According to Gallup, the US could lose some of its appeal because of president Trump’s remarks on migrants, but with 147 million would-be migrants dreaming of going to America, it would take more to stop the sheer numbers.
The US continues to be the most desired destination for potential migrants, as it has been since Gallup started tracking potential migration a decade ago. The CATO Institute also revealed similar findings last year.
One in five potential migrants name the US as their desired future destination, followed by Germany, Canada, the UK, France, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
The UK, interestingly, has lost its appeal after Brexit, after the British voted to stem the tide of immigration to their country. The poll showed that approximately 35 million singled out the UK as their desired location, down from 43 million from 2010 to 2012.
At 62 percent, Sierra Leone had the highest rate of dissatisfaction, due to an Ebola outbreak in 2014. Haiti and Albania were tied for second place at 56 percent, followed by Liberia at 54 percent.
Some 14 percent of adults globally want to leave for another country, with the highest rates seen in sub-Saharan Africa (30 percent) and areas of Europe outside the European Union (21 percent), followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (18 percent), the Middle East and North Africa (19 percent), the European Union (20 percent), Commonwealth of Independent States (15 percent), Australia, New Zealand, Oceania (9 percent) and North America (10 percent).
The inhabitants of Asia are either not as keen despite poverty in some parts, with South Asia (8 percent), East Asia (8 percent) and Southeast Asia (7 percent).
The largest increases in the desire to migrate were registered in of Europe outside the EU, with an increase of 6 percentage points, the Caribbean and Latin America, with 5 percentage points, similar to the Middle East and North Africa.
The Gallup poll revealed that in 31 countries, at least three in 10 adults say they would move permanently if they could. These countries and areas are found in every region except Asia, Oceania and Northern America.