This article delineates the issue ofimmigration in different countries.
Citizens of one member nation of theEuropean Union are allowed to work in other member nations with little to no restriction on movement.[1] This is aided by the EURES network, which brings together theEuropean Commission and the public employment services of the countries belonging to theEuropean Economic Area andSwitzerland. For non-EU-citizen permanent residents in the EU, movement between EU-member states is considerably more difficult. After 155 new waves of accession to the European Union, earlier members have often introduced measures to restrict participation in "their" labour markets by citizens of the new EU-member states. For instance,Austria,Belgium,Denmark,France,Germany,Greece, Italy,Luxembourg,Netherlands,Portugal, andSpain each restricted their labor market for up to seven years both in the 2004 and 2007 round of accession.[2]
Due to the European Union's—in principle—single internal labour market policy, countries such as Italy and theRepublic of Ireland that have seen relatively low levels of labour immigration until recently (and which have often sent a significant portion of their population overseas in the past) are now seeing an influx of immigrants from EU countries with lower per capita annual earning rates, triggering nationwide immigration debates.[3][4] Spain, meanwhile, is seeing growing illegal immigration fromAfrica. As Spain is the closest EU member nation to Africa—Spain even has two autonomous cities (Ceuta andMelilla) on the African continent, as well as an autonomous community (theCanary Islands) west of North Africa, in the Atlantic—it is physically easiest for African emigrants to reach. This has led to debate both within Spain and between Spain and other EU members. Spain has asked for border control assistance from other EU states; the latter have responded that Spain has brought the wave of African illegal migrants on itself by granting amnesty to hundreds of thousands of undocumented foreigners.[5]
TheUnited Kingdom,France, andGermany have seen major immigration since the end of World War II and have been debating the issue for decades.Foreign workers were brought in to those countries to help rebuild after the war, and many stayed. Political debates about immigration typically focus on statistics, the immigration law and policy, and the implementation of existing restrictions.[6][7] In some European countries, the debate in the 1990s was focused on asylum seekers, but restrictive policies within the European Union, as well as a reduction in armed conflict in Europe and neighboring regions, have sharply reduced asylum seekers.[8]
Some countries, such asJapan, have opted for technological changes to increase profitability (for example, greaterautomation), and designed immigration laws specifically to prevent immigrants from coming to, and remaining within, the country.[9] In 2007, ministerTaro Aso described Japan as unique in being "one nation, one civilisation, one language, one culture and one race".[10] In 2013, Japan accepted only six of 3,777 persons who applied for refugee status.[11]
Japan is a highly unattractive migrant destination compared to othermajor industrialized countries; according to Gallup the number of potential migrants who wished to migrate to Japan was the lowest in the G7 and twelve times less than the number who wished to migrate to the United States, consistent with its low migrant inflows compared to the latter.[12][13] Some Japanese scholars have pointed out that Japanese immigration laws, at least toward high-skilled migrants, are relatively lenient compared to other developed countries, and that the main factor behind its low migrant inflows is because it is a highly unattractive migrant destination compared to other developed countries.[14] This is also apparent when looking at Japan's work visa programme for "specified skilled worker", which had less than 3,000 applicants, despite an annual goal of attracting 40,000 overseas workers, suggesting Japan faces major challenges in attracting migrants compared to other developed countries regardless of its immigration policies.[15]
In the United States, political debate on immigration has flared repeatedly.[citation needed] The country has seen unprecedented growth of immigrants since its independence in 1776, most recently for those of Asian descent.[citation needed]
