Did you know that around 3.6% of the world’s population lives outside their country of origin? The Pew Research Center has come up with some interesting insights on the religious composition of the world’s migrants in their latest survey. Who migrates more? What are the top three origin and destination countries for each community? Which country hosts the most number of immigrants? The survey answers all these pertinent questions and more with detailed insights.

This post includes infographics created by the CNN-News18 creative team.

Reasons for migration

Why do people migrate? The survey reveals several reasons, such as the need to find jobs, to live with other family members, or for better education. However, religion also plays a part in migration. Migrants have often moved to escape persecution. There is also the need to live with people with similar religious beliefs.

To quote the survey, “Many migrants have moved to escape religious persecution or to live among people who hold similar religious beliefs. Often people move and take their religion with them, contributing to gradual changes in their new country’s religious makeup.“

Religious groups most and least likely to migrate

Hindus tend to migrate less as compared to other religious groups and Christians are most likely to migrate from their place of origin.  

As per the survey, “Christians are the largest migrant group, but Jews are most likely to have migrated.”

The top source and destination country for Christian migrants

To quote the survey, “Christians make up a much larger share of migrants (47%) than they do of the world’s population (30%). Mexico is the most common origin country for Christian migrants, and the United States is their most common destination.“

The top source and destination country for Muslim migrants

In relation to Muslim migrants, the survey says, “Muslims account for a slightly larger share of migrants (29%) than of the world’s population (25%). Syria is the most common origin country for Muslim migrants, and Muslims often move to places in the Middle East-North Africa region, like Saudi Arabia.” Interestingly, Muslims tend to prefer migrating to “richer” regions that follow their religion. The top destinations for the community are Muslim-majority nations, such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and UAE.

The top source and destination country for Hindu migrants

As per the survey, “Hindus are starkly underrepresented among international migrants (5%) compared with their share of the global population (15%). India is both the most common country of origin and the top destination for Hindu migrants.” Hindu migrants to India are most likely to originate from neighboring regions like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, where minorities face severe persecution. This is evident from statistics indicating a drastic decrease in minority numbers within these regions over the years.

The Pew Survey offers a lot more detailed insights, so I would highly recommend going through it.