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Fantastic Interactive Map

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This map shows the estimated net immigration (inflows minus outflows) by origin and destination country between 2010 and 2015.

Blue circles = positive net migration (more inflows). Red circles = negative net migration (more outflows). Each yellow dot represents 1,000 people.

Hover over a circle to see that country's total net migration between 2010 and 2015. Click a circle (or tap the circle twice on mobile) to view only the migration flows in and out of that country.

Country-to-country net migration (2010-2015)
The data for this map comes from the U.N. Population Division, more information on how it was calculated at the bottom of the post.
Immigration: the new Godwin's Law

If you're not familiar with Godwin's law, it is an old internet adage that states, " As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazism or Hitler approaches 1. "

Lately, I've found a similar principle applies to immigration. No matter what topic is being discussed online, if the conversation goes on for long enough, someone will inevitably tie it back to immigration.

Immigration has always been an important and frequently debated issue. And for many current events, the connection with immigration is clear, for example: terrorism / ISIS, the Brexit, Donald Trump and this year's presidential race, the refugee crisis. But at some point in the last year or two, I started noticing immigration being mentioned in connection with all sorts of topics I never would have expected.

To see what I mean, here are some of the topics I've posted about where immigration came up in discussion, either in the comment section of the post or on social media:

Why is immigration suddenly the cause / result / solution of everything? (Not meant rhetorically. If you have a good answer, I'd love to know.)

Who is migrating from where to where?

For a topic that comes up as often as immigration, I've found the debate to be really lacking in factual information. Hopefully this map is helpful is clearing up at least the simple, basic statistics: how many migrants are there? Where are they coming from? And where are they going?

Please keep in mind, these numbers are only estimates. You can find the full details of how they were calculated at the bottom of the post.

That said, here are a few of the pieces I found interesting.

Syria

Between 2010 and 2015, the net migration from Syria to Sweden was more than Syria's net migration to the rest of Europe and the Americas combined.

Many Middle Eastern countries have been criticized for allegedly accepting few Syrian refugees. In Qatar and the UAE, the net migration appears to actually be negative. Though of the Middle Eastern countries that are accepting Syrian refugees, the numbers they are dealing with are orders of magnitude higher than in the West.

The United Kingdom / Brexit

In the Brexit debate, the loudest arguments in favor of leaving the EU have been about immigration. What strikes me as interesting is how small a portion of the UK's net immigration is actually coming from Europe.

Australia

Australia, another country where immigration has become a highly charged political issue, jumps out as an interesting case.

By these estimates, Australia's net immigration is negative with every country in the world, except for a small positive immigration balance with Sudan. Australia is the only country in the world to have significant positive net immigration with the US.

United States

Last month, I posted a map visualizing 200 years of US immigration (inflows only). I would have liked to do the same with US emigration, which may be the more interesting direction since it is not nearly as well known. Unfortunately the US does not keep good emigration records and the best data I've managed to find goes back only a few decades. So, I don't foresee being able to make a historical US emigration map.

Still, I think it's pretty interesting to see what US net immigration flows look like in the present.

As mentioned above, according to these estimates, the US has significant positive net immigration with only one other country, Australia. The country with which the US has the largest negative net immigration is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Mexico. Though the amount by which Mexico leads is down substantially compared to a decade ago. Illegal immigration in particular has fallen off sharply, as demonstrated by this time series of border apprehensions from Pew Research.

When US immigration is viewed by region, the area that really stands out is Asia, which now accounts for just as much US immigration as North + South America (Mexico included).

Immigration between the US and Mexico is particularly complex, since it involves both legal and illegal immigration as well as temporary laborers, deportations, and a large number of people living in immigration detention facilities. For that reason, America's true net migration with Mexico is uncertain, and may actually be much lower than what's shown here. If you believe Pew's estimates, net migration with Mexico is now actually negative: more people are migrating from the US to Mexico than vice versa.

Immigration perceptions

Wherever you stand politically on immigration, you have to admit, it's pretty strange how rarely basic stats like these enter the debate. For all the discussion in the US about border fences and immigration limits, the simple question of "how many immigrants are there?" hardly ever even comes up.

Public opinion about immigration was likely a deciding factor in Britain's decision to exit the EU. And it may very well determine who becomes the next US president. Yet the majority of Brits and the majority of Americans misestimate the size of their country's immigrant population by a multiple.

The data for this map comes from the UN Population Division's estimates for Total Migrant Stock - the number of global migrants, broken down by country of residence and country of origin. The numbers are not fully consistent. In some cases, they represent foreign citizens and in others they represent foreign born. See the dataset itself for the full set of footnotes.