Many commentators have raised the issue that immigrants from certain cultures who move intoWestern countries may not be able to understand and assimilate certain Western concepts, that are relatively alien in some parts of the world, especially related towomen's rights,domestic violence,LGBT rights and the supremacy ofsecular laws in front ofreligious practices. For instance, in some of the Islamic countries, it is legal and socially accepted for men to use physical violence against their wives if they "misbehave"; and wives are expected, both legally and socially, to "obey" their husbands.[16][17] Various behaviours of women, such as refusingarranged marriages or havingpremarital sex, are seen in many parts of the world as justifying violence from family members, particularly parents.[18] A 2010 survey conducted by thePew Research Centre found thatstoning as a punishment foradultery was supported by 82% of respondents inEgypt andPakistan, 70% inJordan, 56%Nigeria, 42% inIndonesia; thedeath penalty for people who leave theMuslim religion was supported by 86% of respondents in Jordan, 84% in Egypt and 76% in Pakistan;sex segregation in the workplace was supported by 85% of respondents in Pakistan, 54% in Egypt, 50% in Jordan.[19]
Some people[who?] argue that Western countries have worked hard and for a long time to achieve modern values, and they have the right to maintain these values, and protect them from threats. In 2007,Quebec premierJean Charest said that Quebec had values such asequality of women and men and theseparation between the state and religion and that "These values are fundamental. They cannot be the object of any accommodation. They cannot be subordinated to any other principle."[20] (seereasonable accommodation). In recent years, several high-profile cases ofhonour killings,forced marriages andfemale genital mutilation among immigrant communities in Canada, the US and Europe have reignited the debate on immigration and integration.[21][22][23][24][25][26]LGBT rights are another issue of controversy in relation to immigration, because homosexuality is in many parts of the world illegal and widely disapproved by society, and in some places it is evenpunishable by death (seesodomy laws andLGBT rights by country or territory). Some countries, such as theNetherlands, have adopted policies which explain to immigrants that they have to accept LGBT rights if they want to move to the country.[27]
Many overlook the fact that immigrants are not necessarily representative of the broader population in their home countries. Research suggests that those who choose to migrate tend to be moreopen to new experiences than those who remain.[28] As a result, their values may differ significantly from the prevailing norms in their countries of origin. InSweden, for example, a study of approximately 2,000 recently arrived immigrants examined their views on 35 moral issues, includingarranged marriages,premarital sex, andfemale genital mutilation. On average, the findings indicated that their values were relativelyliberal.[29]
TheCommitment to Development Index ranks 22 of the world's richest countries on their immigration policies and openness to migrants and refugees from the poorest nations. See the CDI for information about specific country policies and evaluation not listed below.
Jewish immigration toPalestine during the 19th century was promoted by theAustro-Hungarian journalistTheodor Herzl in the late 19th century following the publication of "Der Judenstaat".[30] HisZionist movement sought to encourageJewish migration, or immigration, toPalestine. Its proponents regard its aim asself-determination for the Jewish people.[31]
The percentage of world Jewry living in the formerMandatory Palestine has steadily grown from 25,000 since the movement came into existence. Today about 40% of the world's Jews live in Israel, more than in any other country.[32]
The IsraeliLaw of Return, passed in 1950, gives those born Jews (having a Jewish mother or grandmother), those with Jewish ancestry (having a Jewish father or grandfather) and converts to Judaism (Orthodox, Reform, or Conservative denominations—not secular—though Reform and Conservative conversions must take place outside the state, similar to civil marriages) the right to immigrate to Israel. A 1970 amendment extended immigration rights to "a child and a grandchild of a Jew, the spouse of a Jew, the spouse of a child of a Jew and the spouse of a grandchild of a Jew". Over a million Jews from the former Soviet Union have immigrated to Israel since the 1990s, and large numbers ofEthiopian Jews were airlifted to the country inOperation Moses. In the year 1991, Israel helped 14,000 Ethiopian immigrants arrive in operation Solomon.
