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{{Use British English}}
#REDIRECT ]
This article delineates the issue of ] in different countries.

==Region-specific factors for immigration==
===Europe===
As a principle, citizens of one member nation of the ] are allowed to work in other member nations with little to no restriction on movement.<ref name="Eures - Free Movement"/> This is aided by the EURES network, which brings together the ] and the public employment services of the countries belonging to the ] and ]. For non-EU-citizen permanent residents in the EU, movement between EU-member states is considerably more difficult. After 155 new waves of accession to the European Union, earlier members have often introduced measures to restrict participation in "their" labour markets by citizens of the new EU-member states. For instance, ], ], ], ], ], ], Italy, ], ], ], and ] each restricted their labor market for up to seven years both in the 2004 and 2007 round of accession.<ref name="migration_information"/>

]]]

Due to the European Union's—in principle—single internal labour market policy, countries such as Italy and the ] that have seen relatively low levels of labour immigration until recently (and which have often sent a significant portion of their population overseas in the past) are now seeing an influx of immigrants from EU countries with lower per capita annual earning rates, triggering nationwide immigration debates.<ref name="independent"/><ref name="cicerofoundation"/> Spain, meanwhile, is seeing growing illegal immigration from ]. As Spain is the closest EU member nation to Africa—Spain even has two autonomous cities (] and ]) on the African continent, as well as an autonomous community (the ]) west of North Africa, in the Atlantic—it is physically easiest for African emigrants to reach. This has led to debate both within Spain and between Spain and other EU members. Spain has asked for border control assistance from other EU states; the latter have responded that Spain has brought the wave of African illegal migrants on itself by granting amnesty to hundreds of thousands of undocumented foreigners.<ref name="BBC: EU nations clash over immigration"/>

The United Kingdom, France, and Germany have seen major immigration since the end of World War II and have been debating the issue for decades. ]s were brought in to those countries to help rebuild after the war, and many stayed. Political debates about immigration typically focus on statistics, the immigration law and policy, and the implementation of existing restrictions.<ref name="Deutsche Welle: Germans Consider U.S. Experience in Immigration Debate"/><ref name="BBC: Short History of Immigration"/> In some European countries, the debate in the 1990s was focused on asylum seekers, but restrictive policies within the European Union, as well as a reduction in armed conflict in Europe and neighboring regions, have sharply reduced asylum seekers.<ref name="BBC: Analysis: Europe's asylum trends"/>

===Japan===
Some states, such as ], have opted for technological changes to increase profitability (for example, greater ]), and designed immigration laws specifically to prevent immigrants from coming to, and remaining within, the country.<ref name="Japanese Immigration Policy: Responding to Conflicting Pressures"/> In 2007, minister ] described Japan as unique in being "one nation, one civilisation, one language, one culture and one race".<ref name="guardian" /> In 2013, Japan accepted only six of 3,777 persons who applied for refugee status.<ref name="Osaki 2014" />

===United States===
In the United States, political debate on immigration has flared repeatedly since the US became independent.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} Some on the far-left of the political spectrum attribute anti-immigration rhetoric to an all-"white", under-educated, and parochial minority of the population, ill-educated about the relative advantages of immigration for the US economy and society.<ref name="cmd.princeton.edu"/> On the other hand, those on the far-right think that immigration threatens ], as well as cheapening labor and increasing dependence on ].<ref name="cmd.princeton.edu"/>

==Immigration and Western social values==
Many commentators have raised the issue that immigrants from certain cultures who move into ] may not be able to understand and assimilate certain Western concepts, that are relatively alien in some parts of the world, especially related to ], ], ] and the supremacy of ] laws in front of ] practices. For instance, in some parts of the world it is legal and socially accepted for men to use physical violence against their wives if they "misbehave"; and wives are expected, both legally and socially, to "obey" their husbands.<ref>In 2010, the United Arab Emirates's Supreme Court ruled that a man has the right to physically discipline his wife and children as long as he does not leave physical marks.. In Iraq husbands have a legal right to "punish" their wives. The criminal code states at Paragraph 41 that there is no crime if an act is committed while exercising a legal right; examples of legal rights include: "The punishment of a wife by her husband, the disciplining by parents and teachers of children under their authority within certain limits prescribed by law or by custom".</ref><ref>in Yemen marriage regulations state that a wife must obey her husband and must not leave home without his permission.</ref> Various behaviours of women, such as refusing ] or having ], are seen in many parts of the world as justifying violence from family members, particularly parents.<ref>In Jordan, part of article 340 of the Penal Code states that "he who discovers his wife or one of his female relatives committing adultery and kills, wounds, or injures one of them, is exempted from any penalty." Article 98 of the Penal Code is often cited alongside Article 340 in cases of honour killings. "Article 98 stipulates that a reduced sentence is applied to a person who kills another person in a 'fit of fury'".]''|location=Lexington, Mass|year=2003|page=11|isbn=0-7391-0588-4}}]
</ref> A 2010 survey conducted by the ] found that ] as a punishment for ] was supported by 82% of respondents in ] and ], 70% in ], 56% ], 42% in ]; the ] for people who leave the ] religion was supported by 86% of respondents in Jordan, 84% in Egypt and 76% in Pakistan; ] in the workplace was supported by 85% of respondents in Pakistan, 54% in Egypt, 50% in Jordan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2010/12/02/muslims-around-the-world-divided-on-hamas-and-hezbollah/ |title=Muslim Publics Divided on Hamas and Hezbollah &#124; Pew Research Centre's Global Attitudes Project |publisher=Pewglobal.org |date= |accessdate=2014-05-14}}</ref> Some people argue that Western countries have worked very hard and for a very long time to achieve modern values, and they have the right to maintain these values, and protect them from threats. In 2007, ] premier ] said that Quebec had values such as ] and the ] and that "These values are fundamental. They cannot be the object of any accommodation. They cannot be subordinated to any other principle."<ref>{{cite web|last=Gazette |first=The |url=http://www.canada.com/globaltv/quebec/story.html?id=6633c74c-aa84-42d8-ac59-bdfce680625e&k=94599 |title=Charest enters the fray |publisher=Canada.com |date=2007-02-09 |accessdate=2014-05-14}}</ref> (see ]). In recent years, several high-profile cases of ], ] and ] among immigrant communities in Canada, the US and Europe have reignited the debate on immigration and integration.<ref>{{cite web|last=Proussalidis |first=Daniel |url=http://www.torontosun.com/2012/10/31/kenney-immigrants-must-integrate |title=Immigrants must integrate: Kenney &#124; Canada &#124; News |publisher=Toronto Sun |date=2012-10-31 |accessdate=2014-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sullivan-county.com/id4/honor_kill.htm |title=The Seattle Times: 'Honor killing' shakes up Sweden after man slays daughter who wouldn't wed |publisher=Sullivan-county.com |date= |accessdate=2014-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goethe.de/lhr/prj/daz/mag/igd/en5499788.htm |title=Migration and Integration - Magazine - Integration Debate - Goethe-Institut |publisher=Goethe.de |date= |accessdate=2014-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57409395-504083/honor-killing-under-growing-scrutiny-in-the-u.s/|title="Honor killing" under growing scrutiny in the U.S.|date=5 April 2012|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/shared/shared/mainsite/projects/documents/fgm_infosheet.pdf |title=Supporting the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation in the Context of Migration |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2014-05-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/edwest/100163358/forced-marriage-will-be-a-problem-for-as-long-as-we-have-mass-migration/ | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | title=Forced marriage will be a problem for as long as we have mass migration | date=2012-06-07}}</ref> ] are another issue of controversy in relation to immigration, because homosexuality is in many parts of the world illegal and widely disapproved by society, and in some places it is even ] (see ] and ]). Some countries, such as the ], have adopted policies which explain to immigrants that they have to accept LGBT rights if they want to move to the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/11842116/ns/world_news-europe/t/film-exposes-immigrants-dutch-liberalism/#.UcGDrNiVXFI |title=Immigrants exposed to liberal Dutch ways - World news - Europe |publisher=NBC News |date=2006-03-16 |accessdate=2014-05-14}}</ref>

==By country==
The ] ranks 22 of the world's richest countries on their immigration policies and openness to migrants and refugees from the poorest nations. See the CDI for information about specific country policies and evaluation not listed below.

