Foreign born

Foreign-born (also non-native) people are those born outside of their country of residence. Foreign born are often non-citizens, but many are naturalized citizens of the country in which they live, and others are citizens by descent, typically through a parent.

The term foreign born encompasses both immigrants and expatriates but is not synonymous with either. Foreign born may, like immigrants, have committed to living in a country permanently or, like expatriates, live abroad for a significant period with the plan to return to their birth-country eventually.

The status of foreign born — particularly their access to citizenship — differs globally. The large groups of foreign-born guest workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council states, for example, have no right to citizenship no matter the length of their residence. In Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, by contrast, foreign born are often citizens or in the process of becoming citizens. Certain countries have intermediary rules: in Germany and Japan it is often difficult but not impossible for the foreign born to become citizens.

Definition

The adjective foreign-born has two potential meanings:

  • "born in a country other than that in which one resides."
  • "foreign by birth."

The United Nations uses the first definition to estimate the international migrant stock, whenever this information is available. In countries lacking data on place of birth, the UN uses the country of citizenship instead.

On the other hand, the United States Census Bureau defines foreign-born as "anyone who is not a U.S. citizen at birth", which includes persons who have become U.S. citizens through naturalization but excludes persons born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents.

According to the UN: "Equating international migrants with foreign citizens when estimating the migrant stock has important shortcomings. In countries where citizenship is conferred on the basis of jus sanguinis, people who were born in the country of residence may be included in the number of international migrants even though they may have never lived abroad. Conversely, persons who were born abroad and who naturalized in their country of residence are excluded from the stock of international migrants when using citizenship as the criterion to define international migrants."

Trends by country

Share of migrants in all countries. Data from 2015.

The percentage of foreign born in a country is the product mostly of immigration rates, but is also affected by emigration rates and birth and death rates in the destination country. For example, the United Kingdom and Ireland are destination countries for migrants from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia, but are themselves source countries for immigration to other English-speaking countries.

The Holy See is unique in having 100% of its population foreign-born, while Cuba is unique in having 0% of its population foreign-born. The region with the highest rate is Oceania, with 21%, while Asia has less than 1%.

Countries with immigration rates above 25% tend to be wealthy countries with relatively open migration or labour laws, including Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and the Persian Gulf states.

The largest foreign-born population in the world is in the United States, which was home to 39 million foreign-born residents in 2012, or 12.6% of the population.