There were 35,638 African migrants living in Israel in 2011.[33] Nearly 69,000 non-JewishAfrican migrants have entered Israel in recent years.[34]
To help cope with a labor shortage, Japan allowed additional immigrants of Japanese ancestry into the country in the early 1990s.[35] According to Japanese immigration centre,[36] the number of foreign residents in Japan has steadily increased, and the number of foreign residents (includingpermanent residents, but excludingillegal immigrants andshort-term visitors such as foreign nationals staying less than 90 days in Japan[37]) was more than 2.2 million in 2008.[36] The biggest groups areKoreans (both south and north), Chinese (includingChina,Taiwan,Hong Kong,Macau nationalities), and Brazilians. Most of the Brazilians in Japan haveJapanese ancestry due to the hugeJapanese immigration to Brazil in the first decades of the 20th century. Immediately afterWorld War II, most Koreans in Japan wereillegal immigrants who escaped from civil war on the Korean Peninsula.[38] Japan accepted 8,646 persons as naturalised citizens in 2013, down from 10,622 the previous year.[39] The definition of "ethnic groups" used in Japanese statistics is different from that used in North American or some Western European statistics. For example,the United Kingdom Census asks about its citizens' "ethnic or racial background".[40] The Japanese Statistics Bureau does not ask this question. Since the Japanese census asks about nationality rather than ethnicity, naturalised Japanese citizens and Japanese nationals with multi-ethnic backgrounds are considered simply to beJapanese in the population of Japan.[36] According to the Japanese Association for Refugees, the number ofrefugees who applied to live in Japan has rapidly increased since 2006,[41] and there were more than a thousand applications in 2008.[41] Japan's refugee policy has been criticised because the number of refugees accepted into Japan is small compared to countries such asSweden and the United States.[42][43] In 2013, Japan accepted only six of 3,777 persons who applied for refugee status.[11]
Morocco is home to more than 46,000 sub-Saharan African immigrants.[44] Most of the foreign residents are French or Spanish. Prior to independence, Morocco was home to half a millionEuropeans.[45]
According toEurostat, 47.3 million people lived in the EU in 2010, who were born outside their resident country. This corresponds to 9.4% of the total EU population. Of these, 31.4 million (6.3%) were born outside the EU and 16.0 million (3.2%) were born in another EU member state. The largest absolute numbers of people born outside the EU were in Germany (6.4 million), France (5.1 million), the United Kingdom (4.7 million), Spain (4.1 million), Italy (3.2 million), and the Netherlands (1.4 million).[46][47]
Some EU member states are currently receiving large-scale immigration: for instanceSpain, where the economy has created more than half of all new jobs in the EU over the past five years.[48] The EU, in 2005, had an overall net gain from international migration of +1.8 million people. This accounts for almost 85% of Europe's total population growth in 2005.[49] In 2004, total 140,033 people immigrated toFrance. Of them, 90,250 were fromAfrica and 13,710 fromEurope.[50] In 2005, immigration fell slightly to 135,890.[51] British emigration towardsSouthern Europe is of special relevance. Citizens from the European Union make up a growing proportion of immigrants inSpain. They mainly come from countries like the UK and Germany, but the British case is of special interest due to its magnitude. The British authorities estimate that the British population in Spain at 700,000.[52]
Mid- and long term EU demographics indicate a shortage of skilled laborers on a scale that would endanger economic growth and the stability of numerous industries. For this reason the European Union launched an initiative called the EU Blue Card, In 2009. The EU Blue Card is initially a temporary residence and work permit. It will offer holders the opportunity to apply for a permanent resident permit after working on an EU Blue Card for two to five years uninterrupted, depending on individual member state regulations.[citation needed]
Italy now has an estimated 4 million to 4.5 million immigrants — about 8 per cent of the population. Since the expansion of the European Union, the most recent wave of migration has been from surrounding European nations, particularly Central Europe, and increasingly Asia, replacing North Africa as the major immigration area. Some 997,000 Romanians are officially registered as living in Italy, replacing Albanians (590,000) and Moroccans (455,000) as the largest ethnic minority group, but independent estimates put the actual number of Romanians at double that figure or perhaps even more. Other immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe are Ukrainians (260,000), Polish (120,000), Moldovans (190 000) Macedonians (100,000), Serbs (75,000), Bulgarians (124,000), Bosnians (40,000), Russians (50,000), Croatians (25,000), Slovaks (12,000), Hungarians (12,000).[citation needed]
As of 2009, the foreign born population origin of Italy was subdivided as follows: Europe (53.5%), Africa (22.3%), Asia (15.8%), the Americas (8.1%) and Oceania (0.06%). The distribution of foreign born population is largely uneven in Italy: 80% of immigrants live in the northern and central parts of the country (the most economically developed areas), while only 20% live in the southern half of the peninsula. In 2008, net immigration to Italy was 47,000.[citation needed]
Pr. 1 January 2012 registered immigrants in Norway numbered 547,000,[53] making up about 11% of the total population. Many are fairly recent immigrants as immigration has gradually increased in Norway and per 2012 is very high, both historically and compared to other countries.[54] Net immigration in 2011 was 47,032, a national record high.[55] The immigrants come from 219 different countries. If children of two immigrants are included the immigrant population make up 655,170. The largest groups come from Poland (72,103), Sweden (36,578), Pakistan (32,737), Somalia (29,395) Iraq (28,935), Germany (25,683), Lithuania (23,941) and Vietnam (20,871) (numbers per 2012, include immigrants and children of two immigrants).[56] Children ofPakistani, Somali andVietnamese parents made up the largest groups of all Norwegians born to immigrant parents.[57] The European and Pakistani immigrants are mainly labor immigrants while many other immigrants from outside Europe have come as asylum seekers or family members to such.
