Countries Where Migrants Make Up Less Than 1% of the Population

Countries Where Migrants Make Up <1% of the Population

Key Takeaways

• In 43 countries and territories, international migrants account for less than 1% of the population.
• Nearly three-fifths of the world’s population lives in these low-immigration countries, including China, India, Indonesia, and Nigeria.
• Across 81 countries and territories, migrants make up less than 3% of the population, showing how concentrated global migration remains.

Migration debates often focus on countries that receive large numbers of newcomers. Across much of the world, however, immigrants remain exceptionally rare.

Using 2024 data from the UN Population Division’s International Migrant Stock, this map highlights countries and territories where foreign-born residents make up less than 1% of the population.

Where Migrant Populations Are Rare

Here is the full dataset showing international migrants as a share of each country or territory’s population:Search:

Country/Territory	Migrant population share (%, 2024)
Cuba	0.02
Philippines	0.08
China	0.12
Madagascar	0.12
Myanmar	0.15
Indonesia	0.16
Haiti	0.17
Sri Lanka	0.18
North Korea	0.19
Afghanistan	0.23
Morocco	0.29
Papua New Guinea	0.29
Solomon Islands	0.30
Vietnam	0.32
India	0.33
Eritrea	0.35
Honduras	0.37
Somalia	0.41
Cambodia	0.48
Guatemala	0.50

Tunisia	0.51
Algeria	0.55
Sierra Leone	0.58
Timor-Leste	0.59
Nigeria	0.60
Nicaragua	0.63
Lesotho	0.64
Mongolia	0.65
Laos	0.66
Brazil	0.66
Tanzania	0.67
El Salvador	0.68
Guinea-Bissau	0.68
Guinea	0.80
Iraq	0.81
Sao Tome and Principe	0.83
Jamaica	0.85
Malawi	0.86
Ethiopia	0.88
Western Sahara	0.95

Yemen	0.97
Egypt	0.98
DR Congo	0.99
Vanuatu	1.01
Mozambique	1.02
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1.08
Zambia	1.17
Liberia	1.29
Mexico	1.32
Comoros	1.44
Bolivia	1.48
Senegal	1.52
Ghana	1.55
Fiji	1.55
Nepal	1.59
Albania	1.66
Niger	1.66
Pakistan	1.66
Bangladesh	1.67
Kenya	1.76

Samoa	1.76
Central African Republic	1.77
Angola	1.79
Azerbaijan	2.11
Georgia	2.14
Cameroon	2.21
Mali	2.23
Mauritius	2.29
Kiribati	2.45
Tuvalu	2.55
Micronesia	2.56
Zimbabwe	2.58
Turkmenistan	2.59
Paraguay	2.61
Tajikistan	2.61
Eswatini	2.68
Kyrgyzstan	2.71
Japan	2.76
Burundi	2.76
Benin	2.89

Togo	2.96
Burkina Faso	3.14
Cape Verde	3.15
Uzbekistan	3.18
Tonga	3.44
Romania	3.45
South Korea	3.50
Rwanda	3.60
Syria	3.63
Mauritania	3.79
Namibia	3.83
South Africa	4.11
Uganda	4.11
Ecuador	4.12
Iran	4.19
Argentina	4.28
Bulgaria	4.43
Thailand	4.44
Venezuela	4.45
Saint Lucia	4.49

Poland	4.51
Botswana	4.62
Uruguay	4.73
Sudan	4.75
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	4.79
Taiwan	4.90
Palestine	4.96
Russia	5.25
Peru	5.37
Colombia	5.79
Slovakia	5.88
Congo	6.09
Lithuania	6.13
Moldova	6.20
Chad	6.25
Grenada	6.26
Dominican Republic	6.46
Guyana	6.52
Puerto Rico	6.89
Bhutan	7.04

