Implications
Gallup's worldwide research shows that hundreds of millions still would like to move to other countries permanently if they had the chance, but this desire has dampened between 2007 and 2010. The declining desire to migrate that is evident in some regions could possibly be a byproduct of the global economic downturn, which could have made the idea of leaving one's own country in uncertain economic times too risky to even entertain.
Survey Methods
Results are based on aggregated telephone and face-to-face interviews with 401,490 adults, aged 15 and older, in 146 countries from 2008 to 2010. The 146 countries surveyed represent 93% of the world's adult population. One can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error for the entire sample, accounting for weighting and sample design, is less than ±1 percentage point. The lower and upper bounds for the projected 630 million adults worldwide who would like to migrate are 618 million and 643 million.
One can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error among those who would like to move to another country and name one of the 18 countries in this analysis is less than ±1 percentage point. The lower and upper bounds for the projected population that would like to move to a country vary: The lower and upper bounds for the projected 145 million adults who would like to move to the United States, for example, are 141 million and 150 million.
