> Total population 2020: 4,270,563
2. Qatar
> Pct. foreign-born population: 77.27%
> Foreign-born population: 2,226,192
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.01%
> Refugee population: 303
> Total population 2020: 2,881,060
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1. United Arab Emirates
> Pct. foreign-born population: 88.13%
> Foreign-born population: 8,716,332
> Refugees as percent of foreign-born pop.: 0.10%
> Refugee population: 8,517
> Total population 2020: 9,890,400
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