Portugal, long a country of emigration, that have created big Portuguese communities in France, the United States and Brazil[58] has now become a country of net immigration, and not just from the formercolonies; by the end of 2003, legal immigrants represented about 4% of the population, and the largest communities were fromCape Verde,Brazil,Angola,Guinea-Bissau,UK,Spain,China andUkraine.[59]
As of 2010, there were over 6 million foreign-born residents inSpain, corresponding to 14% of the total population. Of these, 4.1 million (8.9% of the total population) were born outside theEuropean Union and 2.3 million (5.1%) were born in another EU Member State.[46] Spain is the most popular European destination for Britons living outside the UK.[60] According to residence permit data for 2005, about 500,000Moroccans, 500,000Ecuadorians,[61] more than 200,000Romanians, and 260,000Colombians lived in Spain.[62][63] In 2005 alone, a regularisation programme increased the legal immigrant population by 700,000 people.[64] As a result of theSpanish financial crisis net migration trends reversed and in 2011 more people left Spain than immigrated with 507,740 leaving Spain and only 457,650 arriving.[65]
As theSwedish government does not base any statistics onethnicity, there are no exact numbers on the total number of people of immigrant background in Sweden. As of 2010, 1.33 million people or 14.3% of the inhabitants in Sweden were foreign-born. Sweden has been transformed from a nation ofemigration ending after World War I to a nation of immigration from World War II onwards. In 2009, immigration reached its highest level since records began with 102,280 people emigrating to Sweden. In 2010, 32,000 people applied for asylum to Sweden, a 25% increase from 2009, the highest amount in Swedish history.[66]
In 2009, Sweden had the fourth largest number of asylum applications in theEU and the largest number per capita afterCyprus andMalta.[67][68] Immigrants inSweden are mostly concentrated in theurban areas ofSvealand andGötaland and the five largest foreign born populations in Sweden come fromFinland,Yugoslavia,Iraq,Poland andIran.[69] According to a publication by Mete Feridun in the peer-reviewed Journal of Developing Areas published by the Tennessee State University, immigration has a statistically significant causal impact on economic growth in Sweden.[70]
As of 2014, 23.4% of Switzerland's population are foreign born (with nearly 40% fromGermany). Since the 1970s Switzerland's foreign born population has remained over 15% of the total population.Switzerland andAustralia are the two countries with the highest proportion of immigrants in the world.[71] In 2010, Swiss voters approvedthe deportation of criminal foreigners[72] and in February 2014, thefederal popular initiative "against mass immigration" was approved by 50.3% of voters. The referendum aims to reduce immigration through quotas and limits thefreedom of movement betweenSwitzerland and the European Union. In 2006 theUnited Nations special rapporteur on racism,Doudou Diène, observed that Switzerland suffers from racism,discrimination andxenophobia and that Swiss authorities do not view these issues as serious problems.[73][74]
In 2007, net immigration to the UK was 237,000, a rise of 46,000 on 2006.[75] In 2004, the number of people who becameBritish citizens rose to a record 140,795—a rise of 12% on the previous year. This number had risen dramatically since 2000. In the 2001 Census, citizens from theRepublic of Ireland were the largest foreign born group and have been for the last 200 years. This figure does not include those from Northern Ireland located since it is part of the United Kingdom. Those of Irish ancestry number roughly 6 million from first, second and third generation. The overwhelming majority of new citizens come fromAsia (40%) andAfrica (32%), the largest three groups being people fromPakistan,India andSomalia.[76]
In 2011, an estimated 589,000 migrants arrived to live in the UK for at least a year, most of the migrants were people from Asia (particularly theIndian subcontinent) and Africa,[77] while 338,000 people emigrated from the UK for a year or more.[77] FollowingPoland's entry into the EU in May 2004 it was estimated that by the start of 2007, 375,000 Poles had registered to work in the UK, although the total Polish population in the UK was believed to be 500,000. Many Poles work in seasonal occupations and a large number are likely to move back and forth over time. Some migrants left after theworld economic crisis of 2008. In 2011, citizens of the new EU member states made up 13% of the immigrants entering the country.[77] As of May 2010[update] the UK Immigration Minister wasDamian Green, who has since been replaced byMark Harper.
