Gallup’s latest global survey reveals that fewer people than ever want to move to the United States.
For decades, the United States represented the ultimate destination – a place where dreams could be built from scratch. But according to new data from Gallup, that image is quietly but steadily eroding across the world.
In 2025, only 15% of adults worldwide who want to permanently move to another country name the United States as their top choice. That is the lowest figure Gallup has recorded in nearly two decades of tracking global migration desire.
From One in Four to One in Seven
The shift is striking when you look at the numbers over time. Back in 2007-2009, nearly one in four potential migrants – 24% – pointed to America as their dream destination. That number held close to 20% through 2016. Since then, it has been falling steadily.
To put it simply: the world still wants to move – but fewer people are imagining that move to America.
Who Is Turning Away – And Where Are They Looking?
The declines are sharpest in regions that have historically sent the most migrants to the U.S.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the share of people naming the U.S. as their preferred destination dropped from 33% in 2024 to 28% in 2025. In Honduras alone, that figure collapsed from 71% to just 36% – a 35-point drop, the largest single-country decline recorded anywhere in 2025.
Even in Mexico, a country sharing a border with the U.S., desire to migrate there has fallen to 21% – matching a historic low last seen in 2017–2018.
Meanwhile, other countries are filling the gap. In Southeast Asia, Japan leads as the most desired destination at 23%. In the Middle East and North Africa, Germany and Saudi Arabia rank ahead of the U.S. Within the European Union, Spain and Switzerland are more coveted than America.
Fewer People Want to Leave Home at All
It is not just about the U.S. losing its shine. Globally, fewer people want to migrate at all.
Overall global migration desire fell to 15% in 2025 – its lowest level since 2018 – after holding at a record high of 16% for four consecutive years. In Latin America, only 25% of adults say they want to permanently leave, the lowest in a decade, down sharply from a peak of 34% in 2021–2022. In sub-Saharan Africa, where migration desire remains the world’s highest, the figure has dropped to 33% – also a decade low.
Gallup attributes these shifts in part to changes in U.S. immigration policy and a broader global slowdown in international migration that began in 2024.
The Irony: Americans Themselves Want to Leave
Here is where the story takes an unexpected turn.
While the world’s desire to come to America is declining, Americans’ desire to leave is near record highs. In the U.S., 20% of adults say they would move permanently to another country if given the chance.
Most strikingly, 40% of American women aged 15 to 44 say they would move abroad permanently – up from just 10% in 2014. Gallup notes this trend first surged in 2016 and has continued across multiple years, pointing to a deeper shift in outlook rather than a passing reaction to any single event.
What This Means
Gallup is careful to note that wanting to move is not the same as actually moving. Of the estimated 900 million people worldwide who say they would like to relocate, roughly 134 million still prefer the United States as their destination – making it, by far, the world’s most desired country.
But the direction of travel is clear. The United States, for generations the world’s most magnetic destination, is drawing less of the world’s imagination than at any point in nearly 20 years.
Whether that reflects changing policies, shifting global perceptions, or simply a world with more options – the data, as Gallup’s research shows, speaks for itself.
Source: Gallup World Poll, 2025. Based on interviews with over 144,000 adults across 140 countries.