Most people who leave their country stay on the same continent

For most people, international migration means crossing a nearby border, not an ocean.

Let’s look at Asia, the most populous continent. When an Asian emigrant leaves their home country, they can move to either another Asian country or one of the other five continents. Six out of ten Asian emigrants stay within Asia.

European and North American emigrants show an even stronger tendency to stay in their continent, at 70% and 87%, respectively. In Africa and South America, this share is smaller, at about half.

While this data aims to include illegal migrants, experts acknowledge the challenges in fully measuring this population.

It makes sense that most migrants stay on the same continent. For instance, people might prefer places where they share a language or culture, have family nearby, or can return home cheaply and more quickly.

NOTE: Data is for total migrant stocks rather than flows per year.