===Asia===

====PR China====
The People's Republic of China has a closed attitude to foreign migration. Currently no foreign nationals are granted Chinese citizenship.

====Israel====
{{Main|Aliyah}}
] ] and Israeli students, 2007. In ] only ] immigrants automatically acquire ].]]
] immigration to ] during the 19th century was promoted by the ] journalist ] in the late 19th century following the publication of "]".<ref name="paperbacks"/> His ] movement sought to encourage ], or immigration, to ]. Its proponents regard its aim as ] for the Jewish people.<ref name="archive"/>
The percentage of world Jewry living in the former ] has steadily grown from 25,000 since the movement came into existence. Today about 40% of the world's Jews live in Israel, more than in any other country.<ref name="jewishvirtuallibrary"/>

The Israeli ], passed in 1950, gives those born Jews (having a Jewish mother or grandmother), those with Jewish ancestry (having a Jewish father or grandfather) and converts to Judaism (Orthodox, Reform, or Conservative denominations—not secular—though Reform and Conservative conversions must take place outside the state, similar to civil marriages) the right to immigrate to Israel. A 1970 amendment, extended immigration rights to "a child and a grandchild of a Jew, the spouse of a Jew, the spouse of a child of a Jew and the spouse of a grandchild of a Jew". Over a million Jews from the former Soviet Union have immigrated to Israel since the 1990s, and large numbers of ] were airlifted to the country in ]. In the year 1991, Israel helped 14,000 Ethiopian immigrants arrive in operation Solomon.

There were 35,638 African migrants living in Israel in 2011.<ref>"". Jerusalem Post. June 30, 2011.</ref> Nearly 69,000 non-Jewish ] have entered Israel in recent years.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFBRE8520DX20120603 |title=Israel to jail illegal migrants for up to 3 years |newspaper=] |date=June 3, 2012}}</ref>

====Japan====
{{See also|Demographics of Japan}}
]'s population is very ethnically ] due to restrictions on immigration.]]
To help cope with a labor shortage, Japan allowed additional immigrants of Japanese ancestry into the country in the early 1990s.<ref name="msn"/> According to Japanese immigration centre,<ref name="xvq"/> the number of foreign residents in Japan has steadily increased, and the number of foreign residents (including ]s, but excluding ]s and ] such as foreign nationals staying less than 90 days in Japan<ref name="sarkaroffice"/>) was more than 2.2 million in 2008.<ref name="xvq" /> The biggest groups are ] (both south and north), Chinese (including ], ], ], ] nationalities), and Brazilians. Most of the Brazilians in Japan have ] ancestry due to the huge Japanese immigration to Brazil in the first decades of the 20th century. Immediately after ], most Koreans in Japan were ] who escaped from civil war on the Korean Peninsula.<ref>23 Session of the ], Committee on judicial affairs </ref>

Japan accepted 8,646 persons as naturalised citizens in 2013, down from 10,622 the previous year.<ref name="moj"/> The definition of "ethnic groups" used in Japanese statistics is different from that used in North American or some Western European statistics. For example, ] Census asks about its citizens' "ethnic or racial background".<ref name="United Kingdom population by ethnic group"/> The Japanese Statistics Bureau does not ask this question. Since the Japanese census asks about nationality rather than ethnicity, naturalised Japanese citizens and Japanese nationals with multi-ethnic backgrounds are considered simply to be ] in the population of Japan.<ref name="xvq" />

According to the Japanese Association for Refugees, the number of ]s who applied to live in Japan has rapidly increased since 2006,<ref name="qvx"/> and there were more than a thousand applications in 2008.<ref name="qvx" /> Japan's refugee policy has been criticised because the number of refugees accepted into Japan is small compared to countries such as ] and the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20081012a2.html |title=Refugees in Japan |work=Japan Times Online |date=October 12, 2008 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081013072333/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20081012a2.html |archivedate=13 October 2008}}</ref> In 2013, Japan accepted only six of 3,777 persons who applied for refugee status.<ref name="Osaki 2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/03/20/national/only-six-asylum-seekers-accepted-by-japan-in-2013#.U_JuFrxdWwE|title=Only six asylum seekers accepted by Japan in 2013|last=Osaki|first=Tomohiro|date=March 20, 2014|work=The Japan Times|accessdate=18 August 2014}}</ref>

===Africa===

====Morocco====
Morocco is home to more than 46,000 sub-Saharan African immigrants.<ref>"". '']''. September 12, 2013</ref>

Most of the foreign residents are French or Spanish. Prior to independence, Morocco was home to half a million ]ans.<ref>De Azevedo, Raimondo Cagiano (1994) ''''. Council of Europe. p. 25. ISBN 92-871-2611-9.</ref>

===Europe===
{{Main|Immigration to Europe}}

According to ], 47.3 million people lived in the EU in 2010, who were born outside their resident country. This corresponds to 9.4% of the total EU population. Of these, 31.4 million (6.3%) were born outside the EU and 16.0 million (3.2%) were born in another EU member state. The largest absolute numbers of people born outside the EU were in Germany (6.4 million), France (5.1 million), the United Kingdom (4.7 million), Spain (4.1 million), Italy (3.2 million), and the Netherlands (1.4 million).<ref>, Eurostat, Katya VASILEVA, 34/2011.</ref><ref name="europa"/>

Some EU member states are currently receiving large-scale immigration: for instance ], where the economy has created more than the whole of all the new jobs in the EU over the past five years.<ref name="Article on Spanish Immigration"/> The EU, in 2005, had an overall net gain from international migration of +1.8 million people. This accounts for almost 85% of Europe's total population growth in 2005.<ref name="Europe: Population and Migration in 2005"/> In 2004, total 140,033 people immigrated to ]. Of them, 90,250 were from ] and 13,710 from ].<ref name="Inflow of third-country nationals by country of nationality"/> In 2005, immigration fell slightly to 135,890.<ref name="migrationpolicy"/>
British emigration towards ] is of special relevance. Citizens from the European Union make up a growing proportion of immigrants in ]. They mainly come from countries like the UK and Germany, but the British case is of special interest due to its magnitude. The British authorities estimate that the British population in Spain at 700,000.<ref name="British Immigrants Swamping Spanish Villages?"/>
Mid- and long term EU demographics indicate a shortage of skilled laborers on a scale that would endanger economic growth and the stability of numerous industries. For this reason the European Union launched an initiative called the EU Blue Card, In 2009. The EU Blue Card is initially a temporary residence and work permit. However it will offer holders the opportunity to apply for a permanent resident permit after working on an EU Blue Card for two to five years uninterrupted, depending on individual member state regulations.

