MigrantoChinese Diaspora
11.7M Chinese live abroad — 1% of the population of China
Chinese diaspora by country
The top 3 countries are home to 49% of the diaspora
| Country | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong | 2490414 |
| USA | 2488775 |
| Japan | 809893 |
| Canada | 771973 |
| South Korea | 756684 |
| Australia | 656264 |
| Singapore | 533745 |
| Macao | 317977 |
| Taiwan | 249651 |
| Italy | 240895 |
| Bangladesh | 219299 |
| Spain | 198909 |
| Kazakhstan | 196398 |
| United Kingdom | 179337 |
| Germany | 168314 |
| New Zealand | 145906 |
| France | 120595 |
| India | 88321 |
| Thailand | 85764 |
| Vietnam | 83887 |
| Indonesia | 82568 |
| Netherlands | 82477 |
| Sweden | 40898 |
| Myanmar | 36301 |
| Egypt | 34659 |
| Panama | 34214 |
| Malaysia | 30524 |
| Switzerland | 30309 |
| North Korea | 29771 |
| Turkey | 29249 |
| Philippines | 27676 |
| Ethiopia | 26824 |
| Brazil | 24462 |
| Belgium | 23856 |
| Hungary | 20818 |
| Argentina | 19955 |
| Austria | 19448 |
| Nepal | 18757 |
| Ireland | 18391 |
| Denmark | 16145 |
| Laos | 15137 |
| Norway | 15099 |
| Russia | 13724 |
| Finland | 13671 |
| Portugal | 13500 |
| Chile | 13126 |
| Venezuela | 12470 |
| Mongolia | 12085 |
| Mexico | 12070 |
| Ukraine | 6757 |
| South Africa | 6189 |
| Suriname | 5913 |
| Botswana | 5043 |
| Luxembourg | 4961 |
| Czech Republic | 4799 |
| Peru | 4560 |
| Mali | 4529 |
| Dominican Republic | 4252 |
| Greece | 3678 |
| Pakistan | 3568 |
| Libya | 3467 |
| Namibia | 3450 |
| Mauritius | 3007 |
| Sudan | 2670 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 2633 |
| Belize | 2572 |
| Sri Lanka | 2509 |
| Ecuador | 2452 |
| Brunei | 2397 |
| Madagascar | 2382 |
| Guam | 2379 |
| Romania | 2359 |
| Serbia | 2274 |
| Bulgaria | 2132 |
| Malta | 1870 |
| French Guiana | 1808 |
| Aruba | 1728 |
| Cambodia | 1721 |
| Cyprus | 1689 |
| Zambia | 1645 |
| Colombia | 1582 |
| Israel | 1513 |
| Bolivia | 1400 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1383 |
| Slovakia | 1365 |
| Slovenia | 1262 |
| Guyana | 1175 |
| Iceland | 1128 |
| Puerto Rico | 1095 |
| Bhutan | 986 |
| Fiji | 964 |
| East Timor | 927 |
| Republic of Congo | 912 |
| Paraguay | 900 |
| Curaçao | 796 |
| Guatemala | 775 |
| Poland | 703 |
| Honduras | 619 |
| French Polynesia | 615 |
| American Samoa | 601 |
| Seychelles | 527 |
| Togo | 525 |
| Estonia | 504 |
| Palau | 498 |
| Costa Rica | 420 |
| Croatia | 397 |
| Gabon | 371 |
| Haiti | 354 |
| Latvia | 340 |
| Marshall Islands | 319 |
| Ghana | 297 |
| Lesotho | 276 |
| El Salvador | 266 |
| Nauru | 265 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 256 |
| Lithuania | 201 |
| Bahamas | 194 |
| Sint Maarten | 191 |
| Solomon Islands | 188 |
| Mauritania | 185 |
| Sierra Leone | 174 |
| Martinique | 172 |
| Guinea | 156 |
| Nicaragua | 149 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 144 |
| Liechtenstein | 121 |
| Tonga | 109 |
| Eritrea | 105 |
| New Caledonia | 95 |
| Papua New Guinea | 87 |
| Georgia | 76 |
| Bermuda | 55 |
| Saint Lucia | 47 |
| Tajikistan | 46 |
| Samoa | 44 |
| Faroe Islands | 42 |
| Barbados | 42 |
| Dominica | 38 |
| Cuba | 30 |
| Cape Verde | 24 |
| Greenland | 10 |
By region
52% of the diaspora lives in Asia
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Key facts
The Chinese diaspora in numbers
The community in Indonesia is growing fastest
The number of Chinese living in Indonesia has grown 449% since 2015, from 15K to 82.6K.
The diaspora is spread more widely than in 1990
The largest country's share fell from 42% to 21%.
The map of the diaspora has changed since 1990
6 countries have entered the top 20 since 1990: South Korea, Italy, Spain. South Korea climbed from outside the top 20 to #5.
The share of the diaspora living in Asia has declined since 1990
74.5% of the diaspora lived in Asia in 1990, compared with 52.1% today.
Chinese diaspora population over time
People living abroad, by year
| Year | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 3990935 |
| 1995 | 4676354 |
| 2000 | 5668480 |
| 2005 | 6892920 |
| 2010 | 8773150 |
| 2015 | 10357962 |
| 2020 | 11169868 |
| 2024 | 11701619 |
Largest communities over time
Chinese living in the 5 largest countries, by year
| Year | Hong Kong | USA | Japan | Canada | South Korea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1659157 | 526810 | 139964 | 144590 | 9546 |
| 1995 | 1772597 | 651000 | 214379 | 221331 | 13384 |
| 2000 | 1886037 | 1022890 | 321374 | 367389 | 53430 |
| 2005 | 2070537 | 1208274 | 489363 | 454037 | 97854 |
| 2010 | 2260045 | 1608501 | 672253 | 620322 | 296477 |
| 2015 | 2309769 | 2101592 | 758791 | 737086 | 662499 |
| 2020 | 2408447 | 2255170 | 917070 | 721158 | 751745 |
| 2024 | 2490414 | 2488775 | 809893 | 771973 | 756684 |
Fastest-changing communities
How the number of Chinese in each country has changed since the selected year
Chinese among immigrants in other countries
Where Chinese make up the largest share of a country's immigrants
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
Frequently asked questions
How many Chinese live outside China?
Around 11.7M Chinese live abroad, the world's #2 largest diaspora.
Where do most Chinese abroad live?
Most Chinese live in Hong Kong, USA and Japan — these three countries account for about 49% of all Chinese living abroad.
Which country has the largest Chinese population outside China?
Hong Kong is home to the largest Chinese community abroad — 2.5M people, about 21% of all Chinese living abroad.
What share of the population of China lives abroad?
About 1% of the population of China lives abroad — that's 11.7M out of a total population of 1.4B.
Is the Chinese diaspora growing?
Yes — over the past decade, the number of Chinese living abroad has grown from 10.4M to 11.7M, about 13%.
Where does the data on the Chinese diaspora come from?
The source is International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division). It counts people born in China who now live in other countries. Descendants of emigrants born abroad are not included.
Where to live?
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Living in China
See the full country overview