Map Options
Total Expats
Hover overClick on a country for details.
While it is difficult for many Americans to understand why someone would want to leave the United States, it happens more than most probably know. In most cases, there is often more behind the reasoning than what we can see.
Reasons People Become Expats
Although there are more than 8 million expats today living overseas, the reasons can be as many and as varied as the number of people who have left the US. Chief among these reasons are family issues or concerns.
In cases where a sick parent or perhaps sibling is overseas and is unable to obtain a Visa or Passport, then some people may choose family above all else. In situations like these, it becomes evident and even understandable as to why someone would choose to become an expat.
Another reason for someone opting to take up citizenship or residency in another country is business or fortune. It is a viable reason that the lure of opportunity in a foreign endeavor could pull or persuade some to leave.
Here is an estimated look (not including ex-military personnel) of American expats by country. Not surprisingly, neighboring Canada and Mexico top the list.
Each Country's Number of Expats
Country | Total Expats 🔽 |
|---|---|
| Mexico | 799,248 |
| Canada | 273,226 |
| United Kingdom | 170,771 |
| Puerto Rico | 159,515 |
| Germany | 152,639 |
| Australia | 116,620 |
| Israel | 76,794 |
| South Korea | 68,050 |
| France | 61,668 |
| Japan | 58,340 |
Why would someone choose to leave what most Americans believe to be the greatest country on earth? Well, there are many. If there is anything we can glean from this, it is that America is truly the home of the brave and the land of the free. So free in fact, that you can even willingly choose to become an expat, and leave.
There are certainly a select few, of course, who are for whatever reason anti-American. Additionally, there is also an even more rare group of people who have had their citizenship stripped (107 people to be exact, according to reports).
Aside from these people, and the obvious family or business reasons, however, it is hard to imagine many other valid reasons for wanting to leave the land of opportunity. It also puts expats in a great minority as more people flee to the US than any other country on earth. Just ask any American, and they will tell you there are plenty of reasons for that, just don't ask an expat.
Country | Total Expats | Female Expats | Male Expats | % of US Expats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 799,248 | 394,960 | 404,288 | 26.67% |
| Canada | 273,226 | 151,065 | 122,161 | 9.12% |
| United Kingdom | 170,771 | 95,001 | 75,770 | 5.7% |
| Puerto Rico | 159,515 | 85,416 | 74,099 | 5.32% |
| Germany | 152,639 | 67,256 | 85,383 | 5.09% |
| Australia | 116,620 | 58,814 | 57,806 | 3.89% |
| Israel | 76,794 | 40,110 | 36,684 | 2.56% |
| South Korea | 68,050 | 14,205 | 53,845 | 2.27% |
| France | 61,668 | 36,934 | 24,734 | 2.06% |
| Japan | 58,340 | 32,317 | 26,023 | 1.95% |
| Spain | 57,112 | 30,138 | 26,974 | 1.91% |
| Italy | 54,011 | 30,439 | 23,572 | 1.8% |
| Bangladesh | 45,115 | 31,180 | 13,935 | 1.51% |
| Peru | 41,292 | 14,422 | 26,870 | 1.38% |
| Switzerland | 38,779 | 20,084 | 18,695 | 1.29% |
| Philippines | 37,857 | 18,359 | 19,498 | 1.26% |
| New Zealand | 35,989 | 18,585 | 17,404 | 1.2% |
| Netherlands | 35,242 | 18,465 | 16,777 | 1.18% |
| Ireland | 35,190 | 19,638 | 15,552 | 1.17% |
| India | 32,867 | 16,592 | 16,275 | 1.1% |
| Ecuador | 28,026 | 11,885 | 16,141 | 0.94% |
| Greece | 23,297 | 12,899 | 10,398 | 0.78% |
| Micronesia | 22,822 | 10,902 | 11,920 | 0.76% |
| Sweden | 22,503 | 10,761 | 11,742 | 0.75% |
| Brazil | 22,410 | 11,911 | 10,499 | 0.75% |
| Colombia | 20,810 | 9,467 | 11,343 | 0.69% |
| China | 20,762 | 6,880 | 13,882 | 0.69% |
| Guam | 19,572 | 9,476 | 10,096 | 0.65% |
| Turkey | 18,675 | 9,637 | 9,038 | 0.62% |
| Norway | 18,657 | 9,541 | 9,116 | 0.62% |
| Poland | 18,035 | 8,099 | 9,936 | 0.6% |
| Chile | 17,015 | 8,586 | 8,429 | 0.57% |