====Italy====
{{Main|Immigration to Italy}}
]]]
Italy now has an estimated 4 million to 4.5 million immigrants — about 8 percent of the population.
Since the expansion of the European Union, the most recent wave of migration has been from surrounding European nations, particularly Central Europe, and increasingly Asia, replacing North Africa as the major immigration area. Some 997,000 Romanians are officially registered as living in Italy, replacing Albanians (590,000) and Moroccans (455,000) as the largest ethnic minority group, but independent estimates put the actual number of Romanians at double that figure or perhaps even more. Other immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe are Ukrainians (260,000), Polish (120,000), Moldovans (190 000) Macedonians (100,000), Serbs (75,000), Bulgarians (124,000), Bosnians (40,000), Russians (45,600), Croatians (25,000), Slovaks (9,000), Hungarians (8,600). As of 2009, the foreign born population origin of Italy was subdivided as follows: Europe (53.5%), Africa (22.3%), Asia (15.8%), the Americas (8.1%) and Oceania (0.06%). The distribution of foreign born population is largely uneven in Italy: 80% of immigrants live in the northern and central parts of the country (the most economically developed areas), while only 20% live in the southern half of the peninsula. In 2008, net immigration to Italy was 47,000.

====Norway====
{{Main|Immigration to Norway}}
] in ]]]
Pr. January 1, 2012 registered immigrants in Norway numbered 547 000,<ref>{{dead link|date=May 2014}} SSB, retrieved November 24, 2012</ref> making up about 11% of the total population. Many are fairly recent immigrants as immigration has gradually increased <ref>{{dead link|date=May 2014}} SSB, retrieved November 24, 2012</ref> in Norway and per 2012 is very high, both historically and compared to other countries.<ref>Kåre Vassenden; SSB, Samfunnsspeilet, retrieved November 24, 2012</ref> Net immigration in 2011 was 47 032, a national record high.<ref> SSB, retrieved November 24, 2012</ref> The immigrants come from 219 different countries. If children of two immigrants are included the immigrant population make up 655 170. The largest groups come from Poland (72 103), Sweden (36 578), Pakistan (32 737), Somalia (29 395) Iraq (28 935), Germany (25 683), Lithuania (23 941) and Vietnam (20 871) (numbers per 2012, include immigrants and children of two immigrants).<ref>{{dead link|date=May 2014}} SSB, retrieved November 24, 2012</ref> Children of ], Somali and ] parents made up the largest groups of all Norwegians born to immigrant parents.<ref name="census">{{cite web |url=http://www.ssb.no/en/innvbef/ |title= Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, 1 January 2012 |publisher=] |date=26 April 2012 | accessdate = 24 March 2013}}</ref> The European and Pakistani immigrants are mainly labor immigrants while many other immigrants from outside Europe have come as asylum seekers or family members to such.

====Portugal====
{{Main|Immigration to Portugal}}
], long a country of emigration, that have created big Portuguese communities in France, USA and Brazil <ref name="Portugal - Emigration"/> has now become a country of net immigration, and not just from the former ]; by the end of 2003, legal immigrants represented about 4% of the population, and the largest communities were from ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name="bbc"/>

====Spain====
{{Main|Immigration to Spain}}

As of 2010, there were over 6 million foreign-born residents in ], corresponding to 14% of the total population. Of these, 4.1 million (8.9% of the total population) were born outside the ] and 2.3 million (5.1%) were born in another EU Member State.<ref>, Eurostat, Katya VASILEVA, 34/2011.</ref> Spain is the most popular European destination for Britons living outside the UK.<ref name="BBC article: Btits Abroad Country by Country"/> According to residence permit data for 2005, about 500,000 ], 500,000 ],<ref name="Immigration Shift: Many Latin Americans Choosing Spain Over U.S."/> more than 200,000 ], and 260,000 ] lived in Spain.<ref name="Spain: Immigrants Welcome"/><ref name="www"/> In 2005 alone, a regularisation programme increased the legal immigrant population by 700,000 people.<ref name="Spain grants amnesty to 700,000 migrants"/> As a result of the ] net migration trends reversed and in 2011 more people left Spain than immigrated with 507,740 leaving Spain and only 457,650 arriving.<ref>Americas Quarterly, Migration: Spain's Reverse Flows, BY Aurora García Ballesteros and Beatriz Cristina Jiménez Blasco , http://www.americasquarterly.org/content/migration-spains-reverse-flows</ref>

====Sweden====
{{Main|Immigration to Sweden}}
] was born in Burundi and immigrated to Sweden in 1981.]]
As the ] does not base any statistics on ], there are no exact numbers on the total number of people of immigrant background in Sweden. As of 2010, 1.33 million people or 14.3% of the inhabitants in Sweden were foreign-born. Sweden has been transformed from a nation of ] ending after World War I to a nation of immigration from World War II onwards. In 2009, immigration reached its highest level since records began with 102,280 people emigrating to Sweden. In 2010, 32,000 people applied for asylum to Sweden, a 25% increase from 2009, the highest amount in Swedish history.<ref name="www4"/> In 2009, Sweden had the fourth largest number of asylum applications in the ] and the largest number per capita after ] and ].<ref name="timesofmalta"/>
<ref name="www5">Statistics Sweden. {{dead link|date=May 2014}} Befolkningsutveckling; födda, döda, in- och utvandring, gifta, skilda 1749–2007</ref> Immigrants in ] are mostly concentrated in the ]s of ] and ] and the five largest foreign born populations in Sweden come from ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name="www6"/> According to a publication by Mete Feridun in the peer-reviewed Journal of Developing Areas published by the Tennessee State University, immigration has a statistically significant causal impact on economic growth in Sweden.<ref>Feridun, Mete (2007) Immigration, income and unemployment: an application of the bounds testing approach to cointegration. The Journal of Developing Areas, 41 (1). pp. 37-49. ISSN 1548-2278 (doi:10.1353/jda.2008.0014)</ref>

====Switzerland====
{{Main|Immigration to Switzerland}}
As of 2014, 23.4% of Switzerland's population are foreign born (with nearly 40% from ]). Since the 1970s Switzerland's foreign born population has remained over 15% of the total population. ] and ] are the two countries with the highest proportion of immigrants in the world.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jacques |last=Neirynck |title=Pour son bien-être, la Suisse doit rester une terre d’immigration |url=http://www.letemps.ch/Page/Uuid/b615bb7a-da5a-11e0-ba12-6c1a991db705/Pour_son_bien-%C3%AAtre_la_Suisse_doit_rester_une_terre_dimmigration |work=] |location=Geneva, Switzerland |date=9 September 2011 |language=French |accessdate=2014-11-18}}</ref> In 2010, Swiss voters approved ]<ref name=msgrelp294>{{cite web |title=Votation populaire du 28.11.2010: Votation No 552, Tableau récapitulatif |url=http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/pore/va/20101128/det552.html |publisher=Chancellerie fédérale Suisse |location=Berne, Switzerland |language=French, German, and Italian |accessdate=2014-11-18}}</ref> and in February 2014, the ] was approved by 50.3% of voters. The referendum aims to reduce immigration through quotas and limits the ] between ]. In 2006 the ] special rapporteur on racism, ], observed that Switzerland suffers from racism, ] and ] and that Swiss authorities do not view these issues as serious problems.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/front/UN_envoy_calls_racism_in_Switzerland_a_reality.html?siteSect=105&sid=6382785&cKey=1137401626000&ty=st |title=UN envoy calls racism in Switzerland a reality |publisher=swissinfo - a branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR |work=Swissinfo.ch |date=14 January 2006 |location=Berne, Switzerland |accessdate=2014-11-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dicconbewes.com/2010/11/17/is-switzerland-the-black-sheep-of-europe/ |first=Diccon |last=Bewes |title=Is Switzerland the black sheep of Europe?| date=17 November 2010 |location=Berne, Switzerland |accessdate=2014-11-18}}</ref>

