Top Countries by Number of Migrants Worldwide: Where Are People Most Likely to Emigrate From in 2026?

Global migration involves more than 304 million people, most of whom are labor migrants. India, China, and Mexico top the list of countries by number of migrants, while the most popular destinations include the U.S. and the UAE. Learn more about where migrants most often come from and the key features of migration statistics

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International migration remains one of the defining global processes. According to the International Organization for Migration, the total number of migrants worldwide has already exceeded 304 million, of whom nearly 168 million are labor migrants. As noted by the publication “Slovo i Dilo”, the reasons for migration include job search, education, as well as security and environmental factors.

Which countries are the largest “sources” of migrants and where exactly are these people heading—we’ll cover that further in this article.

How many migrants are there in the world and why do they move?

According to the IOM classification, migrants are divided into several main categories depending on the reason for their move:

• labor migrants—the largest group, numbering about 168 million people;
• displaced persons—people who leave their homes due to armed conflicts, persecution, or environmental disasters;
• student migrants—those who go abroad to study.

In total, there are over 304 million migrants worldwide. More than half of them are labor migrants, who make up a significant portion of the global labor force.

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India and China: Leaders in Migrant Numbers

The largest number of migrants in the world come from India—18.5 million people in 2024. The most popular destination for Indian migrants is the United Arab Emirates, where over 3 million people of Indian origin reside.

China ranks second with 11.7 million migrants. Unlike Indians, Chinese citizens most often choose the United States—about 2.5 million Chinese migrants live there.

The combined population of India and China is approximately three billion people, which largely explains the scale of migration flows from these two countries.

Mexico and the Philippines: Migration Focused on the U.S.

Mexico ranks third among migrant-sending countries—11.6 million people. A distinctive feature of Mexican migration is its almost complete focus on a single country. Of the total number of Mexican migrants, only about 300,000 have moved to countries other than the U.S.

The Philippines also exhibits significant migration volumes—7 million people. Of these, 2.3 million reside in the United States, making the U.S. the primary destination for Filipino migrants as well.

Migrants from Russia: Why Are the Statistics So High?

According to IOM data, 9.1 million migrants are of Russian origin. Of these, 3.4 million live in Ukraine.

It is important to consider a methodological peculiarity of these statistics: the IOM counts as migrants people who were born in one Soviet republic but remained living in another after the collapse of the USSR.

In other words, a significant portion of these “migrants” did not actually relocate—it was the state borders that changed, not their place of residence.

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