10 mn Indians wish to move to US: Gallup poll

Washington, April 25 (IANS) Around 13 percent of the world's adults -- or over 640 million people -- would like to emigrate with roughly 150 million, including ten million Indians wishing to settle in America.

So suggests a new Gallup survey giving the US an undisputed title as the globe's most desired destination for would-be migrants since Gallup began tracking patterns in 2007.

Would-be migrants who express desires to relocate to the US most likely come from populous nations such as China (22 million), India (10 million), Brazil (7 million), Nigeria (15 million) or Bangladesh (8 million).

In addition to the almost 1 in 30 adults globally who would like to permanently settle in the US, vast numbers are attracted to the UK (45 million), to Canada (42 million), to France (32 million), and to Saudi Arabia (31 million).

Despite large numbers of people in China, Nigeria, and India who want to migrate permanently to the US, these countries are not necessarily the places where the US is the most desired destination.

Potential migrants aspire to move to countries all over the world for the simple reason that they are in search of opportunity, Gallup said.

Opportunity could mean the chance to join family members who are already in other countries, to start a new business, to express one's views without fear, or to live where children are treated with respect.

The reason the US is such a highly desired destination for potential migrants, in addition to being the land of opportunity, could be that many Americans are accepting of migrants in their communities, Gallup said.

Gallup.com's latest figures on adults' aspirations to move to other nations are based on a rolling median of surveys, using the responses of 452,199 adults in 151 nations between 2009 - 2011. The 151 nations represent over 97 percent of the globe's adult population.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)