====United Kingdom====
{{Main|Immigration to the United Kingdom since 1922}}
In 2007, net immigration to the UK was 237,000, a rise of 46,000 on 2006.<ref name="UK net immigration up to 237,000"/> In 2004, the number of people who became ] citizens rose to a record 140,795—a rise of 12% on the previous year. This number had risen dramatically since 2000. In the 2001 Census, citizens from the ] were the largest foreign born group and have been for the last 200 years. This figure does not include those from Northern Ireland located since it is part of the United Kingdom. Those of Irish ancestry number roughly 6 million from first, second and third generation. The overwhelming majority of new citizens come from ] (40%) and ] (32%), the largest three groups being people from ], ] and ].<ref name="BBC Thousands in UK citizenship queue"/>

In 2011, an estimated 589,000 migrants arrived to live in the UK for at least a year, most of the migrants were people from Asia (particularly the ]) and Africa,<ref name="Migration Statistics">{{cite web |url= http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/migration1/migration-statistics-quarterly-report/may-2012/msqr.html|title=Migration Statistics Quarterly Report May 2012 |date=24 May 2012 |work=Office for National Statistics}}</ref> while 338,000 people emigrated from the UK for a year or more.<ref name="Migration Statistics"/> Following ]'s entry into the EU in May 2004 it was estimated that by the start of 2007, 375,000 Poles had registered to work in the UK, although the total Polish population in the UK was believed to be 500,000. Many Poles work in seasonal occupations and a large number are likely to move back and forth over time. Some migrants left after the ]. In 2011, citizens of the new EU member states made up 13% of the immigrants entering the country.<ref name="Migration Statistics"/> {{As of|2010|5}} the UK Immigration Minister was ], who has since been replaced by ].

The ] (South Asian) population has increased from 2.2 million in 2001 to over 4.2 million in 2011,<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news|title=Census 2011 mapped and charted: England & Wales in religion, immigration and race|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2012/dec/11/census-england-wales-maps-religion?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487|publisher=]|accessdate=11 December 2012|location=London|first=Simon|last=Rogers|date=2012-12-11}}</ref> while the ] community has increased from 1.1 million in 2001 to nearly 1.9 million in 2011.<ref name=Guardian/> Between 2001 and 2009, this was part of a general trend seeing a drop in white British people by 36,000 and a concurrent rise in non-white British people from 6.64 million to 9.13 million, including Chinese, Pakistani, mixed white and black Caribbean, black African, Australian, Canadian and European immigrants.<ref>. ]. 18 May 2011.</ref>

] has the largest immigrant population.<ref name="fn">"". '']''. December 11, 2012.</ref>

===North America===

====Mexico====
{{Main|Immigration to Mexico|}}
Large numbers of Central American migrants who have crossed Guatemala's border into Mexico are deported every year.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rodriguez |first=Olga R. |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2008-04-13-1799967311_x.htm |title=Central America migrant flow to US slows |work=USA Today |date=April 13, 2008 |accessdate=August 8, 2011}}</ref> Over 200,000 undocumented Central American migrants were deported in 2005 alone.<ref>"". By Manuel Ángel Castillo, El Colegio de México.</ref> In a 2010 news story, ''USA Today'' reported, "... Mexico's ] law requires local police to check IDs. And Mexican police freely engage in racial profiling and routinely harass Central American migrants, say immigration activists."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-05-25-mexico-migrants_N.htm |title=Activists blast Mexico's immigration law |newspaper=] |date=May 25, 2010 |first=Chris |last=Hawley}}</ref>

After the United States returned to a more closed border, immigration has been more difficult than ever for Mexican residents hoping to migrate. Mexico is the leading country of migrants to the U.S.. A ] program was founded by the United States government to encourage people to voluntarily move to Mexico. However, the program was not found successful and many immigrants were deported against their will. Last year alone, 400,000 Mexican immigrants were repatriated. In 2010, there was a total of 139,120 legal immigrants who migrated to the United States. This put Mexico as the top country for emigration.<ref>]</ref> According to recent studies, the amount of immigrants migrating from Mexico should continue to increase significantly each year.

====Canada====
{{Main|Immigration to Canada}}
] in Downtown ], ], 2009.]]
{{as of|2014}}, Canada's immigration target is to accept between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents per year in three categories: skilled workers, people with family members already in the country, and humanitarian cases.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/notices/2013-11-01.asp|title=Supplementary Information to the 2014 immigration levels plan|publisher=Citizenship and Immigration Canada|accessdate=August 18, 2014}}</ref> In 2001, 250,640 people immigrated to Canada. Newcomers settle mostly in the major urban areas of ] and ]. Since the 1990s, the majority of Canada's immigrants have come from ].<ref name="autogenerated1"/> The leading emigrating countries to Canada are ], ] and ].<ref name="Canadians want immigration shakeup"/> India was the third largest source country for immigration to Canada in 2012, with 28,889 permanent residents admitted. This represents an increase of almost 15 percent since 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.immireviews.com/lastest-news/item/canada-welcomes-record-number-of-immigrants-visitors-and-students-from-india-in-2012.html|title=Canada Welcomes Record Number of Immigrants, Visitors and Students from India in 2012|publisher=Citizenship and Immigration Canada|accessdate=March 4, 2013}}</ref> In 2010, a record 280,636 people immigrated to Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2011/2011-02-13.asp|title=Canada welcomes highest number of legal immigrants in 50 years while taking action to maintain the integrity of Canada's immigration system|publisher=Citizenship and Immigration Canada|date=February 13, 2011|accessdate=February 11, 2012}}</ref> Accusing a person of racism in Canada is usually considered a serious slur.<ref name="Modern Racism in Canada by Phil Fontaine"/> Political parties in Canada are now cautious about criticising the level of immigration, because, as noted by the ], "in the early 1990s, the old ] was branded 'racist' for suggesting that immigration levels be lowered from 250,000 to 150,000."<ref name="Globevolpe"/>