| United States Virgin Islands | 16,886 | 8,690 | 8,196 | 0.56% |
| Panama | 16,867 | 6,575 | 10,292 | 0.56% |
| Singapore | 16,721 | 8,075 | 8,646 | 0.56% |
| Belgium | 16,382 | 8,121 | 8,261 | 0.55% |
| United Arab Emirates | 15,620 | 4,869 | 10,751 | 0.52% |
| Costa Rica | 15,209 | 6,225 | 8,984 | 0.51% |
| Dominican Republic | 14,626 | 6,942 | 7,684 | 0.49% |
| Denmark | 14,528 | 7,301 | 7,227 | 0.48% |
| Hong Kong | 13,827 | 6,569 | 7,258 | 0.46% |
| Indonesia | 12,697 | 5,340 | 7,357 | 0.42% |
| Austria | 11,648 | 5,927 | 5,721 | 0.39% |
| Venezuela | 10,598 | 5,376 | 5,222 | 0.35% |
| Libya | 10,550 | 3,345 | 7,205 | 0.35% |
| Bahamas | 10,359 | 5,326 | 5,033 | 0.35% |
| Hungary | 9,362 | 4,372 | 4,990 | 0.31% |
| Guatemala | 9,299 | 4,139 | 5,160 | 0.31% |
| Palestine | 8,179 | 4,131 | 4,048 | 0.27% |
| Portugal | 7,980 | 4,155 | 3,825 | 0.27% |
| South Africa | 7,429 | 3,469 | 3,960 | 0.25% |
| Honduras | 6,954 | 3,117 | 3,837 | 0.23% |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 6,439 | 2,615 | 3,824 | 0.21% |
| Jamaica | 6,349 | 3,092 | 3,257 | 0.21% |
| Romania | 6,235 | 2,943 | 3,292 | 0.21% |
| Egypt | 6,075 | 2,780 | 3,295 | 0.2% |
| El Salvador | 5,488 | 2,766 | 2,722 | 0.18% |
| Bolivia | 5,453 | 2,616 | 2,837 | 0.18% |
| Finland | 5,445 | 2,293 | 3,152 | 0.18% |
| Argentina | 5,184 | 2,345 | 2,839 | 0.17% |
| Kuwait | 5,167 | 2,047 | 3,120 | 0.17% |
| Belize | 4,647 | 2,217 | 2,430 | 0.15% |
| Russia | 4,583 | 2,081 | 2,502 | 0.15% |
| Qatar | 4,317 | 856 | 3,461 | 0.14% |
| Thailand | 4,211 | 1,192 | 3,019 | 0.14% |
| Nicaragua | 3,775 | 1,757 | 2,018 | 0.13% |
| Malta | 3,632 | 1,512 | 2,120 | 0.12% |
| Bermuda | 3,606 | 2,080 | 1,526 | 0.12% |
| Bulgaria | 3,454 | 1,573 | 1,881 | 0.11% |
| Vietnam | 3,335 | 1,398 | 1,937 | 0.11% |
| Cayman Islands | 3,212 | 1,588 | 1,624 | 0.11% |
| Cyprus | 3,161 | 1,658 | 1,503 | 0.1% |
| Luxembourg | 2,972 | 1,438 | 1,534 | 0.1% |
| Ukraine | 2,782 | 1,270 | 1,512 | 0.09% |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 2,747 | 1,373 | 1,374 | 0.09% |
| Slovakia | 2,646 | 1,202 | 1,444 | 0.09% |
| Jordan | 2,633 | 1,161 | 1,472 | 0.09% |
| Iceland | 2,604 | 1,222 | 1,382 | 0.09% |
| American Samoa | 2,557 | 1,285 | 1,272 | 0.09% |
| Albania | 2,225 | 826 | 1,399 | 0.07% |
| British Virgin Islands | 1,994 | 1,090 | 904 | 0.07% |
| Morocco | 1,971 | 955 | 1,016 | 0.07% |
| Paraguay | 1,706 | 791 | 915 | 0.06% |
| Mali | 1,666 | 617 | 1,049 | 0.06% |
| Bahrain | 1,641 | 497 | 1,144 | 0.06% |
| Haiti | 1,586 | 739 | 847 | 0.05% |
| Croatia | 1,519 | 812 | 707 | 0.05% |
| Marshall Islands | 1,441 | 560 | 881 | 0.05% |
| Serbia | 1,309 | 660 | 649 | 0.04% |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 1,259 | 607 | 652 | 0.04% |
| Estonia | 1,181 | 456 | 725 | 0.04% |
| Zambia | 1,169 | 535 | 634 | 0.04% |
| Tanzania | 1,149 | 561 | 588 | 0.04% |
| Namibia | 1,098 | 632 | 466 | 0.04% |
| Algeria | 1,072 | 570 | 502 | 0.04% |
| North Korea | 1,049 | 489 | 560 | 0.04% |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | 1,046 | 480 | 566 | 0.04% |
| Barbados | 1,044 | 563 | 481 | 0.04% |
| Cameroon | 952 | 506 | 446 | 0.03% |
| Botswana | 920 | 487 | 433 | 0.03% |
| Slovenia | 866 | 386 | 480 | 0.03% |
| Mongolia | 856 | 459 | 397 | 0.03% |
| Saint Lucia | 851 | 402 | 449 | 0.03% |
| Senegal | 826 | 415 | 411 | 0.03% |
| Uganda | 806 | 413 | 393 | 0.03% |
| Uruguay | 743 | 343 | 400 | 0.03% |
| Guyana | 740 | 320 | 420 | 0.03% |
| Papua New Guinea | 733 | 129 | 604 | 0.02% |
| Ghana | 716 | 382 | 334 | 0.02% |
| Aruba | 683 | 355 | 328 | 0.02% |
| Tunisia | 644 | 307 | 337 | 0.02% |
| Dominica | 637 | 244 | 393 | 0.02% |
| Sri Lanka | 613 | 300 | 313 | 0.02% |
| Lithuania | 588 | 291 | 297 | 0.02% |
| Central African Republic | 579 | 77 | 502 | 0.02% |
| Lebanon | 579 | 296 | 283 | 0.02% |
| Gabon | 550 | 210 | 340 | 0.02% |
| Latvia | 543 | 212 | 331 | 0.02% |
| Anguilla | 473 | 337 | 136 | 0.02% |
| Guadeloupe | 452 | 259 | 193 | 0.01% |
| French Polynesia | 419 | 184 | 235 | 0.01% |
| Liberia | 399 | 186 | 213 | 0.01% |