To convert those figures into immigration estimates, I took the difference between the migrant stock in 2015 and that in 2010. Since some of that difference is due to mortality, not immigration, I adjusted the 2010 numbers down assuming an annual mortality rate of 0.8%, the global average.

The map was made in Javascript using D3, three.js, and MapboxGL.

View the map as a Youtube video or embed the interactive version using the HTML below.
My latest project, Elementus, aims to bring transparency to the cryptocurrency market. Check out our blog for some crypto-related data visualizations.

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All the World's Immigration Visualized in 1 Map

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Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn63.9KsharesThis map shows the estimated net immigration (inflows minus outflows) by origin and destination country between 2010 and 2015. Blue circles = positive net migration (more inflows). Red circles = negative net migration (more outflows). Each yellow dot represents 1,000 people.

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From 1820 to 2013, 79 million people obtained lawful permanent resident status in the United States. The interactive map below visualizes all of them based on their prior country of residence. The brightness of a country corresponds to its total migration to the U.S. at the given time.

Use the controls at the bottom to stop / resume the animation or to move back and forth in time.

Two Centuries of U.S. Immigration (1 dot = 10,000 people)

Over time, the sources of immigration trace a clear path across the world.

Through most of the 1800's, immigration came predominantly from Western Europe (Ireland, Germany, the U.K.). Toward the end of the century, countries further east in Europe (Italy, Russia, Hungary) took over as the largest source of migration. Beginning in the early 1900's, most immigrants arrived from the Americas (Canada, Mexico). And the last few decades have seen a rise in migration from Asia. The same trends are clear looking at the history of New York City's foreign born population.

Here are the largest immigration "waves" charted over time, showing the progression.

While it may seem that immigration over the last few decades has been higher than ever before, the picture looks very different when viewed relative to the size of the U.S. population.

Here is the same chart, with the immigration shown as a percentage of the U.S. population.

Of my four grandparents, one is of Japanese descent, two are from Europe (a Polish Jew and an Italian Catholic), and one is native American. So genealogy and immigration flows have long been fascinations of mine.

What I think is particularly interesting about immigration to the U.S. is that each "wave" coming in from a particular country has a story behind it - usually escaping persecution (e.g. Jews escaping Russia after the May Laws were enacted, the Cuban Revolution) or major economic troubles (e.g. the Irish Potato Famine, the collapse of southern Italy after the Italian Unification).

There are plenty of dark spots on United States' history, but the role it has played as a sanctuary for troubled people across the world is a history I feel very proud to be a part of.

If you would like to read more about what caused each of these groups to come to the U.S., this graphic summarizes some of the major events.
If you liked this map, sign up to be notified of new Metrocosm posts Credit:

Here is everyone who's emigrated to the U.S. since 1820 (1 dot = 10,000 people) https://t.co/SaQFzv4Rgv https://t.co/CqijaH8a1n

- Max Galka (@galka_max) May 4, 2016

Embed as HD video:
My latest project, Elementus, aims to bring transparency to the cryptocurrency market. Check out our blog for some crypto-related data visualizations.

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Here's Everyone Who's Immigrated to the U.S. Since 1820

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Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn34.7Kshares From 1820 to 2013, 79 million people obtained lawful permanent resident status in the United States. The interactive map below visualizes all of them based on their prior country of residence. The brightness of a country corresponds to its total migration to the U.S. at the given time.

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Movie by Ai WeiWei

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Ellis Island - History of Immigration to the United States | 1890-1920 | Award Winning Documentary

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Find out what it means to be Asian Pacific American and all the Asian cultures that exist in the world and in America.

Read an interview with Allen Say, the award-winning author and illustrator of books like Home of the Brave and Grandfather's Journey. His book Music for Alice is about the incredible life of a Japanese American woman during WWII.

Watch Author Interviews

Kazu Kibuishi Wendy Wan-Long Shang

Shaun Tan Lisa Yee

Read Interview Transcripts

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Asian Pacific American Heritage: Stories, Author Interviews, Immigration | Scholastic.com

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Find out what it means to be Asian Pacific American and about all the Asian cultures that exist in the world and in America. Scholastic's Asian Pacific American Heritage site is full of interviews, activities, and maps that explore the history, contributions, and culture of one group of Americans.

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Lesson Plans - Lesson Plan | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress

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Teacher-created and classroom-tested lesson plans using primary sources from the Library of Congress.

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Immigration- Classroom Presentation | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress

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Immigration stories on this web site are for scholarly and educational purposes, to illustrate the American immigration experience during the second half of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st century.

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Overview - Immigration and Migration: Our Changing Voices - Lesson Plan | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress

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This resource for teachers provides lesson plans in which students understand their role in society, bringing together all people to create a new sense of community, through dialogue, documentation, research, and interviews.

