Immigration Around the World

Immigration Around the World
More than 145 million immigrants live outside their native countries. Immigrants move to other countries for different reasons. Some people move because of war, political or economic problems, or natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. Some immigrants move to be with family members, to marry, or to find better living conditions.
Where are immigrants moving from? And what countries are they moving to? One of the largest immigration flows is for Latin America and Asia to United States. Another immigrant flow is from Eastern Europe, the former Soviet republics, and North Africa to Western Europe. Many immigrants also move from Africa and Asia to the Middle East. In countries such as Saudi Arabia, 90% of the total population is now foreign born.
When immigrants arrive in a new country, they often live in urban neighborhoods. As a result of immigration, many city neighborhoods change. Immigrants open new stores, restaurants, and other businesses. For example, the historic Esquilino neighborhood in Rome is now the home of a large number of Chinese immigrants. There are also many new immigrants form Albania, Moldova, Bulgaria, and Ukraine. In some school in Athens, 50% of the children are foreign born. Los Angeles and New York are two cities in the United States with very large immigrant populations. In Los Angeles, 37% of the population is foreign born, and children in the public schools speak 82 different languages. In New York, 40% of the population is foreign born, and children speak 140 different languages in the schools.