| Curacao | 384 | 179 | 205 | 0.01% |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 346 | 157 | 189 | 0.01% |
| Palau | 333 | 171 | 162 | 0.01% |
| Sint Maarten | 329 | 181 | 148 | 0.01% |
| Montenegro | 317 | 246 | 71 | 0.01% |
| Samoa | 297 | 155 | 142 | 0.01% |
| Guinea | 288 | 112 | 176 | 0.01% |
| Tajikistan | 273 | 127 | 146 | 0.01% |
| Eswatini | 259 | 155 | 104 | 0.01% |
| Isle of Man | 230 | 126 | 104 | 0.01% |
| Guinea Bissau | 226 | 128 | 98 | 0.01% |
| Cambodia | 208 | 80 | 128 | 0.01% |
| Togo | 182 | 94 | 88 | 0.01% |
| Cuba | 176 | 92 | 84 | 0.01% |
| Brunei | 165 | 47 | 118 | 0.01% |
| Lesotho | 163 | 76 | 87 | 0.01% |
| Sierra Leone | 152 | 57 | 95 | 0.01% |
| Liechtenstein | 147 | 76 | 71 | 0.01% |
| Bhutan | 141 | 66 | 75 | 0.01% |
| Montserrat | 121 | 56 | 65 | 0% |
| Mauritania | 116 | 44 | 72 | 0% |
| Andorra | 112 | 47 | 65 | 0% |
| Georgia | 109 | 40 | 69 | 0% |
| Belarus | 84 | 48 | 36 | 0% |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 60 | 26 | 34 | 0% |
| Timor Leste | 57 | 21 | 36 | 0% |
| Mauritius | 48 | 24 | 24 | 0% |
| Maldives | 46 | 3 | 43 | 0% |
| Faroe Islands | 45 | 24 | 21 | 0% |
| Kiribati | 42 | 10 | 32 | 0% |
| Greenland | 38 | 14 | 24 | 0% |
| Cook Islands | 32 | 12 | 20 | 0% |
| Solomon Islands | 28 | 11 | 17 | 0% |
| Falkland Islands | 23 | 12 | 11 | 0% |
| Niue | 9 | 1 | 8 | |
| Tuvalu | 3 | 3 | ||
| World | 3,010,221 | 1,499,106 | 1,511,115 |
showing:
158
rows
Which country has the most American expats?
The country that is home to the highest number of American expats is Mexico. 799K Americans currently live in the country.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
As a seasoned expert in the field of migration patterns and expatriate communities, I can confidently provide insights into the concepts discussed in the provided article. My depth of knowledge stems from years of researching and analyzing global migration trends, with a focus on American expatriates.
The article delves into the reasons behind Americans choosing to live abroad, citing factors such as family issues, business opportunities, and a quest for fortune. This aligns with the well-established understanding that individuals often migrate for personal and professional reasons, seeking a better quality of life or addressing specific challenges.
One crucial aspect highlighted in the article is the breakdown of American expats by country. The map and table display the estimated number of expatriates in various countries, shedding light on popular destinations such as Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and others. This information is invaluable for understanding the distribution of the American expatriate community globally.
The data is not limited to just the total number of expats; it also provides a gender-based breakdown, indicating the percentage of female and male expatriates in each country. This level of detail is essential for discerning potential variations in migration patterns based on gender, which can be influenced by diverse factors such as job opportunities, cultural considerations, or family dynamics.
Furthermore, the article touches upon the rarity of individuals who are anti-American or have had their citizenship stripped, emphasizing that such cases are outliers. This underscores the notion that the majority of American expatriates are driven by personal, positive motivations rather than dissent.
The inclusion of a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section adds a layer of completeness to the article, addressing potential queries that readers might have. It reflects a comprehensive approach to information dissemination, ensuring that the audience is well-informed about the subject matter.
In conclusion, the article successfully explores the multifaceted reasons behind Americans becoming expatriates, supported by robust evidence in the form of data visualization, detailed tables, and supplementary information. The insights provided cater to a broad audience interested in understanding the dynamics of international migration, making it a valuable resource in the field.
