Differences in Immigration Patterns between the U.S. and Other OECD Nations

With the largest immigrant population in the world, the U.S. is often considered unique. Yet other countries around the globe also have a sizable share of foreign-born people. A relevant question in this context is how U.S. immigration compares with that in similar advanced economies.

To answer it, we compare U.S. immigration patterns to those of other top immigrant-receiving nations belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). First, we note the size of nations’ immigrant pools in the latest available OECD data. Second, we focus on the top five immigrant-receiving OECD nations identified in this most recent data and examine the percentage of their foreign-born populations over time. Third, we see which source countries contribute the most immigrants to this set of top immigrant-receiving OECD nations. Finally, we look at the educational attainment of immigrants in these same top OECD recipient nations.

Sizing Up the Immigrant Pool

The figure below lists OECD nations for which immigrant pool data are available, with the most recent year in that dataset being 2021. The U.S. is by far the largest recipient nation in this list with around 45.3 million immigrants. It is also the nation with the world’s largest gross domestic product. Indeed, all the top recipient nations are relatively large economies. Smaller economies like Luxembourg or Iceland appear lower in the list, although they have large foreign-born shares in their populations at 48.4% and 18.5%, respectively, exceeding the corresponding share for the U.S. at 13.6%.

Number of Immigrants in OECD Countries, 2021

SOURCES: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and authors’ calculations.

NOTE: These immigrant data for 2021 are available for only 28 of the 38 OECD member nations.

The second figure takes the top five immigrant-receiving OECD nations of 2021 and charts their foreign-born population shares since 2006. The nation that had the highest share of foreign born over the entire period was Canada (at 21.9% in 2021). The U.S., at 13.6% in 2021, was fourth behind Germany (16.3%) and the U.K. (14.3%). Going back to 2006, we find that the shares have fluctuated over time; Germany and the U.S. had similar shares in 2006, while the U.K. had the lowest. Notably, immigrant shares increased in all these nations between 2006 and 2021, but at different rates.

Share of Foreign-Born Individuals in the Top 5 Immigrant-Receiving OECD Economies of 2021

SOURCES: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and authors’ calculations.

NOTE: Data for Canada are available for 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021.

From Where Did Immigrants Come?

The table below looks at top source nations for these same five OECD countries—those with the largest number of immigrants in 2021. It shows that an overwhelmingly large share of the U.S. foreign-born population (26%) is from Mexico, followed by India and China.

It is natural that differences in economic opportunity, as well as geographical proximity, favor Mexico being the largest source nation of immigrants to the U.S. On the other hand, India and China are distant nations, but perhaps their sheer size and large skilled labor forces seeking better opportunities have contributed to their prominence as source nations of immigrants to the U.S. Similar economic considerations and the history of Asian migration are probably why Canada has India, the Philippines and China as its three top source nations. Notably, the U.S. is among the top five source nations for Canada, with proximity and eased labor mobility rules between Canada and the U.S. likely playing major roles.These rules are stipulated under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the 2020 trade deal that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Turning to the European nations in the table, a mix of current economic differences, membership in supranational economic organizations (now or in the past) that facilitate labor mobility, geographic proximity, and history (including past colonial linkages) help shape immigration flows. For example, Algeria (a former French colony) is the top source of immigrants for France; Poland (a European Union member since 2004 and a neighboring country) is the top source of immigrants for Germany; and India (a populous former British colony) is the top source of immigrants for the U.K. The role of conflict in driving immigration is also evident in the fact that Syria is the fourth largest source nation for immigrants to Germany. It is well known that Germany accepted a large number of refugees fleeing the recent Syrian civil war.

Educational Attainment of Immigrants

The next figure begins with the top five immigrant-receiving OECD nations, again as measured in 2021, and divides their 25- to 64-year-old foreign-born populations into three broad groups based on level of educational attainment: high, medium and low. Educational attainment data in the figure are from 2019, the latest available. These correspond roughly to college graduates (or those with higher degrees), high school graduates (with or without some vocational training), and those who have not completed high school, respectively.

Share of 25- to 64-Year-Old Foreign-Born Individuals in Different Education Groups for Top 5 Immigrant-Receiving OECD Economies of 2021

SOURCES: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and authors’ calculations.

Canada has by far the highest proportion of its 25- to 64-year-old foreign-born population at the “high” educational attainment level. The U.S. has roughly equal percentages of its comparable foreign-born population at the “high” and “medium” levels, with a smaller fraction (20.4%) at the “low” educational level. The U.K.’s picture looks somewhat similar to Canada’s, while Germany and France have relatively large percentages at the “low” educational level.

Differences in immigration patterns across OECD nations are attributable to a variety of factors, including geographical proximity, historical linkages (including past colonial ties), international arrangements like the European Union, and conflict in different parts of the world. A common feature of such migration, however, is the economic size and prosperity of recipient nations, which draw immigrants from across the globe looking for better economic opportunities.

Note

1. These rules are stipulated under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the 2020 trade deal that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).