====United States====
{{Main|Immigration to the United States}}
]
Historians estimate that fewer than 1 million immigrants came to the United States from Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref name="Immigration"/> Around 350,000 came from ] between 1600 to 1699, and 80,000 more between 1700 and 1775.<ref name="fpri"/> In addition, between the 17th and 19th centuries, an estimated 645,000 Africans were brought to what is now the United States.<ref name="Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience"/> In the early years of the United States, immigration was fewer than 8,000 people a year.<ref name="americanheritage"/> After 1820, immigration gradually increased. From 1850 to 1930, the foreign born population of the United States increased from 2.2 million to 14.2 million. The highest percentage of foreign born people in the United States was found in this period, with the peak in 1890 at 14.7% (compared to 13% in 2009).<ref>{{cite news|first=Tena|last=Starr|title=Mexican farmworker's life like living in a "golden cage"|work=The Chronicle|location=Barton, Vermont|page=12|date=28 April 2010}}</ref> During this time, the lower costs of Atlantic Ocean travel in time and fare made it more advantageous for immigrants to move to the U.S. than in years prior. From 1880 to 1924, over 25 million Europeans migrated to the United States,<ref name = "Immigration"/> mainly economic migrants.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clark|first=William A.V.|title=Immigrants and the American Dream|year=2003|publisher=The Guilford Press|location=New York, NY|page=xii-xvii}}</ref>
The 1882 ] meanwhile suppressed immigration from East Asia, while the ], followed by the ], restricted immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe.<ref>"", ], September 21, 2006</ref>

]
] speaking at a 1974 ] rally in California. The UFW during Chavez's tenure was committed to restricting immigration.]]
Following this time period, immigration fell because in 1924 Congress passed the ], which favoured immigrant source countries that already had many immigrants in the U.S. by 1890.<ref name="Immigration Act of 1924"/> Immigration patterns of the 1930s were dominated by the ], and in the early 1930s, more people emigrated from the United States than immigrated to it.<ref name="cato"/> Immigration continued to fall throughout the 1940s and 1950s, but it increased again afterwards.<ref name="census"/>
] in Arizona.]]

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 or McCarran-Walter Act brought in major changes to immigration policy and the act removed the immigration restrictions based on race and gender, ending the decades of repression levied upon Chinese immigrants and other Asian immigrant groups. The McCarran-Walter act retained national origin immigration quotas.<ref name="lawscomim" >. laws.com retrieved from immigration.laws.com Accessed 30 November 2012.</ref>

The ] (the Hart-Cellar Act) removed quotas on large segments of the immigration flow and legal immigration to the U.S. surged. In 2006, the number of immigrants totaled record 37.5 million.<ref name="washingtonpost"/> After 2000, ] numbered approximately 1,000,000 per year. Nearly 8 million people immigrated to the United States from 2000 to 2005.<ref name="usatoday"/> Almost half entered illegally.<ref name="washingtontimes"/> In 2006, 1.27 million immigrants were granted ]. ] has been the leading source of new U.S. residents for over two decades; and since 1998,
], ] and the ] have been in the top four sending countries every year.<ref name="United States: Top Ten Sending Countries, By Country of Birth, 1986 to 2006 (table available by menu selection)"/> The U.S. has often been called the "melting pot" (derived from Carl N. Degler, a historian, author of Out of Our Past), a name derived from United States' rich tradition of immigrants coming to the US looking for something better and having their cultures melded and incorporated into the fabric of the country.

Appointed by President ], the ] recommended in 1997 that legal immigration be reduced to about 550,000 a year.<ref name="google8"/> Since September 11, 2001, the politics of immigration has become an extremely hot issue. It was a central topic of the 2008 election cycle.<ref name="BBC: Q&A: US immigration debate"/>

U.S. immigration law distinguishes between "immigrants" who become lawful permanent residents<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscis.gov/tools/glossary/immigrant|title=Immigrant|publisher=}}</ref> and "nonimmigrants" who may remain lawfully in the U.S. for years, but who do not obtain permanent resident status.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscis.gov/tools/glossary/nonimmigrant|title=Nonimmigrant|publisher=}}</ref> Since ], more ] have found homes in the U.S. than any other nation and more than two million ] have arrived in the U.S. since 1980. Of the top ten countries accepting resettled refugees in 2006, the United States accepted more than twice as much as the next nine countries combined.<ref name="Refugee Resettlement in Metropolitan America"/> One ] report in 2010 by analyst Kusum Mundra suggested that immigration positively affected bilateral trade when the U.S. had a networked community of immigrants, but that the trade benefit was weakened when the immigrants became assimilated into American culture.<ref name="twsA36"/>

The table above does not include the years 2011 and 2012. The number of "immigrant" visas available each year is set by Congress. Nationals of countries that do not historically send many immigrants to the United States are eligible to apply for the Diversity Visa Lottery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/diversity-visa/entry.html|title=Entry|publisher=}}</ref> According to ], in 2011 there were 2.7 million entries entered in the Diversity Visa Lottery. So far in 2012, there has been 19.6 million participants.{{when|date=April 2012}} The numbers increase tremendously each year.

===Oceania===

====Australia====
{{Main|Immigration to Australia}}
]

The overall level of immigration to ] has grown substantially during the last decade. Net overseas migration increased from 30,000 in 1993<ref name="abs"/> to 118,000 in 2003-04.<ref name="abs2"/> The largest components of immigration are the skilled migration and family re-union programs. The ] of ]s ] has generated great levels of controversy. During the 2004-05, total 123,424 people immigrated to Australia. Of them, 17,736 were from ], 54,804 from ], 21,131 from ], 18,220 from ], 1,506 from ], and 2,369 from the rest of ].<ref name=autogenerated1 /> 131,000 people migrated to Australia in 2005-06<ref name="immi"/> and migration target for 2012–13 is 190,000.<ref>"{{dead link|date=May 2014}}". Department of Immigration and Citizenship. 8 May 2012.</ref><ref name="Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 20. Migration Program Planning Levels"/>

] and ], with about a quarter of their population born outside the country, are the two countries with the highest proportion of immigrants in the world.<ref>{{fr icon}} Jacques Neirynck, "Pour son bien-être, la Suisse doit rester une terre d’immigration", '']'', Friday 20 September 2011.</ref>

====New Zealand====
{{Main|Immigration to New Zealand}}
] has relatively open ]. 23% of the population was born overseas, mainly in ], ], and ], one of the highest rates in the world.

Revision as of 14:07, 21 March 2015

This article delineates the issue of immigration in different countries.

Region-specific factors for immigration

Europe

As a principle, citizens of one member nation of the European Union are allowed to work in other member nations with little to no restriction on movement. This is aided by the EURES network, which brings together the European Commission and the public employment services of the countries belonging to the European Economic Area and Switzerland. For non-EU-citizen permanent residents in the EU, movement between EU-member states is considerably more difficult. After 155 new waves of accession to the European Union, earlier members have often introduced measures to restrict participation in "their" labour markets by citizens of the new EU-member states. For instance, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain each restricted their labor market for up to seven years both in the 2004 and 2007 round of accession.

North African immigrants near the Italian island of Sicily

Due to the European Union's—in principle—single internal labour market policy, countries such as Italy and the Republic of Ireland that have seen relatively low levels of labour immigration until recently (and which have often sent a significant portion of their population overseas in the past) are now seeing an influx of immigrants from EU countries with lower per capita annual earning rates, triggering nationwide immigration debates. Spain, meanwhile, is seeing growing illegal immigration from Africa. As Spain is the closest EU member nation to Africa—Spain even has two autonomous cities (Ceuta and Melilla) on the African continent, as well as an autonomous community (the Canary Islands) west of North Africa, in the Atlantic—it is physically easiest for African emigrants to reach. This has led to debate both within Spain and between Spain and other EU members. Spain has asked for border control assistance from other EU states; the latter have responded that Spain has brought the wave of African illegal migrants on itself by granting amnesty to hundreds of thousands of undocumented foreigners.