Hungary	7.13
Trinidad and Tobago	7.53
South Sudan	7.65
Chile	7.78
Türkiye	8.10
Suriname	8.18
North Macedonia	8.28
Gambia	8.56
Marshall Islands	8.81
Côte d’Ivoire	9.02
Finland	9.16
Armenia	9.24
Saint Helena	9.39
Czechia	9.55
Kazakhstan	10.15
Seychelles	10.17
Greenland	10.41
Serbia	10.58
Panama	10.58
French Polynesia	10.68

Malaysia	10.71
Djibouti	10.78
Portugal	10.81
Italy	11.04
Belarus	11.64
Latvia	11.78
Libya	12.16
Costa Rica	12.25
Barbados	12.46
Dominica	12.75
Equatorial Guinea	13.15
Ukraine	13.38
Croatia	13.62
France	13.80
Greece	14.17
Denmark	14.18
Maldives	14.23
Montenegro	14.45
Faroe Islands	14.62
Slovenia	14.87

Cyprus	14.88
Estonia	14.92
United States	15.16
Réunion	15.43
Netherlands	16.22
Belize	16.47
Bahamas	16.77
Saint Kitts and Nevis	16.99
United Kingdom	17.13
San Marino	17.38
Gabon	17.71
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	17.91
Wallis and Futuna	18.02
Norway	18.15
Spain	18.51
Germany	19.81
Martinique	19.87
Belgium	20.01
Nauru	21.33
Sweden	21.42

Canada	22.16
Israel	22.28
Ireland	23.14
Guadeloupe	23.89
Lebanon	24.50
Iceland	25.12
Austria	25.51
Brunei	25.92
New Caledonia	26.22
New Zealand	28.16
Gibraltar	28.71
Palau	29.45
Australia	30.36
Switzerland	31.09
Bermuda	31.21
Montserrat	31.94
Niue	32.33
Antigua and Barbuda	32.50
Cook Islands	35.96
Malta	36.97

Saudi Arabia	40.29
Anguilla	40.54
Hong Kong	41.31
French Guiana	42.44
Cayman Islands	42.89
Curaçao	43.14
Oman	43.23
Mayotte	43.96
Jordan	45.70
Singapore	48.72
Northern Mariana Islands	49.69
Guam	50.16
American Samoa	50.64
Tokelau	51.16
Luxembourg	51.16
Isle of Man	51.92
Bahrain	52.28
Andorra	59.08
Macau	59.26
Turks and Caicos Islands	61.15

British Virgin Islands	62.12
U.S. Virgin Islands	66.87
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	67.23
Kuwait	67.35
Aruba	68.01
Liechtenstein	69.40
Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	69.55
Monaco	70.17
United Arab Emirates	73.97
Qatar	76.66
Vatican City	100.00

Cuba has the lowest migrant share in the dataset at just 0.02%, followed by the Philippines at 0.08%. China and Madagascar each stand at 0.12%.

What Does a Migrant Share Below 1% Look Like?

In practical terms, a migrant share below 1% means that a randomly selected group of 100 residents would typically include fewer than one person born in another country.

Several of these countries have some of the world’s largest populations, including China, India, Indonesia, and Nigeria. Their size helps explain why nearly three-fifths of humanity lives in places where international migrants have a minimal demographic presence.

Japan is frequently viewed as the archetype of a low-immigration society. Yet migrants account for roughly 3% of its population, well above the cutoff for this map. Every country highlighted here has an even smaller foreign-born share.

High-Immigration Countries Are the Exception

The map captures only the lowest end of the spectrum. Another 38 countries and territories have migrant shares between 1% and 3%, bringing the total with shares below 3% to 81.

That picture contrasts sharply with countries such as Canada, Australia, and Switzerland, where migrants account for a substantial share of residents and where foreign-born populations have grown significantly.

International migrants also tend to remain relatively close to home. According to Our World in Data, roughly 47% move less than 500 kilometers (about 300 miles), while most stay on the same continent.

Together, these patterns show that international migration is concentrated in a comparatively small number of destinations, including the countries that host the largest migrant populations today.

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