TOP 10 Countries by Share of Foreign-Born Population (2025)
Foreign-born share of the population: why a small group of countries looks radically different from the rest of the world
In 2024 the world hosted roughly 304 million international migrants, equal to about 3.7 percent of the global population. Yet the distribution is extremely uneven: in a handful of destination countries, the share of foreign-born residents is ten or even twenty times higher than the global average.
This section looks at the top 10 countries by share of foreign-born population using the latest UN DESA International Migrant Stock 2024 revision and complementary national statistics, and sets the stage for deeper analysis.
Share vs. absolute numbers
The share of foreign-born population measures what portion of residents were born in another country. It is different from the absolute number of immigrants and often tells a very different story.
In the United States or Germany, foreign-born residents number in the tens of millions but still represent less than one fifth of the total population. By contrast, in small Gulf monarchies and city-states like the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait or Luxembourg, foreign-born residents form the majority.
These very high shares reflect deliberate policy choices: reliance on temporary labour migration, the development of international financial or logistics hubs, and, in some cases, the presence of large refugee populations relative to a small citizen base.
Table 1. Share of foreign-born population, TOP 10 countries (latest data 2023–2024)
Countries with the highest share of foreign-born residents among states hosting at least 1 million international migrants. Values are rounded estimates.
| Country | Foreign-born share of population, % | International migrants, million |
|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | ≈ 89 | ≈ 10.0 |
| Qatar | ≈ 78 | ≈ 2.3 |
| Kuwait | ≈ 67 | ≈ 3.2 |
| Bahrain | ≈ 52 | ≈ 0.8 |
| Luxembourg | ≈ 51 | ≈ 0.35 |
| Singapore | ≈ 45 | ≈ 2.3 |
| Jordan | ≈ 41 | ≈ 4.7 |
| Saudi Arabia | ≈ 32 | ≈ 13.0 |
| Switzerland | ≈ 31 | ≈ 2.7 |
| Australia | ≈ 31.5 | ≈ 8.6 |
Chart 1. Foreign-born share of population, TOP 10 countries
Note: values rounded to whole percentages and millions. Based on UN DESA International Migrant Stock 2024 and national statistical offices.
Different models behind very high foreign-born shares
The countries in Table 1 are not a homogeneous group. They represent at least three distinct models of how foreign-born populations accumulate:
- Labour-importing Gulf states (UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia) rely on large numbers of temporary migrant workers under sponsorship systems. Citizens often make up only a small minority of residents.
- Small high-income hubs such as Luxembourg, Singapore and Switzerland with open labour markets, regional freedom-of-movement regimes and high demand for specialised skills.
- Refugee-hosting and mixed migration states such as Jordan, where protracted refugee situations and regional labour mobility overlap.
In all of them, the foreign-born share is driven less by natural increase and more by policy and geography: proximity to poorer neighbours, energy exports, membership in regional blocs and historical ties.
Table 2. International migrants and main origins in selected TOP 10 countries
Latest available estimates around 2023–2024. Migrant numbers are rounded; origins indicate the largest origin countries or regions.
| Country | International migrants, million | Main origins (indicative) |
|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | ≈ 10.0 | India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines and other Asian countries dominate the migrant stock. |
| Qatar | ≈ 2.3 | India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines provide much of the construction and service workforce. |
| Saudi Arabia | ≈ 13.0 | Significant communities from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt and other Arab and Asian states. |
| Switzerland | ≈ 2.7 | Europeans predominate, especially from Germany, Italy and Portugal, reflecting free movement within Europe. |
| Australia | ≈ 8.6 | UK, India, China, New Zealand and other Asia–Pacific states, in line with Australia’s skills-based immigration system. |
Map 1. Stylised cartogram of foreign-born shares
The cartogram groups countries by region and foreign-born share band rather than mapping their exact geographic position. It illustrates how extreme shares are concentrated in a small set of Gulf monarchies, European microstates and Asia–Pacific hubs.