The United Kingdom, France, and Germany have seen major immigration since the end of World War II and have been debating the issue for decades. Foreign workers were brought in to those countries to help rebuild after the war, and many stayed. Political debates about immigration typically focus on statistics, the immigration law and policy, and the implementation of existing restrictions. In some European countries, the debate in the 1990s was focused on asylum seekers, but restrictive policies within the European Union, as well as a reduction in armed conflict in Europe and neighboring regions, have sharply reduced asylum seekers.

Japan

Some states, such as Japan, have opted for technological changes to increase profitability (for example, greater automation), and designed immigration laws specifically to prevent immigrants from coming to, and remaining within, the country. In 2007, minister Taro Aso described Japan as unique in being "one nation, one civilisation, one language, one culture and one race". In 2013, Japan accepted only six of 3,777 persons who applied for refugee status.

United States

In the United States, political debate on immigration has flared repeatedly since the US became independent. Some on the far-left of the political spectrum attribute anti-immigration rhetoric to an all-"white", under-educated, and parochial minority of the population, ill-educated about the relative advantages of immigration for the US economy and society. On the other hand, those on the far-right think that immigration threatens national identity, as well as cheapening labor and increasing dependence on welfare.

Immigration and Western social values

Many commentators have raised the issue that immigrants from certain cultures who move into Western countries may not be able to understand and assimilate certain Western concepts, that are relatively alien in some parts of the world, especially related to women's rights, domestic violence, LGBT rights and the supremacy of secular laws in front of religious practices. For instance, in some parts of the world it is legal and socially accepted for men to use physical violence against their wives if they "misbehave"; and wives are expected, both legally and socially, to "obey" their husbands. Various behaviours of women, such as refusing arranged marriages or having premarital sex, are seen in many parts of the world as justifying violence from family members, particularly parents. A 2010 survey conducted by the Pew Research Centre found that stoning as a punishment for adultery was supported by 82% of respondents in Egypt and Pakistan, 70% in Jordan, 56% Nigeria, 42% in Indonesia; the death penalty for people who leave the Muslim religion was supported by 86% of respondents in Jordan, 84% in Egypt and 76% in Pakistan; gender segregation in the workplace was supported by 85% of respondents in Pakistan, 54% in Egypt, 50% in Jordan. Some people argue that Western countries have worked very hard and for a very long time to achieve modern values, and they have the right to maintain these values, and protect them from threats. In 2007, Quebec premier Jean Charest said that Quebec had values such as equality of women and men and the separation between the state and religion and that "These values are fundamental. They cannot be the object of any accommodation. They cannot be subordinated to any other principle." (see reasonable accommodation). In recent years, several high-profile cases of honour killings, forced marriages and female genital mutilation among immigrant communities in Canada, the US and Europe have reignited the debate on immigration and integration. LGBT rights are another issue of controversy in relation to immigration, because homosexuality is in many parts of the world illegal and widely disapproved by society, and in some places it is even punishable by death (see sodomy laws and LGBT rights by country or territory). Some countries, such as the Netherlands, have adopted policies which explain to immigrants that they have to accept LGBT rights if they want to move to the country.

By country

The Commitment to Development Index ranks 22 of the world's richest countries on their immigration policies and openness to migrants and refugees from the poorest nations. See the CDI for information about specific country policies and evaluation not listed below.

Asia

PR China

The People's Republic of China has a closed attitude to foreign migration. Currently no foreign nationals are granted Chinese citizenship.

Israel

Main article: Aliyah
Meeting between Sudanese refugees and Israeli students, 2007. In Israel only Jewish immigrants automatically acquire Israeli citizenship.

Jewish immigration to Palestine during the 19th century was promoted by the Austro-Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl in the late 19th century following the publication of "Der Judenstaat". His Zionist movement sought to encourage Jewish migration, or immigration, to Palestine. Its proponents regard its aim as self-determination for the Jewish people. The percentage of world Jewry living in the former Palestinian Mandate has steadily grown from 25,000 since the movement came into existence. Today about 40% of the world's Jews live in Israel, more than in any other country.

The Israeli Law of Return, passed in 1950, gives those born Jews (having a Jewish mother or grandmother), those with Jewish ancestry (having a Jewish father or grandfather) and converts to Judaism (Orthodox, Reform, or Conservative denominations—not secular—though Reform and Conservative conversions must take place outside the state, similar to civil marriages) the right to immigrate to Israel. A 1970 amendment, extended immigration rights to "a child and a grandchild of a Jew, the spouse of a Jew, the spouse of a child of a Jew and the spouse of a grandchild of a Jew". Over a million Jews from the former Soviet Union have immigrated to Israel since the 1990s, and large numbers of Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to the country in Operation Moses. In the year 1991, Israel helped 14,000 Ethiopian immigrants arrive in operation Solomon.

There were 35,638 African migrants living in Israel in 2011. Nearly 69,000 non-Jewish African migrants have entered Israel in recent years.

Japan

See also: Demographics of Japan
Japan's population is very ethnically homogeneous due to restrictions on immigration.

To help cope with a labor shortage, Japan allowed additional immigrants of Japanese ancestry into the country in the early 1990s. According to Japanese immigration centre, the number of foreign residents in Japan has steadily increased, and the number of foreign residents (including permanent residents, but excluding illegal immigrants and short-term visitors such as foreign nationals staying less than 90 days in Japan) was more than 2.2 million in 2008. The biggest groups are Koreans (both south and north), Chinese (including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau nationalities), and Brazilians. Most of the Brazilians in Japan have Japanese ancestry due to the huge Japanese immigration to Brazil in the first decades of the 20th century. Immediately after World War II, most Koreans in Japan were illegal immigrants who escaped from civil war on the Korean Peninsula.

Japan accepted 8,646 persons as naturalised citizens in 2013, down from 10,622 the previous year. The definition of "ethnic groups" used in Japanese statistics is different from that used in North American or some Western European statistics. For example, the United Kingdom Census asks about its citizens' "ethnic or racial background". The Japanese Statistics Bureau does not ask this question. Since the Japanese census asks about nationality rather than ethnicity, naturalised Japanese citizens and Japanese nationals with multi-ethnic backgrounds are considered simply to be Japanese in the population of Japan.

According to the Japanese Association for Refugees, the number of refugees who applied to live in Japan has rapidly increased since 2006, and there were more than a thousand applications in 2008. Japan's refugee policy has been criticised because the number of refugees accepted into Japan is small compared to countries such as Sweden and the United States. In 2013, Japan accepted only six of 3,777 persons who applied for refugee status.

Africa

Morocco

Morocco is home to more than 46,000 sub-Saharan African immigrants.

Most of the foreign residents are French or Spanish. Prior to independence, Morocco was home to half a million Europeans.

Europe

Main article: Immigration to Europe

According to Eurostat, 47.3 million people lived in the EU in 2010, who were born outside their resident country. This corresponds to 9.4% of the total EU population. Of these, 31.4 million (6.3%) were born outside the EU and 16.0 million (3.2%) were born in another EU member state. The largest absolute numbers of people born outside the EU were in Germany (6.4 million), France (5.1 million), the United Kingdom (4.7 million), Spain (4.1 million), Italy (3.2 million), and the Netherlands (1.4 million).