TheBritish Asian (South Asian) population has increased from 2.2 million in 2001 to over 4.2 million in 2011,[78] while theBlack British community has increased from 1.1 million in 2001 to nearly 1.9 million in 2011.[78] Between 2001 and 2009, this was part of a general trend seeing a drop in white British people by 36,000 and a concurrent rise in non-white British people from 6.64 million to 9.13 million, including Indian, Chinese, Pakistani, mixed white and black Caribbean, black African, Australian, Canadian and European immigrants.[79]
London has the largest immigrant population.[80]
Large numbers of Central American migrants who have crossed Guatemala's border into Mexico are deported every year.[81] Over 200,000 undocumented Central American migrants were deported in 2005 alone.[82] In a 2010 news story,USA Today reported, "... Mexico'sArizona-style law requires local police to check IDs. And Mexican police freely engage in racial profiling and routinely harass Central American migrants, say immigration activists."[83]
After the United States returned to a more closed border, immigration has been more difficult than ever for Mexican residents hoping to migrate. Mexico is the leading country of migrants to the U.S.. AMexican Repatriation program was founded by the United States government to encourage people to voluntarily move to Mexico. However, the program was not found successful and many immigrants were deported against their will. In 2010, there was a total of 139,120 legal immigrants who migrated to the United States. This put Mexico as the top country for emigration.[84] In subsequent years China and India have surpassed Mexico as the top sources of immigrants to the United States, and since 2009 there has been a net decline in the number of Mexicans living in the US.[85]
Between 2000 and 2014, Canada accepted 200,000 to 271,000 immigrants per year, mainly from three categories: skilled workers, people with family members already in the country, and humanitarian cases.[86][87][88] In 2019, 1 in 5 Canadians was an immigrant.[89] Since the 1990s, the majority of immigrants have come fromAsia.[90] The leading emigrating countries wereChina,Philippines andIndia.[91] India was the third largest source country for immigration to Canada in 2012.[92] Newcomers tend to settle in the major urban areas ofToronto,Montreal andVancouver. After Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister in 2015, he increased immigration targets. Population and housing prices rose more in Canada than in any other G7 country.[93] In 2022, a record 400,000 immigrants and 600,000 non-permanent residents, were admitted.[94] Trudeau acknowledged Canada does not have enough housing supply to reflect the dramatic increase in population growth (demand), and despite years of funding, strategies and initiatives, several cities across Canada have declared States of Emergency on Homelessness as of April 2023.[95] Although housing and service concerns have been raised, Trudeau plans to increase the number of immigrants to 465,000 in 2023 and up to 500,000 by 2025, saying the higher targets are necessary to ensure economic prosperity.[96][97] The new targets were recommended by the Advisory Council on Economic Growth established by the Liberal government in December 2015.[98][99]
Political parties in Canada are cautious about criticising the level of immigration, because, as noted byThe Globe and Mail, "in the early 1990s, the oldReform Party was branded 'racist' for suggesting that immigration levels be lowered from 250,000 to 150,000." A Leger poll in 2019 indicated that the majority of Canadians (63%) thought immigration should be limited as they worried about housing and other infrastructure shortages, as well as the impact on the environment. The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, at that time, Ahmed Hussen, said his department planned to share 'positive stories of newcomers...to keep public attitudes from turning against immigrants'. Hussen also accused the Opposition leader of 'misinformation and fear-mongering' about immigrants.[100]
According to a study released in October 2023, immigrants were leaving Canada in record numbers due to the high cost of living and for better economic opportunities abroad, among other reasons.[101]
Historians estimate that fewer than 1 million immigrants came to the United States from Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries.[102] Around 350,000 came fromEngland between 1600 and 1699, and 80,000 more between 1700 and 1775.[103] In addition, between the 17th and 19th centuries, an estimated 645,000 Africans were brought to what is now the United States.[104] In the early years of the United States, immigration was fewer than 8,000 people a year.[105] After 1820, immigration gradually increased. From 1850 to 1930, the foreign born population of the United States increased from 2.2 million to 14.2 million. The highest percentage of foreign born people in the United States was found in this period, with the peak in 1890 at 14.7% (compared to 13% in 2009).[106] During this time, the lower costs of Atlantic Ocean travel in time and fare made it more advantageous for immigrants to move to the U.S. than in years prior. From 1880 to 1924, over 25 million Europeans migrated to the United States,[102] mainly economic migrants.[107]The 1882,Chinese Exclusion Act meanwhile suppressed immigration from East Asia, while theEmergency Quota Act, followed by theImmigration Act of 1924, restricted immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe.[108]
