Approximately 80 million international migrants are Muslim, representing 29% of all global migrants. This percentage is slightly higher than the percentage of Muslims in the world population in 2020 (25%).
The Middle East and North Africa region is home to the largest number of Muslim migrants (40%), followed by the Asia-Pacific region (24%). Two in ten Muslim migrants live in Europe, while one in ten live in sub-Saharan Africa. Only 6% live in North America, and even fewer in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Origins of Muslim Migrants
Muslim migrants generally leave their home countries in search of safety and better economic conditions. Syria has become the largest source of Muslim migrants since the war there began in 2011, with 8.1 million Muslim migrants, or 10% of the world's Muslim migrants, moving primarily to Turkey and Lebanon, as well as Europe and the United States.
India ranks as the second largest source, with 6 million Muslim migrants, mainly going to wealthy Muslim countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. Afghanistan ranks third (5.5 million), with most migrants residing in Iran and Pakistan, often fleeing protracted conflicts from the Soviet invasion to the U.S. invasion.
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Changing Patterns of Muslim Migration since 1990
The Muslim migrant population grew from 40 million in 1990 to 80 million in 2020, an increase of 102%, higher than the overall migrant growth rate of 83%. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Turkey experienced the largest increases, with an additional 16.8 million Muslim migrants (up 278%) by 2020, driven by economic growth in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and increased migration from Syria to Turkey.
Meanwhile, the number of Muslim migrants in Pakistan fell from 4.1 million to 2.1 million (down 50%), and the foreign-born Muslim population in Iran fell from 4.3 million to 2.8 million (down 35%), partly due to the return of Afghan migrants. Syria experienced the largest increase in Muslim migrants, from 570,000 in 1990 to 8.1 million in 2020 (up 1,300%).
India and Pakistan also saw significant increases, with Muslim migrants from India rising from 2.1 million to 6 million (up 192%) and from Pakistan from 1.8 million to 5.3 million (up 202%), with many emigrating to the Persian Gulf.
In contrast, the number of Muslim migrants from Afghanistan fell from 7.4 million in 1990 to 5.5 million in 2020 (down 26%), reflecting returns to Afghanistan and a smaller generation that left the country after the Soviet occupation.
Source: PEW Research Center
