No country added more emigrants since 2015 than Venezuela
Change in people living outside their country of origin, 2015 to 2024, eight largest increases of 214 origins. UN estimates.
- 1. One in ten in Japan will be foreign by 2070
- 2. Japan's foreign residents have doubled since 2012, passing 4 million
- 3. Jakarta, not Tokyo, is the world's largest city
- 4. Two in three newly licensed UK doctors qualified abroad
- 5. Iran dropped from top refugee host to fifth in 2025
- 6. Egypt has more asylum seekers than Germany, Spain and Italy
- 7. Chad rose from 15th to 6th among refugee hosts
- 8. Türkiye overtook France in hosting foreign students
- 9. Uzbekistan's university enrolment rose from 8% to 57%
- 10. Japan rose from ninth to second as Vietnamese emigrants' home
- 11. South Korea turned from student sender into student host
- 12. Nigeria became the third-biggest sender of students abroad
- 13. Pakistanis abroad now send home more than Pakistan exports
- 14. More Syrian refugees returned in 2025 than in 2015–2024 combined
- 15. Burkina Faso's refugees abroad grew thirtyfold in six years
- 16. Nearly half of Mongolia now lives in its capital
- 17. 13 countries and Hong Kong became student hosts, not senders
- 18. Tijuana added almost as many domestic passengers as Mexico City
- 19. Most of East Asia's big cities lost people since 2020
- 20. 17 countries hold 100,000+ pending asylum claims, up from 5
- 21. Most Bangladeshi migrants now live in the Gulf, not India
- 22. The Gulf now hosts a quarter of Nepalis abroad
- 23. Fewer Mexicans live abroad, yet Mexico receives far more money
- 24. No country added more emigrants since 2015 than Venezuela
Venezuelans living abroad rose from 0.76 million in 2015 to 8.33 million in 2024, the largest increase of 214 countries of origin. Venezuela went from 74th to 8th largest origin.
Ukraine's increase, the second largest. Syria added 3.0 million and Afghanistan 2.4 million over the same years.
Venezuela's emigrant population multiplied elevenfold in nine years. India's, the world's largest at 18.5 million, grew by a fifth.
the numbers & method
| Added since 2015 (M) | Living abroad (M) | 2015 (grey bar) (M) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venezuela | 7.6 | 8.3 | 0.8 |
| Ukraine | 5.1 | 9.8 | 4.6 |
| India | 3.3 | 18.5 | 15.3 |
| Syria | 3.0 | 8.9 | 6.0 |
| Afghanistan | 2.4 | 7.5 | 5.2 |
| South Sudan | 2.3 | 3.2 | 0.9 |
| Myanmar | 1.8 | 4.3 | 2.5 |
| Sudan | 1.6 | 3.8 | 2.2 |
Claim types Estimate
Estimate. UN DESA Population Division, International Migrant Stock 2024 (POP/DB/MIG/Stock/Rev.2024), international migrant stock at mid-year by country of origin, both sexes, 2015 and 2024, read from the UN file via the progrss vault (vault rule GUIDELINES §4.11). The stock counts people living outside their country of birth or citizenship, refugees and asylum seekers included, built from host-country censuses and registers; it undercounts people without papers. Increases are progrss calculations (2024 minus 2015) across 214 origins. Millions abroad, 2015 → 2024: Venezuela 0.76 → 8.33; Ukraine 4.64 → 9.77; India 15.28 → 18.53; Syria 5.98 → 8.93; Afghanistan 5.18 → 7.53; South Sudan 0.85 → 3.17; Myanmar 2.52 → 4.32; Sudan 2.21 → 3.79. Next: China +1.34 million, Romania +1.05 million. Dataset join: JOIN 07 in the progrss vault.
one plate, every morning
The new world, explained in one chart, in your inbox at 7:00, your time. Free.


