UNITED NATIONS—The number of people who migrated to foreign countries surged by 41 percent in the last 15 years to reach 244 million in 2015, according to a United Nations study released Tuesday. Of those people, 20 million are refugees. The U.N. is planning a series of meetings in 2016 to address migration, including a March 30 gathering in Geneva where countries can pledge to take in Syrians fleeing civil war. But while the Syrian refugee crisis has gripped the world’s attention, it is but a drop in the sea of international migration.
Here are some highlights from the U.N. report on international migration:
Where Are Migrants Going?
By far, the United States is the country with the largest portion of the world’s migrants: 47 million, or a fifth of the total. Germany and Russia shared the No. 2 spot with about 12 million each, followed by Saudi Arabia (10 million), Britain (9 million) and the United Arab Emirates (8 million.)
The vast majority of international migrants—two-thirds of the total—are in Europe or Asia. Europe is home to 76 million international migrants, while Asia has 75 million.