Very high shares of foreign-born residents are not “good” or “bad” in themselves. They reflect structural features of economies and societies – and they create policy trade-offs that cannot be captured by a single percentage. Looking across the TOP 10 countries, three sets of implications stand out.
1. Labour markets and demographic pressure
In ageing high-income economies, foreign-born workers help slow down the rise of old-age dependency ratios. Countries like Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia use migration to fill skills gaps, sustain social insurance systems and keep key sectors functioning – from health care and elder care to engineering and digital services.
However, heavy reliance on foreign-born labour also makes these economies sensitive to changes in migration policy and global shocks. Travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, exposed how quickly staffing shortages can appear when cross-border mobility is disrupted.
The policy challenge is to balance openness to needed labour with investment in training, fair working conditions and long-term integration for those who settle permanently.
2. Temporary migration regimes and rights
In Gulf states, foreign-born residents constitute the vast majority of the labour force but remain largely excluded from citizenship and long-term political participation. Sponsorship systems tie migrant workers to specific employers, and residence is often conditional on a valid work contract.
This model delivers flexibility for employers and keeps fiscal costs to citizens relatively low, but it raises recurrent concerns around labour rights, access to justice, and the long-term social sustainability of a system where most residents are “temporary” on paper.
Even without large naturalisation, destination countries must invest in enforcement of labour standards, complaint mechanisms and basic services for foreign-born workers if they want their high-share model to remain politically and socially viable.
3. Refugees, mixed migration and regional stability
For countries like Jordan and, to a lesser extent, Saudi Arabia, a high foreign-born share reflects both labour migration and long-term refugee hosting. Large numbers of people displaced from neighbouring conflicts can push the migrant share far above what economic motives alone would produce.
In such contexts, the headline percentage indicates not only labour-market dependence but also regional security dynamics and the adequacy of international burden-sharing. If international support falls short, the presence of large refugee populations can strain infrastructure, schools, housing and political trust.
4. Politics of identity and social cohesion
High foreign-born shares inevitably intersect with debates about identity, language and citizenship. In European and Asia–Pacific democracies, immigration is at the centre of electoral competition, and policy changes can rapidly alter the pace and composition of arrivals.
Countries that manage these transitions relatively smoothly tend to invest in clear, predictable pathways to permanent residence and citizenship, language and integration programmes, and anti-discrimination measures. They also communicate proactively about the economic and demographic role of migration, rather than treating it only as a security issue.
Reading the foreign-born share correctly
A share of 30 percent foreign-born in Australia or Switzerland does not mean that one third of residents arrived recently. Many have lived in the destination for decades and are long-term contributors to the economy and society. Time since arrival, age structure and naturalisation rates matter as much as the headline percentage.
2025–2030: what to watch
Over the rest of the decade, high-share countries will face simultaneous pressures: tighter global competition for talent, climate-related displacement, digitalisation of work and shifting public attitudes. The same data that identify TOP 10 destinations today will be crucial for tracking how quickly their migration models evolve – and whether others join their ranks.
Data sources
The figures and rankings in this article are based on the latest publicly available datasets on international migrant stocks and national population statistics:
- UN DESA – International Migrant Stock 2024 (global migrant numbers and shares)
- IOM / Migration Data Portal – International migrant stocks overview
- Our World in Data – Share of the population that were born in another country (country-level series)
- Australian Bureau of Statistics – Australia’s population by country of birth, June 2024
- OECD – International Migration Outlook 2024, Switzerland country note
- OECD – International Migration Outlook 2025, recent developments in migration and labour-market inclusion
- UAE population and expatriate statistics (expat share and numbers)
- Migration Policy Institute – International migrants by country of destination, 1960–2024
Download tables and charts (foreign-born population TOP 10)
The ZIP archive contains an Excel file with both tables and high-resolution images of the charts for the TOP 10 countries by share of foreign-born population.
Formats: XLSX (tables) and PNG (bar chart and cartogram). Ready for further analysis, presentations and reports.