Some EU member states are currently receiving large-scale immigration: for instance Spain, where the economy has created more than the whole of all the new jobs in the EU over the past five years. The EU, in 2005, had an overall net gain from international migration of +1.8 million people. This accounts for almost 85% of Europe's total population growth in 2005. In 2004, total 140,033 people immigrated to France. Of them, 90,250 were from Africa and 13,710 from Europe. In 2005, immigration fell slightly to 135,890. British emigration towards Southern Europe is of special relevance. Citizens from the European Union make up a growing proportion of immigrants in Spain. They mainly come from countries like the UK and Germany, but the British case is of special interest due to its magnitude. The British authorities estimate that the British population in Spain at 700,000. Mid- and long term EU demographics indicate a shortage of skilled laborers on a scale that would endanger economic growth and the stability of numerous industries. For this reason the European Union launched an initiative called the EU Blue Card, In 2009. The EU Blue Card is initially a temporary residence and work permit. However it will offer holders the opportunity to apply for a permanent resident permit after working on an EU Blue Card for two to five years uninterrupted, depending on individual member state regulations.

Italy

Main article: Immigration to Italy
Immigrants to Europe have entered by boat to the Italian island of Lampedusa

Italy now has an estimated 4 million to 4.5 million immigrants — about 8 percent of the population. Since the expansion of the European Union, the most recent wave of migration has been from surrounding European nations, particularly Central Europe, and increasingly Asia, replacing North Africa as the major immigration area. Some 997,000 Romanians are officially registered as living in Italy, replacing Albanians (590,000) and Moroccans (455,000) as the largest ethnic minority group, but independent estimates put the actual number of Romanians at double that figure or perhaps even more. Other immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe are Ukrainians (260,000), Polish (120,000), Moldovans (190 000) Macedonians (100,000), Serbs (75,000), Bulgarians (124,000), Bosnians (40,000), Russians (45,600), Croatians (25,000), Slovaks (9,000), Hungarians (8,600). As of 2009, the foreign born population origin of Italy was subdivided as follows: Europe (53.5%), Africa (22.3%), Asia (15.8%), the Americas (8.1%) and Oceania (0.06%). The distribution of foreign born population is largely uneven in Italy: 80% of immigrants live in the northern and central parts of the country (the most economically developed areas), while only 20% live in the southern half of the peninsula. In 2008, net immigration to Italy was 47,000.

Norway

Main article: Immigration to Norway
Immigration to Norway has increased the amount of religious minorities, such as these Muslims in Oslo

Pr. January 1, 2012 registered immigrants in Norway numbered 547 000, making up about 11% of the total population. Many are fairly recent immigrants as immigration has gradually increased in Norway and per 2012 is very high, both historically and compared to other countries. Net immigration in 2011 was 47 032, a national record high. The immigrants come from 219 different countries. If children of two immigrants are included the immigrant population make up 655 170. The largest groups come from Poland (72 103), Sweden (36 578), Pakistan (32 737), Somalia (29 395) Iraq (28 935), Germany (25 683), Lithuania (23 941) and Vietnam (20 871) (numbers per 2012, include immigrants and children of two immigrants). Children of Pakistani, Somali and Vietnamese parents made up the largest groups of all Norwegians born to immigrant parents. The European and Pakistani immigrants are mainly labor immigrants while many other immigrants from outside Europe have come as asylum seekers or family members to such.

Portugal

Main article: Immigration to Portugal

Portugal, long a country of emigration, that have created big Portuguese communities in France, USA and Brazil has now become a country of net immigration, and not just from the former colonies; by the end of 2003, legal immigrants represented about 4% of the population, and the largest communities were from Cape Verde, Brazil, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, UK, Spain, China and Ukraine.

Spain

Main article: Immigration to Spain

As of 2010, there were over 6 million foreign-born residents in Spain, corresponding to 14% of the total population. Of these, 4.1 million (8.9% of the total population) were born outside the European Union and 2.3 million (5.1%) were born in another EU Member State. Spain is the most popular European destination for Britons living outside the UK. According to residence permit data for 2005, about 500,000 Moroccans, 500,000 Ecuadorians, more than 200,000 Romanians, and 260,000 Colombians lived in Spain. In 2005 alone, a regularisation programme increased the legal immigrant population by 700,000 people. As a result of the Spanish financial crisis net migration trends reversed and in 2011 more people left Spain than immigrated with 507,740 leaving Spain and only 457,650 arriving.

Sweden

Main article: Immigration to Sweden
Swedish politician Nyamko Sabuni was born in Burundi and immigrated to Sweden in 1981.

As the Swedish government does not base any statistics on ethnicity, there are no exact numbers on the total number of people of immigrant background in Sweden. As of 2010, 1.33 million people or 14.3% of the inhabitants in Sweden were foreign-born. Sweden has been transformed from a nation of emigration ending after World War I to a nation of immigration from World War II onwards. In 2009, immigration reached its highest level since records began with 102,280 people emigrating to Sweden. In 2010, 32,000 people applied for asylum to Sweden, a 25% increase from 2009, the highest amount in Swedish history. In 2009, Sweden had the fourth largest number of asylum applications in the EU and the largest number per capita after Cyprus and Malta. Immigrants in Sweden are mostly concentrated in the urban areas of Svealand and Götaland and the five largest foreign born populations in Sweden come from Finland, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Poland and Iran. According to a publication by Mete Feridun in the peer-reviewed Journal of Developing Areas published by the Tennessee State University, immigration has a statistically significant causal impact on economic growth in Sweden.

Switzerland

Main article: Immigration to Switzerland

As of 2014, 23.4% of Switzerland's population are foreign born (with nearly 40% from Germany). Since the 1970s Switzerland's foreign born population has remained over 15% of the total population. Switzerland and Australia are the two countries with the highest proportion of immigrants in the world. In 2010, Swiss voters approved the deportation of criminal foreigners and in February 2014, the federal popular initiative "against mass immigration" was approved by 50.3% of voters. The referendum aims to reduce immigration through quotas and limits the freedom of movement between Switzerland and the European Union. In 2006 the United Nations special rapporteur on racism, Doudou Diène, observed that Switzerland suffers from racism, discrimination and xenophobia and that Swiss authorities do not view these issues as serious problems.

United Kingdom

Main article: Immigration to the United Kingdom since 1922

In 2007, net immigration to the UK was 237,000, a rise of 46,000 on 2006. In 2004, the number of people who became British citizens rose to a record 140,795—a rise of 12% on the previous year. This number had risen dramatically since 2000. In the 2001 Census, citizens from the Republic of Ireland were the largest foreign born group and have been for the last 200 years. This figure does not include those from Northern Ireland located since it is part of the United Kingdom. Those of Irish ancestry number roughly 6 million from first, second and third generation. The overwhelming majority of new citizens come from Asia (40%) and Africa (32%), the largest three groups being people from Pakistan, India and Somalia.

In 2011, an estimated 589,000 migrants arrived to live in the UK for at least a year, most of the migrants were people from Asia (particularly the Indian subcontinent) and Africa, while 338,000 people emigrated from the UK for a year or more. Following Poland's entry into the EU in May 2004 it was estimated that by the start of 2007, 375,000 Poles had registered to work in the UK, although the total Polish population in the UK was believed to be 500,000. Many Poles work in seasonal occupations and a large number are likely to move back and forth over time. Some migrants left after the world economic crisis of 2008. In 2011, citizens of the new EU member states made up 13% of the immigrants entering the country. As of May 2010 the UK Immigration Minister was Damian Green, who has since been replaced by Mark Harper.

