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The US immigrant share reached 14.8 percent in 2024, tying a record set in 1890, yet a new Cato Institute ranking puts the United States 39th of 51 wealthy countries on that measure. Both numbers are accurate, and both will be cited when the new Congress takes up legal immigration.
The US immigrant share of the population stood at 14.8 percent in 2024, the highest level on record, yet the United States ranks in the bottom third of the world’s wealthy countries by that same yardstick, according to an analysis the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, published Nov. 6. The finding sets a record-high domestic figure against a middling international one just as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress in January, and it feeds directly into the coming fight over legal immigration levels.
How the US immigrant share can be both a record and a laggard
Start with the domestic baseline. The Census Bureau counted 50.2 million foreign-born residents in 2024, 14.8 percent of a 340.1 million population. That is the largest number ever recorded and matches the previous peak share, also 14.8 percent, reached in 1890.
In absolute terms, no country comes close. The United Nations Population Division counted 52.4 million international migrants in the United States in mid-2024, more than any other country and roughly three times Germany’s 16.8 million, the next largest (a calculation from UN figures). The UN uses a broader definition, so its US share is 15.2 percent.
Cato’s David J. Bier ran the comparison by share instead. Using Census and UN data, he ranked the United States 54th of 206 countries in 2024. Among the 51 countries with gross domestic product per person above $50,000, adjusted for purchasing power, the US placed 39th, the 24th percentile, down from the 43rd percentile in 2000. The median wealthy country, Israel, had a 22.3 percent share. Ten wealthy countries passed the United States after 2000, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Norway, Ireland and the Netherlands; their shares rose an average of 12.5 percentage points, while the US share rose 3.7 points, from 11.1 percent to 14.8 percent.
| Measure | United States | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign-born residents | 50.2 million (14.8%) | Census Bureau, 2024 |
| Previous record share | 14.8% | Census Bureau, 1890 |
| International migrants | 52.4 million (15.2%), 1st worldwide | UN DESA, mid-2024 |
| Rank by share, all countries | 54th of 206 | Cato Institute analysis, 2024 |
| Rank by share, 51 wealthy countries | 39th (24th percentile) | Cato Institute analysis, 2024 |
What a share ranking does and does not show
Rankings by share tend to reward small countries, where a modest inflow moves the percentage sharply. Cato’s own list of countries that overtook the US since 2000 includes Malta, Iceland, Cyprus and Slovenia, each with roughly 2 million people or fewer. A share ranking also says nothing about whether immigrants can stay permanently or become citizens.
Others read the same Census data the other way. The Center for Immigration Studies, which favors lower immigration levels, has long highlighted the record number and share of foreign-born residents, as in its February 2024 report on both reaching record highs. In August 2025 it reported that monthly Current Population Survey data showed the foreign-born population falling by about 2.2 million between January and July 2025, while cautioning that part of the drop could reflect immigrants declining to answer the survey. Bier, for his part, wrote that the US share flatlined in 2025 and is likely to fall in 2026.
The 2024 figures also predate most of the administration’s restrictions on legal immigration, including the immigrant visa pause covering 75 countries, and a green card backlog of 1.56 million cases. The next official Census estimates are likely to show whether the 1890-level share was a peak rather than a plateau.
Where the numbers point for Congress
Bier used the ranking to argue for ending the administration’s bans on legal immigrants, lifting per-country caps for employment-based applicants already in the United States and shortening processing times he said can exceed three years. The Center for Immigration Studies and other groups favoring lower immigration have argued in the opposite direction, for fewer overall admissions.
Neither side can move the numbers without legislation. Annual green card limits, the 7 percent per-country cap and the preference categories are fixed in the Immigration and Nationality Act, and they have not been overhauled since 1990. The more likely effect of the dueling statistics is on framing: employers worried about a stalling labor force will cite the international ranking, while opponents will point to the record domestic share. Proposals such as the Dignity Act will be argued over both sets of figures.
This article is for general information and is not legal advice.
Sources
- US Census Bureau: Foreign-Born Population in the United States Changed Significantly in Both Numbers and Countries of Origin (July 21, 2026; 2024 data)
- UN DESA Population Division: International Migrant Stock 2024 (figures as of July 1, 2024)
- Cato Institute: US Immigrant Share Ranked in the Bottom Third of Wealthy Countries in 2024 (Nov. 6, 2026)
- Center for Immigration Studies: Overall Foreign-Born Population Down 2.2 Million January to July (Aug. 12, 2025; CPS data, January to July 2025)
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