Where Chinese move
11.7M Chinese live abroad — #2 largest source of emigrants worldwide
Considering a move from China? — See top destinations, regional flows, and how it's changed since 1990.
Where emigrants go
The top 3 countries receive 49% of all emigrants
| Country | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong | 2490414 |
| United States | 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 |
| Türkiye | 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 |
| Czechia | 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 Darussalam | 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 |
| Timor-Leste | 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 destination region
Asia is the leading destination region at 52%
6.1M
3.3M
1.3M
811K
151.4K
97.4K
32.5K
Interesting facts
Notable statistics about emigration from China.
Indonesia is the fastest-growing major destination
Emigration to Indonesia has increased by 449% since 2015, rising from 15K to 82.6K in 9 years.
Emigration destinations have diversified since 1990
The top destination's share fell from 42% to 21%, indicating a broader spread of emigration patterns.
Top emigration destinations have shifted significantly since 1990
6 new countries have entered the top 20 destinations: South Korea, Italy, Spain — South Korea rose from outside the top 20 to rank #5.
The share of emigrants going to Asia has declined since 1990
The share of emigrants going to Asia has shifted from 74.5% to 52.1% since 1990.
How emigration changed over time
Total emigrant population by year
| Year | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 3990935 |
| 1995 | 4676354 |
| 2000 | 5668480 |
| 2005 | 6892920 |
| 2010 | 8773150 |
| 2015 | 10357962 |
| 2020 | 11169868 |
| 2024 | 11701619 |
Top destinations over time
Emigration to the 5 largest destination countries
| Year | Hong Kong | United States | 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 destinations
How emigration to each country has changed since the selected year
China as an emigration source
Share of immigrants in each country who originate from China