Most desired destination for potential migrants. 710 million people consider moving to another country, study reveals

A new Gallup poll revealed that 710 million people are saying that they would consider migrating to another country. And when it comes to the most desirable countries for migrants, roughly 20 states attract more than two-thirds of all potential migrants worldwide.

Around 14% of the world’s adults say that they would like to move to another country if given the opportunity. The number is higher than the one recorded between 2010 – 2012, when 13% of adults expressed the desire to migrate.

The numbers are highest in regions and areas like Sub-Saharan Africa, European countries outside the EU and Latin America. When it comes to countries, the highest percentage of people that want to migrate can be found in Sierra Leone, where 61% of the adult population said it would like to move to another state. Sierra Leone is followed by Haiti and Albania.

U.S. still the destination of choice

The United States remain the destination of choice for those that look at migration as a way of getting a better life. One in five potential migrants, 21% or about 147 million adults worldwide, name the U.S. as their desired future residence.

According to the latest data released by the Census Bureau, immigrants and their U.S.-born children now number approximately 84.3 million people, the equivalent of 27 percent of the overall U.S. population. India was the leading country of origin for recent immigrants, followed by China, Mexico, the Philippines and Canada.

In 2015, Mexicans accounted for approximately 27 percent of immigrants in the United States, making them by far the largest foreign-born group in the country. India was the next largest country of origin, with close to 6 percent of all immigrants, followed by China, including Hong Kong but not Taiwan, and the Philippines, at close to 5 percent each. El Salvador, Vietnam, and Cuba account for about 3 percent each. The Dominican Republic, Korea, and Guatemala, each with 2 percent, complete the top ten countries of origin.

Germany, the far second

Germany came in second as an option for migrants. Some 6% said that they would choose this European country if they were given the chance to move. That translates to approximately 39 million adults, a significant increase from the previous 28 million registered in 2012. This increase coincides with the height of Europe’s migrant crisis between 2015 and 2016, during which Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel promised there would be “no limit” to the number of refugees her country would accept.

According to the most recent data, in Germany, migration peaked at  2,137,000 people.

Canada, a choice for many

Canada came in third with an estimated 6% of adults saying that they would prefer the North American country. If given the choice, some 36 million people would like to emigrate to Canada.

A record number of immigrants and refugees have been accepted by Canada and, last year, official numbers estimated that the country’s population has reached over 36 million, the biggest surge since 1988.  Most of them were Syrian refugees and most migrants settled in Ontario and Quebec.

Britain is less attractive

According to Gallup, the United Kingdom is still recovering from the shock of Brexit. Britain has lost some of its appeal as a desired destination, as immigration became one of the driving forces behind the country’s eventual Brexit in mid-2016. Approximately 35 million potential migrants named the United Kingdom as a desired destination between 2013 and 2016, down from about 43 million between 2010 and 2012.

Still, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and Saudi Arabia appeal to at least 25 million adults each. These same countries have been top desired destinations for the past 10 years.

Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Japan are also appealing for millions of citizens looking for another country to call home.