Following this time period, immigration fell because in 1924 Congress passed theImmigration Act of 1924, which favoured immigrant source countries that already had many immigrants in the U.S. by 1890.[109] Immigration patterns of the 1930s were dominated by theGreat Depression, and in the early 1930s, more people emigrated from the United States than immigrated to it.[110] Immigration continued to fall throughout the 1940s and 1950s, but it increased again afterwards.[57]
_133_and_NMCB-14_are_building_a_1%2c500_foot-long_concrete-lined_dr.jpg)
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 or McCarran–Walter Act brought in major changes to immigration policy and the act removed the immigration restrictions based on race and sex/gender, ending the decades of repression levied upon Chinese immigrants and other Asian immigrant groups. The McCarran-Walter act retained national origin immigration quotas.[111]
TheImmigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 (the Hart–Cellar Act) removed quotas on large segments of the immigration flow and legal immigration to the U.S. surged. In 2006, the number of immigrants totaled record 37.5 million.[112] After 2000,immigration to the United States numbered approximately 1,000,000 per year. Nearly 8 million people immigrated to the United States from 2000 to 2005.[113] Almost half entered illegally.[114] In 2006, 1.27 million immigrants were grantedlegal residence.Mexico has been the leading source of new U.S. residents for over two decades; and since 1998,China,India and thePhilippines have been in the top four sending countries every year.[115] The U.S. has often been called the "melting pot" (derived from Carl N. Degler, a historian, author of Out of Our Past), a name derived from United States' rich tradition of immigrants coming to the US looking for something better and having their cultures melded and incorporated into the fabric of the country.
Appointed by PresidentClinton, theU.S. Commission on Immigration Reform recommended in 1997 that legal immigration be reduced to about 550,000 a year.[116] Since 11 September 2001, the politics of immigration has become an extremely hot issue. It was a central topic of the 2008 election cycle.[117]
U.S. immigration law distinguishes between "immigrants" who become lawful permanent residents[118] and "nonimmigrants" who may remain lawfully in the U.S. for years, but who do not obtain permanent resident status.[119] SinceWorld War II, morerefugees have found homes in the U.S. than any other nation and more than two millionrefugees have arrived in the U.S. since 1980. Of the top ten countries accepting resettled refugees in 2006, the United States accepted more than twice as much as the next nine countries combined.[120] Oneeconometrics report in 2010 by analyst Kusum Mundra suggested that immigration positively affected bilateral trade when the U.S. had a networked community of immigrants, but that the trade benefit was weakened when the immigrants became assimilated into American culture.[121]
The table above does not include the years 2011 and 2012. The number of "immigrant" visas available each year is set by Congress. Nationals of countries that do not historically send many immigrants to the United States are eligible to apply for the Diversity Visa Lottery.[122] According toPermanent residence (United States), in 2011 there were 2.7 million entries entered in the Diversity Visa Lottery. So far in 2012, there has been 19.6 million participants.[when?] The numbers increase tremendously each year.
The overall level of immigration toAustralia has grown substantially during the last decade. Net overseas migration increased from 30,000 in 1993[124] to 118,000 in 2003–04.[125] The largest components of immigration are the skilled migration and family re-union programs. Themandatory detention ofunauthorised arrivalsby boat has generated great levels of controversy. During 2004–05, a total of 123,424 people immigrated to Australia. Of them, 17,736 were fromAfrica, 54,804 fromAsia, 21,131 fromOceania, 18,220 fromUnited Kingdom, 1,506 fromSouth America, and 2,369 from the rest ofEurope.[90] 131,000 people migrated to Australia in 2005-06[126] and migration target for 2012–13 is 190,000.[127][128]
Australia andSwitzerland, with about a quarter of their population born outside the country, are the two countries with the highest proportion of immigrants in the world.[129]
New Zealand has relatively openimmigration policies. 23% of the population was born overseas, mainly inAsia,Oceania, and theUK, one of the highest rates in the world.
