Dataset · UN DESA Population Division
International Migrants as a Share of Population
8 years, 1990–2024 · 221 countries · 3 measures
This is the share of a country's population made up of international migrants — people born abroad, or foreign citizens where a country counts by citizenship, including refugees. The same share among women and among men is shown beside it.
This site holds every year from 1990 to 2024, read from UN DESA Population Division’s own data and stored exactly as published.
International Migrants as a Share of Population · the file
- Newest
- International Migrants as a Share of Population, 2024
- Held
- 8 years · 1,764 rows
- Licence
- CC BY 3.0 IGO
018 years
Every year
Every year comes from UN DESA Population Division’s 2024 release, recalculated on one method. Each opens the full table for that year; each downloads as a CSV.
| Year | Countries | Change | Read | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Migrants as a Share of Population, 2024Newest | 221 | ±0 | September 29, 2026 | CSV |
| International Migrants as a Share of Population, 2020 | 221 | ±0 | September 29, 2026 | CSV |
| International Migrants as a Share of Population, 2015 | 221 | ±0 | September 29, 2026 | CSV |
| International Migrants as a Share of Population, 2010 | 221 | +1 | September 29, 2026 | CSV |
| International Migrants as a Share of Population, 2005 | 220 | ±0 | September 29, 2026 | CSV |
| International Migrants as a Share of Population, 2000 | 220 | ±0 | September 29, 2026 | CSV |
| International Migrants as a Share of Population, 1995 | 220 | ±0 | September 29, 2026 | CSV |
| International Migrants as a Share of Population, 1990 | 220 | — | September 29, 2026 | CSV |
Every year in one file, one row per country per year: international-migrants-share-all-editions-nations-inquiry.csv
026 columns
What’s in the file
Every column, what it holds, how it is stored and what its values look like — what a reader needs before opening the file.
| Column | What it holds | Stored as | Range, 2024 | Distinct | Empty | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CountrycountryName | The country’s name, as this file spells it. | Text | — | 221 | 0 | |
ISO Codecountry_codeIdentifier | The ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code, added by this site. Every table here joins on it. | Text · 3 letters | — | 221 | 0 | |
International migrants (% of population)migrant_shareHeadline | The headline figure: International migrants (% of population). | Number · up to 17 decimals | 0.0195 Cuba100.0000 Vatican Citymiddle 6.0886 | 221 | 0 | |
Women who are international migrants (% of women)femaleWomen | The same measure, for women. | Number · up to 17 decimals | 0.0218Cuba100.0000Vatican Citymiddle 5.4579 | 221 | 0 | |
Men who are international migrants (% of men)maleMen | The same measure, for men. | Number · up to 17 decimals | 0.017Cuba100.000Vatican Citymiddle 5.587 | 221 | 0 | |
Type of data (B, C, R, I)data_typeLabel | How the migrants were counted: B by country of birth, C by citizenship, R with refugees added from UNHCR or UNRWA counts, I estimated without any data for the country. | Text | — | 7 | 0 |
Profiled from the newest file. Range: the lowest and highest value, with the country holding it when only one does. Spread: countries in ten equal steps from lowest to highest. Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score.
03221 countries across every year
Who is covered
How many countries each year holds, continent by continent, who joined and who left, and which places this site covers that the dataset never has.
| 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 53 | 53 | 53 | 53 | 54 | 54 | 54 | 54 |
| Americas | 47 | 47 | 47 | 47 | 47 | 47 | 47 | 47 |
| Asia | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 |
| Europe | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 |
| Oceania | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
| All | 220 | 220 | 220 | 220 | 221 | 221 | 221 | 221 |
Who joined and who left
- 2010
+ Sudan
Not in this dataset · 4 places this site covers
UN DESA Population Division gives no figure for these in any year held here. It is the publisher’s choice of scope, and each place’s profile shows what is measured.
04Provenance
Where it comes from
The path from the publisher to this page, and what was checked and changed on the way.
1 · Publisher
UN DESA Population Division
2 · Their file
International Migrant Stock 2024: international migrants (share of population), 2024
3 · Read by this site
September 29, 2026
Imported by a script that parses each figure and writes it down unrounded.4 · Stored as
8 files, one per year
Each downloads as a CSV, or every year together as international-migrants-share-all-editions-nations-inquiry.csv5 · Used on
Its statistic page, and every profile it measures
Precision
The headline is stored to 17 decimals, as published.
Rounded by this site
Never. Tables on screen may show fewer decimals; the files never do.
Changed by this site
Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.
From International Migrant Stock 2024, Table 3 of the UN Population Division's own workbook. The World Bank's copy rounds the share to one decimal, which can turn a small reading into a zero; the Division's file keeps every digit.
05Reuse
Licence and credit
What the publisher’s licence lets you do, what it asks of you, and a credit line and citation ready to copy.
Licence · checked September 29, 2026
- Share and redistribute it
- Adapt it and build on it
- Use it commercially
- Credit the publisher
- Say what you changed
The version of CC BY written for intergovernmental organisations. Credit the publisher and say what you changed.
A credit line
Source: UN DESA Population Division, International Migrants as a Share of Population, via Nations Inquiry.
Cite this dataset
UN DESA Population Division. International Migrants as a Share of Population, 1990–2024 [data set]. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/international-migrants-share
The publisher’s own citation: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). International Migrant Stock 2024.
Plain-language summary, not legal advice. The licence text is what binds.
06Where it is used
Around the site
Where these numbers appear on this site, and the datasets nearest to it.
Charted
International Migrants as a Share of Population by countryWho is highest, the map, the spread, who rose and fell, and the records.
Subjects
Near neighbours
- Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation)UN DESA Population Division · 76 held · 1950–2025
- Urban Population Share (National Definitions)UN DESA Population Division · 76 held · 1950–2025
- Crude Birth RateUN DESA Population Division · 74 held · 1950–2023
07Questions
International Migrants as a Share of Population: questions and answers
What is the International Migrants as a Share of Population?
This is the share of a country's population made up of international migrants — people born abroad, or foreign citizens where a country counts by citizenship, including refugees. The same share among women and among men is shown beside it.
Which years of the International Migrants as a Share of Population can I download?
All 8, from 1990 to 2024, each as a CSV file, or every year together in one CSV.
Does UN DESA Population Division rank countries on it?
No, and this site does not order it either. The files hold values only.
Can I use it commercially?
Yes, under CC BY 3.0 IGO, with credit to UN DESA Population Division. The licence text is linked on this page.