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Overview - Immigration History Firsthand - Lesson Plan | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress

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This immigration themed resource for teachers provides lesson plans in which elementary students use immigration as a theme to begin understanding primary sources.

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Immigration Web Sites

Immigration in America
The Library of Congress feature provides an introduction to the study of immigration to the United States. There are student activities, educator guides, photos and links to useful resources. The presentation was shaped by the primary sources available in the Library's online collections and probing questions such as "Why did each immigrant group come to the United States?" and "How did United States government policies and programs affect immigration patterns?"

Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930
A Harvard University web-based collection, this site contains a huge collection of primary sources on immigration to the United States, including 1,800 books and pamphlets, 13,000 pages from manuscripts and 9,000 photographs. The collection has very broad coverage and though the amount of information could be overwhelming, the web site is easy to navigate. Visitors can search the collection or browse by source type, topic, and other categories. Click Timeline to access documents and information by event or individual.

Clash of Cultures in the 1910s and 1920s: Immigration Restriction
This broad and informative site from the Ohio State University History Department explores cultural tensions, such as immigration, at the turn of the twentieth century. The 20 million immigrants who arrived in the United States between 1870 and 1915 stimulated an anti-immigrant backlash and the Immigration Restriction section at Clash of Cultures examines the backlash.

A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution
An online exhibit from the Smithsonian, this site explores how a government balances human rights with a need for national security. Immigration, Removal, Internment, Loyalty, Service and Justice are the areas available for viewing, with a special area for reflection by visitors. Classroom Activities are found under the Resources link at the bottom of the page.

The Statue of Liberty (History.com video)

Immigration Explorer This New York Times interactive timeline/map shows how immigrants settled in the U.S. over time.

Westward by Sea: A Maritime Perspective on American Expansion, 1820-1890
This American Memory Project of the Library of Congress features documents and other historical sources from the Mystic Seaport Museum and Library. Drawn from primary sources such as ships' logbooks, topics covered include migration and immigration, whaling, maritime business, and more. It also provides insights into settlement of California, Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest.

Social Explorer
Social Explorer provides reports and interactive maps on census data from 1790 to 2000. Interactive maps allow you to choose a time period and demographic feature to look at. You can zoom in on any area or request a corresponding report on the specific information you request. Free maps are mainly of population, race, and religion, but a premium subscription allows access to many more maps. The "News and Announcements" section also offers some interesting special demographic reports. A great resource.

Chinese and California: 1850 - 1925
This research collection from the Library of Congress includes 8,000 images and pages of varied primary source materials. It focuses on experiences of Chinese immigrants in California along with a section on westward expansion. This link takes you directly to the "Chinese and Westward Expansion" section.

Faces of America (History.com video)

Race: Are We So Different?
Race and immigration have often been intertwined in American History. "Race: Are We So Different" is an excellent educational web site from the American Anthropological Association that explores race from three lenses: History, Human Variation, and Lived Experience. The History section provides articles on race from the 1600s to the present while the Human Variation section explores human biology and genetics. The Lived Experience section is heavily interactive, with a Game of Life Experience, a Race Blog, a Sports Quiz, and more. There are educational materials available for download at the site as well as impressive multimedia features: You can watch a movie about a teenage girl's experience and take a 3D trip into cell structure. In all, "Race: Are We So Different" is a great introductory web site for students into the complex issue of race.

Animated Atlas
Animated Atlas portrays history by animating maps. This site features a ten minute, interactive movie that is a geographic history of the United States, locating major events and the admission of every state. Animated Atlas also sells classroom videos.

Classics of American Colonial History
This collection of historical documents from Dinsmore Documentation contains select scholarly books and articles on American colonial history. The Immigration from Europe section contains five sources, three drawn from the American Historical Review. Helpful resource for scholars.

Related Web Sites

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
The NARA has immigration records for various ports for the years 1800-1959.

CastleGarden.org
Known as America's First Immigration Center, CastleGarden.org offers access to a database of information on 12 million immigrants from 1820 through 1892, the year Ellis Island opened.

Ellis Island
The Ellis Island Foundation has an online searchable database of 22.5 million arrivals to New York between 1892 - 1924. The login account is free, and students can search by last name to see records.

Streamlines and Breadlines
High School students will learn about the growth and development of cities in America from 1920 through 1940. Immigration, the migration of African-Americans from the South to the urban centers of the North, industrialization, and the Great Depression all affected cities during this period. This lesson will culminate in a student essay that compares two contrasting images from this time period. Students will view two sets of images from Thirteen/WNET's American Visions Web site. Students will choose one image from each group and compare and contrast the images in an essay.

