Which countries are home to the largest number of Indian migrants?

Indian migrants are spread across the world, with several countries emerging as major destinations. (AI-generated image)

For millions of Indians, moving abroad has meant building a career, starting a business, joining family or simply looking for a different life. But where do Indians who leave the country actually settle?The latest United Nations estimates offer a snapshot of where people born in India were living in 2024. According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) International Migrant Stock 2024, around 18.5 million people born in India were living outside the country. The data, analysed by Our World in Data, shows which countries have the largest populations of Indian-born migrants.

Countries with the largest populations of Indian migrants

As of the available data from 2024, the United Arab Emirates tops the list, with about 3.2 million people born in India living there. That accounts for roughly 17.5% of Indians living abroad. The United States follows closely, also with about 3.2 million Indian-born residents, representing around 17.1% of the total.The large Indian populations in the two countries reflect very different migration patterns. The Gulf has long been a major destination for Indian workers, while the US has attracted Indians through employment, higher education, entrepreneurship and family migration.Saudi Arabia ranks third, with around 2 million Indian-born migrants, or about 10.5% of India’s emigrant population.Together, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries account for a substantial share of Indians living abroad. Our World in Data noted that nearly half of Indians living outside India are in Gulf countries, more than the combined number living in the US, UK and Canada.

Pakistan appears surprisingly high on the list

One of the more unexpected entries is Pakistan, which has around 1.6 million people born in India according to the UN estimates.The figure needs some historical context. The UN data measures migrant stock- essentially where people born in one country are living- rather than tracking only recent migration. As Our World in Data points out, India and Pakistan were part of the same territory before Partition in 1947, and population movements continued across the newly created border for decades. Therefore, the Pakistan figure should not be interpreted as 1.6 million Indians who recently moved there.

Kuwait, UK and Canada follow

Kuwait is home to around 1.2 million Indian-born residents, accounting for about 6.6% of India’s emigrant population. The United Kingdom and Canada each have around 1 million people born in India living there. The UK accounts for approximately 5.6% and Canada about 5.5% of the Indian-born population living overseas.Both countries have long-standing Indian communities, with migration spanning several generations. However, the UN’s migrant-stock measure primarily captures people according to where they were born, meaning the numbers do not represent the entire population of people of Indian origin in these countries.

Australia, Oman and Qatar also have sizeable Indian populations

The list is rounded out by Australia, with about 880,000 Indian-born residents, followed by Oman, with around 800,000, and Qatar, with approximately 740,000. The presence of Oman and Qatar in the top 10 once again highlights the importance of the Gulf in India’s overseas migration story.

What the UN data actually measures

There is an important distinction behind these numbers. The UN’s International Migrant Stock dataset measures people who are living in a country other than the country where they were born. For most countries, the UN uses country of birth rather than citizenship to identify migrants. Therefore, an Indian-born person who later became a US, Canadian or British citizen can still be counted as an Indian-born migrant in the dataset.The figures are also migrant stocks, not annual migration flows. In other words, they show how many people born in India were living abroad at the time of the estimate, rather than how many Indians moved overseas during 2024.The latest UN dataset covers migrant estimates for 233 countries and areas and provides data from 1990 through 2024.

The top destinations for Indian-born migrants

Based on the UN DESA 2024 estimates, the ranking is:

The numbers underline a striking feature of Indian migration: while the US, UK, Canada and Australia are prominent destinations in discussions about the Indian diaspora, the Gulf remains at the heart of India’s overseas migration story.References: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), International Migrant Stock 2024; Our World in Data analysis of the UN dataset.