America Tops Immigration Table

More immigrants head to the United States than anywhere else, with Great Britain a distant second.

The United States accepted 1.3 million of the four million migrants who settled in developed countries in 2006. Great Britain accepted 343,000 foreigners in 2006.

The other major destinations for migrants included Germany (216,000), Italy (204,000), Australia (192,000), France (169,000), Japan (96,000) and the Netherlands (59,000) – according to an OECD report out this week.

But as a percentage of total population, Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland received some of the biggest inflows – representing more than 1 per cent of their populations.

Around four million people immigrated to OECD countries in 2006 on a permanent basis, an increase of 5 per cent on 2005. Asylum requests fell for the fourth consecutive year to 282,000 in 2006, the lowest level since 1987.

Family reunification was the biggest reason given by migrants to the US, accounting for 70 per cent of permanent moves. Many European countries, among them Italy, Ireland, Spain and the UK were more popular as destinations for job-seekers, with work reasons accounting for between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of moves to these countries.

Up to 50 per cent of migrants leave the host country within five years of arriving, with most deciding to go home spontaneously – often for family reasons or job opportunities.