Cities with largest foreign born populations

Rank City Country Estimate source Foreign-born population Percentage
1 London United Kingdom ONS 2021 3,576,000 40.6%
2 New York United States 2016 ACS 3,200,219 37.5%
3 Sydney Australia 2016 Census 1,961,977 45.4%
4 Melbourne Australia 2016 Census 1,784,794 41.3%
5 Lima Peru 2023 United Nations Office of Peru 1,586,880 17.5%
6 Los Angeles United States 2016 ACS 1,499,418[citation needed] 37.7%
7 Toronto Canada Canada 2021 Census 1,431,380 51.9%
8 Berlin Germany Berlin-Brandenburg office of statistics, 2021 789,076[citation needed] 21%
9 Madrid Spain 2019 Spain Census 726,669[citation needed] 22.2%
9 Auckland New Zealand Statistics New Zealand 2018 714,480[citation needed] 41.6%
10 Montréal Canada Canada 2021 Census 705,900 40.9%
11 Houston United States 2016 ACS 698,395[citation needed] 30.3%
12 Brisbane Australia 2016 Australian Census 682,132 33.2%
13 Chicago United States 2016 ACS 559,623[citation needed] 20.7%
14 Calgary Canada Canada 2021 Census 457,665 35.4%
15 Mississauga Canada Canada 2021 Census 406,455 57%
16 San Jose United States 2016 ACS 402,776[citation needed] 39.3%
17 Vienna Austria wien statistik 2019 395,720[citation needed] 16%
18 Brampton Canada Canada 2021 Census 383,695 59.1%
19 San Diego United States 2016 ACS 373,842[citation needed] 26.7%
20 Bogotá Colombia 2019 352,431[citation needed] 5%
21 Edmonton Canada Canada 2021 Census 348,295 34.9%
22 Hamburg Germany 2021 ACS 341,759[citation needed] 24.7%
23 Milan Italy Istat 2011 324,378 10.7%
24 Vancouver Canada Canada 2021 Census 317,190 48.8%
25 Birmingham United Kingdom ONS 2021 305,963[citation needed] 25.6%
26 San Francisco United States 2016 ACS 296,849[citation needed] 34.9%
27 Ottawa Canada Canada 2021 Census 288,835 28.9%
28 Surrey Canada Canada 2021 Census 285,620 50.8%
29 Amsterdam Netherlands Statistics Netherlands 2019 277,431[citation needed] 32.1%
30 Miami United States 2016 ACS 264,656[citation needed] 58.3%
31 Stockholm Sweden Statistics Sweden 2019 248,708[citation needed] 25.5%
32 Lyon France France Unité urbaine de Lyon, INSEE 2020 235,969[citation needed] 14%
33 Winnipeg Canada Canada 2021 Census 231,135 31.4%
34 Santiago Chile 2017 Census 212,037[citation needed] 10.2%
35 Marseille France Unité urbaine de Marseille-Aix, INSEE 2020 193,740[citation needed] 12%
36 Rotterdam Netherlands Statistics Netherlands 2019 184,218[citation needed] 28.6%
37 The Hague Netherlands Statistics Netherlands 2019 176,183[citation needed] 32.8%
38 Manchester United Kingdom ONS 2021 173,208[citation needed] 31.4%
39 Oslo Norway Statistics Norway 2019 171,868[citation needed] 25.2%
40 Gothenburg Sweden Statistics Sweden 2019 159,342[citation needed] 27.5%
41 Hamilton Canada Canada 2021 Census 158,190 28.2%
42 Copenhagen Denmark Statistics Denmark 2022 134,409[citation needed] 26.3%
43 Malmö Sweden Statistics Sweden 2019 118,323[citation needed] 34.4%
44 Helsinki Finland Statistics Finland 2021 102,016[citation needed] 15.5%