The British Asian (South Asian) population has increased from 2.2 million in 2001 to over 4.2 million in 2011, while the Black British community has increased from 1.1 million in 2001 to nearly 1.9 million in 2011. Between 2001 and 2009, this was part of a general trend seeing a drop in white British people by 36,000 and a concurrent rise in non-white British people from 6.64 million to 9.13 million, including Chinese, Pakistani, mixed white and black Caribbean, black African, Australian, Canadian and European immigrants.

London has the largest immigrant population.

North America

Mexico

Main article: Immigration to Mexico

Large numbers of Central American migrants who have crossed Guatemala's border into Mexico are deported every year. Over 200,000 undocumented Central American migrants were deported in 2005 alone. In a 2010 news story, USA Today reported, "... Mexico's Arizona-style law requires local police to check IDs. And Mexican police freely engage in racial profiling and routinely harass Central American migrants, say immigration activists."

After the United States returned to a more closed border, immigration has been more difficult than ever for Mexican residents hoping to migrate. Mexico is the leading country of migrants to the U.S.. A Mexican Repatriation program was founded by the United States government to encourage people to voluntarily move to Mexico. However, the program was not found successful and many immigrants were deported against their will. Last year alone, 400,000 Mexican immigrants were repatriated. In 2010, there was a total of 139,120 legal immigrants who migrated to the United States. This put Mexico as the top country for emigration. According to recent studies, the amount of immigrants migrating from Mexico should continue to increase significantly each year.

Canada

Main article: Immigration to Canada
Chinatown in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, 2009.

As of 2014, Canada's immigration target is to accept between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents per year in three categories: skilled workers, people with family members already in the country, and humanitarian cases. In 2001, 250,640 people immigrated to Canada. Newcomers settle mostly in the major urban areas of Toronto and Vancouver. Since the 1990s, the majority of Canada's immigrants have come from Asia. The leading emigrating countries to Canada are China, Philippines and India. India was the third largest source country for immigration to Canada in 2012, with 28,889 permanent residents admitted. This represents an increase of almost 15 percent since 2004. In 2010, a record 280,636 people immigrated to Canada. Accusing a person of racism in Canada is usually considered a serious slur. Political parties in Canada are now cautious about criticising the level of immigration, because, as noted by the Globe and Mail, "in the early 1990s, the old Reform Party was branded 'racist' for suggesting that immigration levels be lowered from 250,000 to 150,000."

United States

Main article: Immigration to the United States
Naturalisation ceremony in New York City, 1930

Historians estimate that fewer than 1 million immigrants came to the United States from Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. Around 350,000 came from England between 1600 to 1699, and 80,000 more between 1700 and 1775. In addition, between the 17th and 19th centuries, an estimated 645,000 Africans were brought to what is now the United States. In the early years of the United States, immigration was fewer than 8,000 people a year. After 1820, immigration gradually increased. From 1850 to 1930, the foreign born population of the United States increased from 2.2 million to 14.2 million. The highest percentage of foreign born people in the United States was found in this period, with the peak in 1890 at 14.7% (compared to 13% in 2009). During this time, the lower costs of Atlantic Ocean travel in time and fare made it more advantageous for immigrants to move to the U.S. than in years prior. From 1880 to 1924, over 25 million Europeans migrated to the United States, mainly economic migrants. The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act meanwhile suppressed immigration from East Asia, while the Emergency Quota Act, followed by the Immigration Act of 1924, restricted immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe.

German immigrant family in the United States, 1930
Cesar Chavez speaking at a 1974 United Farm Workers rally in California. The UFW during Chavez's tenure was committed to restricting immigration.

Following this time period, immigration fell because in 1924 Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924, which favoured immigrant source countries that already had many immigrants in the U.S. by 1890. Immigration patterns of the 1930s were dominated by the Great Depression, and in the early 1930s, more people emigrated from the United States than immigrated to it. Immigration continued to fall throughout the 1940s and 1950s, but it increased again afterwards.

The Mexico–U.S. border in Arizona.

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 or McCarran-Walter Act brought in major changes to immigration policy and the act removed the immigration restrictions based on race and gender, ending the decades of repression levied upon Chinese immigrants and other Asian immigrant groups. The McCarran-Walter act retained national origin immigration quotas.

The Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 (the Hart-Cellar Act) removed quotas on large segments of the immigration flow and legal immigration to the U.S. surged. In 2006, the number of immigrants totaled record 37.5 million. After 2000, immigration to the United States numbered approximately 1,000,000 per year. Nearly 8 million people immigrated to the United States from 2000 to 2005. Almost half entered illegally. In 2006, 1.27 million immigrants were granted legal residence. Mexico has been the leading source of new U.S. residents for over two decades; and since 1998, China, India and the Philippines have been in the top four sending countries every year. The U.S. has often been called the "melting pot" (derived from Carl N. Degler, a historian, author of Out of Our Past), a name derived from United States' rich tradition of immigrants coming to the US looking for something better and having their cultures melded and incorporated into the fabric of the country.

Appointed by President Clinton, the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform recommended in 1997 that legal immigration be reduced to about 550,000 a year. Since September 11, 2001, the politics of immigration has become an extremely hot issue. It was a central topic of the 2008 election cycle.

U.S. immigration law distinguishes between "immigrants" who become lawful permanent residents and "nonimmigrants" who may remain lawfully in the U.S. for years, but who do not obtain permanent resident status. Since World War II, more refugees have found homes in the U.S. than any other nation and more than two million refugees have arrived in the U.S. since 1980. Of the top ten countries accepting resettled refugees in 2006, the United States accepted more than twice as much as the next nine countries combined. One econometrics report in 2010 by analyst Kusum Mundra suggested that immigration positively affected bilateral trade when the U.S. had a networked community of immigrants, but that the trade benefit was weakened when the immigrants became assimilated into American culture.

The table above does not include the years 2011 and 2012. The number of "immigrant" visas available each year is set by Congress. Nationals of countries that do not historically send many immigrants to the United States are eligible to apply for the Diversity Visa Lottery. According to Permanent residence (United States), in 2011 there were 2.7 million entries entered in the Diversity Visa Lottery. So far in 2012, there has been 19.6 million participants. The numbers increase tremendously each year.

Oceania

Australia

Main article: Immigration to Australia
Countries of birth of Australian estimated resident population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006).

The overall level of immigration to Australia has grown substantially during the last decade. Net overseas migration increased from 30,000 in 1993 to 118,000 in 2003-04. The largest components of immigration are the skilled migration and family re-union programs. The mandatory detention of unauthorised arrivals by boat has generated great levels of controversy. During the 2004-05, total 123,424 people immigrated to Australia. Of them, 17,736 were from Africa, 54,804 from Asia, 21,131 from Oceania, 18,220 from United Kingdom, 1,506 from South America, and 2,369 from the rest of Europe. 131,000 people migrated to Australia in 2005-06 and migration target for 2012–13 is 190,000.

Australia and Switzerland, with about a quarter of their population born outside the country, are the two countries with the highest proportion of immigrants in the world.

New Zealand

Main article: Immigration to New Zealand

New Zealand has relatively open immigration policies. 23% of the population was born overseas, mainly in Asia, Oceania, and UK, one of the highest rates in the world.

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