World expat population – the numbers

Expats around the world: the numbers

Published November 2013

This infographic looks at the total expat population around the world. Imagine if all the expats were put together, they would form the 5th most populous country in the world. Lets call it the United States of Expatriates!

• There were a ‘mere’ 73 million expats worldwide in the year 1960, that figure now stands at a staggering 230 million!
• Expats make up 3.1% of global population.
• If all the expats of the world were to form an imaginary country, it would be the 5th most populous country in the world. Lets call it the United States of Expatriates. Its population would be greater than large countries like Russia and Brazil.
• A human chain made up of all expats would be long enough to circumnavigate the globe – a distance of nearly 25,000 miles!
• Women make up 49% of the expat population worldwide, i.e., nearly 113 million, more than the population of Canada and the UK put together!
• The total expat remittances to developing nations amounted to US$ 328 billion in 2012, thereby propping up the economies of those countries.
• The top recipient countries of expat remittances are India, China, Mexico, Philippines and Nigeria.
• The Top 5 countries with the highest share of expats in total population are Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Jordan and Singapore.
• It is interesting to note that the top 3 countries with the highest percentage of expats in the total population are all oil rich middle-eastern countries.
• There are 6.32 million American and 4.7 million British expats living abroad.
• In the time taken for you to read this, 6-7 expats would have moved abroad for the first time!

via Feedbacq Blog : World Expat Population – The Numbers.