Largest emigrant populations
Citizens of each country currently living in another country. India's diaspora of 18 million is the largest in absolute terms, well ahead of Mexico and Russia.
Headline finding
India leads the world for largest emigrant populations at 18.0M people living abroad.
The full top 25: Largest emigrant populations
Click any country to read its full profile.
- 1 India 18.0M
- 2 Mexico 11.2M
- 3 Russia 10.8M
- 4 China 10.5M
- 5 Syria 8.5M
- 6 Bangladesh 7.8M
- 7 Pakistan 6.3M
- 8 Ukraine 6.1M
- 9 Philippines 6.0M
- 10 Afghanistan 5.7M
- 11 Poland 4.8M
- 12 United Kingdom 4.7M
- 13 Indonesia 4.6M
- 14 Kazakhstan 4.1M
- 15 Romania 4.0M
- 16 Germany 4.0M
- 17 Italy 3.3M
- 18 Morocco 3.5M
- 19 Turkey 3.5M
- 20 Portugal 3.0M
- 21 Egypt 3.7M
- 22 Venezuela 5.4M
- 23 Colombia 3.0M
- 24 United States 3.2M
- 25 Nepal 2.5M
What the numbers show
India's lead at the top of this ranking is 60.7% above the second-place country — a margin so wide it suggests we're looking at a structural advantage rather than a close-run race.
The five countries leading the table — India, Mexico, Russia, China, Syria — together set the global benchmark. The next 20 countries fill the rest of the table, with Nepal anchoring the list at 2.5M.
Figures are drawn from UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2024. We use this source because it produces a single, internally consistent dataset rather than aggregating from national statistics offices, which makes year-on-year comparison reliable. The next update is expected when the source publishes its next annual release — see the methodology section below for which year of data is currently shown.
Methodology and caveats
- What this measures
- people living abroad
- Source
- UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2024
- Coverage
- Top 25 countries shown. Full source dataset covers all 195 sovereign states where data is available.
- Refresh cadence
- Updated annually as the source publishes new figures, typically autumn or spring.
- Known caveat
- Country definitions follow the source: where the UN, the World Bank and the CIA Factbook disagree on borders or recognition, we use the figure as published rather than reconciling between bodies. Comparisons across rankings should be made with this in mind.
Frequently asked
Which country tops the ranking for emigrant populations?
India leads with 18.0M people living abroad. Mexico is second at 11.2M, with Russia in third place. Full top-10 with sources is above.
What's the source for the emigrant populations ranking?
The figures come from UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2024. We use this source because it publishes a complete country-by-country dataset using consistent methodology — the alternative of mixing national statistics offices would compromise comparability. Updated annually with the latest available vintage of the data.
How often are the emigrant populations figures updated?
Once a year, in line with the source institution's publishing schedule. Major institutions like the World Bank, IMF and UNESCO publish annual updates in different months — typically autumn or spring — and the figures here reflect the most recently published vintage. The source footer on the ranking table shows which year's data is currently displayed.