MigrantoMigration trends in China
Asia
11.7M people from China have built lives abroad. That's 0.8% of the country population, spread across 141 different countries
1.4B
Population
1.6M
Immigrants
11.7M
Emigrants
−10.1M
Outflow
The #2 largest source of emigrants worldwide
Despite emigrants making up just 0.8% of those born in China
Top corridors
The largest migration routes in China
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
486.5K immigrants · 4M emigrants
1995
- Rose into the 3 biggest countries by emigrants in Asia
- The foreign-born population passed 500K residents
2000
- The diaspora abroad passed 5M people
2015
- Surge of departures to South Korea — 366K people left
- The diaspora abroad passed 10M people
- The foreign-born population passed 1M residents
2020
- Surge of immigrants from Myanmar — 210.4K new arrivals
Today
- Since 1990: 1.1M more foreign-born residents and 7.7M more citizens living abroad
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
Ask Migo
Tap a question — our AI assistant answers it in chat, with real migration data
Where to live?
Match a country to your priorities
Living in China
See the full country overview