Learning About Immigration Through Oral History
Students compare and contrast the stories of these contemporary immigrants with those researched in the thirties reflected in American Life Histories, 1936-1940 and other American Memory collections. Students engage in visual and information literacy exercises to gain an understanding of how to identify and interpret primary historical sources. From Library of Congress American Memory site.

Immigration Lesson Plans (Teachervision.com)
This webpage contains multiple Immigration lesson plans and activities. Introduction to Immigration vocabulary and Immigration writing exercises are all included. Lessons can be applied to most grade levels.

Doing the Decades - Lesson Plan
This is a broad, 10-week project where students focus on the major trends and changes in the United States from 1890 to 1941 and how these changes affected groups and individuals. Students are broken into groups by decade and cover six primary themes, including Immigration. Students identify and utilize primary sources to discuss these changes, using materials from the Library of Congress' American Memory collections and other materials they gather. Designed for grades 6 to 12.

Cultural Capital: Examining How Immigrant Groups Adjust to American Society
In this New York Times lesson, students research the adaptation and acculturation of immigrant groups in the United States. They then create "culture capsules" aimed at preserving the cultural heritage of new peoples in American society. (June 9, 2003)

Ellis Island (Lesson Plans)
Compiled by Margaret Holtschlag and Cindy Lafkas. Designed for Upper Elementary and High School students, these five lesson plans build upon each other and are meant to be followed in order. The lessons get progressively more challenging and culminate in a written assignment for the student.

Immigrant Contributions (PBS): Teacher's Guide
In this PBS Teacher's guide, students are asked to conduct a large research project about Immigrant contributions to the United States. The guide provides multiple questions for the students to answer in their reports. Through their research, the students should become more culturally aware and will realize how important immigrants are to America. This is a valuable resource for teaching about immigration.

The Immigrant Experience in America
Students grade 5-8 will learn about immigration, Ellis Island, and tenement life from 1890 to 1924. Each student will create an identity of an immigrant and write an essay in the first person. Essays will describe the fictitious immigrants in terms of who they are, where they came from, and what they found when they arrived in New York City.

American Immigration
The American Immigration Home Page was started as a part of a school project for a 10th grade American History Class. The project was meant to give information on how immigrants were treated, as well as why they decided to come to America.

"Ancestors in the Americas": Lesson Plans
Written by Sue Purcell and Heather Papp (both from PBS), the following classroom guides have been designed to help educators use the ANCESTORS IN THE AMERICAS series and companion web site in history, geography, and social studies classes (grade levels 9-12). The lesson plans may also be adapted for use as stand-alone exercises. Resource lists for further work have also been provided.

Port of Entry: Immigration
This online activity, presented by the Library of Congress, allows students to act as "historical detectives" and explore online immigration resources. The site provides all the necessary materials. Suitable for all ages.

Moving to America
This WebQuest is for Middle School students and examines the obstacles and challenges faced by immigrants to America in the early 1900's. Students create a PowerPoint presentation or a brochure to encourage friends and family to come to America.

Changing Places
In this lesson plan, elementary school students develop an understanding of what it means to immigrate from one country and culture to another. Using various resources, including video segments from the documentary Becoming American: The Chinese Experience, web sites, and student organizers, students examine the experiences and contributions of Chinese immigrants in the U.S. and explore their own cultural heritages. As a culminating activity, students invite guest speakers who are first- or second-generation immigrants to tell about their experiences.

Social Darwinism: Reason or Rationalization?
Presented by Small Planet Communications, this lesson plan encourages debate over the theory of Social Darwinism. Students are also asked to write a short follow-up essay on their position. Includes necessary material. Intended for 11th grade.

"Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-born Population of the United States: 1850-1990"
This website from the U.S. Census Bureau provides a statistical analysis of the population of the United States from 1850-1990. This could be used to help students see trends and patterns in immigration as it relates to historical context.

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Immigration in America The Library of Congress feature provides an introduction to the study of immigration to the United States. There are student activities, educator guides, photos and links to useful resources. The presentation was shaped by the primary sources available in the Library's online collections and probing questions such as "Why did each immigrant group come to the United States?"

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The Great Migration of 6 million African-Americans from the rural South to the urban North was a shift that reshaped America forever. Artist Jacob Lawrence captured that story in an epic work of art known as the Migration Series. Now all 60 of Lawrence's small paintings are on show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, with new reflections by 10 poets. Jeffrey Brown reports.

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Revisiting the Great Migration through paintings and poetry

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The Great Migration of 6 million African-Americans from the rural South to the urban North was a shift that reshaped America forever. Artist Jacob Lawrence captured that story in an epic work of art known as the Migration Series.