Metropolitan and urban regions with the largest foreign-born populations

  1. Data for the cities listed below is from numerous sources.
Rank Metropolitan region /
urban area
Country Foreign-born population Sources of immigrants
1 New York metropolitan area United States 5,892,000 China, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Ecuador, Guyana, South Korea, Mexico, Peru, Bangladesh, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Italy, Colombia, Poland, Russia, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Cuba, Nigeria, Ghana
2 London and the home counties United Kingdom 5,623,701 India, Poland, Bangladesh, Romania, Pakistan, Italy, Turkey, Nigeria, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, China, France, Ghana, Phillipines
3 Los Angeles Metropolitan Area United States 5,541,000 Mexico, Bangladesh, the Philippines, El Salvador, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Armenia, Iran, India
4 Paris metropolitan area France 3,041,148 Algeria, Portugal, Morocco, Tunisia, Spain, Romania, Turkey, China, Italy, Mali, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Democratic Republic of Congo,
5 Greater Toronto Area Canada 2,870,000 India, China, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Italy, United Kingdom, European Union, Pakistan, Iran, Jamaica, Bangladesh, Trinidad and Tobago, United States
6 Hong Kong (SAR) China 2,793,450 China, Indonesia, Philippines, Macau, Thailand, United Kingdom, France, India, Pakistan, Japan, United States, Canada
7 San Francisco Bay Area United States 2,634,270 Mexico, China, Philippines, Vietnam, India, El Salvador, Bangladesh, South Korea, Taiwan, Iran, Russia
8 Sydney Greater Capital City Statistical Area Australia 2,071,872 China, United Kingdom, India, New Zealand, Vietnam, Philippines, South Korea, Lebanon, Sri Lanka
9 Miami metropolitan area United States 1,949,629 Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Canada, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Brazil, Panama, Peru, Bangladesh
10 Melbourne Greater Capital City Statistical Area Australia 1,801,139 India, China, Vietnam, New Zealand, England, Italy, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Greece, Philippines, South Africa, Hong Kong
11 Chicago metropolitan area United States 1,625,649 Mexico, India, Poland, Philippines, China, Palestine, Ukraine, Italy, Guatemala, Lithuania
12 Brussels Urban Area Belgium 1,441,600 France, Romania, Morocco, Italy, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Germany
13 Berlin Urban Area Germany 1,231,500 Turkey, Russia, Poland, Syria, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, France, Vietnam, United Kingdom
14 Singapore (city only) Singapore 1,305,011 Malaysia, China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Myanmar, South Korea
15 Moscow (city only) Russia 1,128,035 Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Belarus
16 Houston metropolitan area United States 1,113,875 Mexico, El Salvador, Vietnam, India, Nigeria, China, Honduras, Philippines, Myanmar, Guatemala, Colombia
17 Metropolitan Dubai United Arab Emirates 1,056,000 India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines, Iran, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom
18 Riyadh (city only) Saudi Arabia 1,054,000 Arab League, Pakistan, India, African Union, Bangladesh, Iran
19 Vancouver metropolitan area Canada 1,019,170 Hong Kong, China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Japan, Iran, Pakistan, Poland, United Kingdom, Italy, United States
20 Washington metropolitan area United States 1,017,432 El Salvador, China, Ethiopia, Mexico, South Korea, Nigeria, Philippines, Vietnam, Ghana, Bolivia
21 Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex United States 1,016,221 Mexico, India, Vietnam, El Salvador, China, South Korea, Bangladesh, Honduras, Philippines
22 Frankfurt Urban Area Germany 998,400 Turkey, Italy, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Russia, North Macedonia
23 Tokyo Urban Area Japan 978,172 China, South Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, United States, Brazil, Nepal, Taiwan, Peru, Thailand
Birmingham Urban Area United Kingdom 902,438 India, Pakistan, Poland, Bangladesh, Romania, China, Italy, Albania, Nigeria, Somalia
24 Barcelona Urban Area Spain 862,200 Italy, Pakistan, China, Ecuador, Bolivia, Morocco, France
25 Atlanta metropolitan area United States 861,208 Mexico, India, Jamaica, South Korea, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Nigeria, Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia
26 Montreal Urban Area Canada 740,400 Algeria, Morocco, Bangladesh, Romania, France, Haiti, Lebanon
27 Brisbane Greater Capital City Statistical Area Australia 731,198 New Zealand, England, China, India, South Africa, Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, Scotland, Malaysia
28 Auckland Urban Area New Zealand 662,298 United Kingdom, China, India, Fiji, Samoa, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka
29 Stockholm County Sweden 660,302 Finland, Iraq, Poland, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Eritrea, Afghanistan
30 Muscat Oman 571,000 Philippines, Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
31 Milan Urban Area Italy 475,000 Egypt, Philippines, China, Romania, Sri Lanka
32 Greater Calgary Canada 400,000 India, Pakistan, Philippines, United States, Nigeria, China, Lebanon, Vietnam, United Kingdom, Bangladesh, South Korea, Iran, Hong Kong, Ethiopia, Germany, European Union
33 Hamburg Metropolitan Region Germany 332,473 Turkey, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Italy, Spain, Ghana
34 Greater Manchester United Kingdom 302,000 Pakistan, China, Ireland, Bangladesh, Poland, Nigeria, India, Somalia, Jamaica, Iraq
35 Greater Edmonton Canada 274,355 China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Somalia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Lebanon
36 Helsinki Finland 213,290 Russia, Estonia, Somalia, Iraq, Sweden, China, Yugoslavia, Vietnam, India, Turkey
37 Hannover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region Germany 132,684 Turkey, Serbia, Ukraine, Greece, Russia, Italy, Spain
38 Hamilton Canada 130,565 Italy, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India
39 Geneva Switzerland 77,602 France, Spain, Germany

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Statistic includes all persons classified as 'Immigrants' and 'Non-permanent residents' on census.

    Statistics Canada defines 'Immigrants' as "persons who are, or who have ever been, landed immigrants or permanent residents. Such persons have been granted the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities. Immigrants who have obtained Canadian citizenship by naturalization are included in this category."

    Statistics Canada defines 'Non-permanent residents' as "persons from another country with a usual place of residence in Canada and who have a work or study permit or who have claimed refugee status (asylum claimants). Family members living with work or study permit holders are also included, unless these family members are already Canadian citizens, landed immigrants or permanent residents."

This page was last updated at 2023-09-13 12:08 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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