In a country built on the promise of opportunities, many Americans are now imagining their future elsewhere. A November 2025 Gallup poll found that nearly one in five adults would permanently leave the United States if they could.
This spike is driven largely by women aged 15-44, with 40 per cent expressing their desire to move abroad permanently if given the opportunity. Among men in the same age group, only 19 per cent say the same, creating one of the widest gender gaps Gallup has recorded anywhere in the world. For women, it’s the second year they’ve wanted to migrate at this level, a fourfold jump from the 10 per cent recorded in 2014.
Gallup, a global research organisation that tracks political, social, economic, and cultural attitudes, attributed Trump-era politics as a significant factor in US women’s desire to leave the country, including the overturning of the constitutional right to abortion.
In the last couple of years, Gallup polls have captured rising migration aspirations across the world, with record-high appetite for life elsewhere in several countries. This, even as sentiments against immigration rise.
So what are the push factors and where do people want to go?
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Why do people want to leave the land of plenty?
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people risk life and limb to reach the US, while others wait years for citizenship. So what is causing 21 per cent of American adults to consider giving up on the American dream?
There’s a clear demographic skew. Interest in leaving is strongest among young adults, especially women. It’s “relatively flat at low levels among their counterparts aged 45 and older,” the poll says.
For those looking for an exit, the reasons are complex. Over the past decade, the poll says, confidence in American institutions–including government, the judiciary, the military, and electoral processes– has fallen sharply, and most so among younger women.
Political outlook also plays into it. In 2025, Americans who disapprove of the country’s leadership are 25 points more likely to want to emigrate than those who support it. Only 4 per cent of people who back the sitting president say they want to leave, compared with nearly 30 per cent of those who don’t.
Younger women’s “much stronger orientation to the Democratic Party” — 59 per cent — than other age and gender groups “helps explain some of the differences in desire to move abroad,” the poll pointed out.
Gallup said the trend of younger women reporting a desire to move started in 2016, when Trump campaigned against Hillary Clinton.
“We saw it just increase and increase,” said Julie Ray, managing editor for world news at Gallup.
Dream destinations for Americans
For American women in particular, the top destinations are Canada at 11 per cent, New Zealand, Italy and Japan at 5 per cent each.
According to a survey by the expat platform Expatsi this year, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Canada, and Italy were the top 5 destinations for Americans wanting to permanently leave—in that order.
Ironically, the 2023 and 2024 Gallup polls show that the most preferred destination among the 20 per cent of Canadians wanting to leave the country was the United States.
What are the global trends?
US experience resonates within a global context. Economic pressures are higher and cultural attachments weaker, and people are more willing than ever to leave.
In a Gallup International opinion poll of 57 nations, published in 2023, 36 per cent of people said they would leave their home country if given the chance. Younger adults under 34 were the most eager, with 44 per cent expressing a desire to emigrate, compared with just 23 per cent of those over 55.
This trend remains constant.
“[P]eople’s desire to leave their country remains higher than it was a decade ago. This is true in almost every part of the world, from traditionally migrant-sending regions like sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America to migrant-receiving regions like the U.S. and Canada,” Gallup noted last year.
However, people’s desire to move abroad looks very different around the world, shaped by money, safety, and cultural ties.
Migration hopes are strongest in places struggling with poverty, conflict, or political instability.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, a significant share of the population expresses a desire to migrate because of unemployment, violence, and poor living conditions. Similarly, parts of Latin America and the Caribbean report migration aspirations of 50 per cent or higher in some countries.
What’s the scenario in India?
With the world’s largest emigrant population, at 18.5 million, India’s migration trends are driven by a mix of economic, educational, and social factors.
While remittances are higher than ever, there’s a wealth drain too. In 2023, the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report claimed that 4,300 Indian dollar millionaires moved abroad, with the number falling to 3,500 this year.
Traditionally, countries such as the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK have been the top priorities for Indian migrants. But changing global dynamics and easier access to European opportunities are broadening these horizons. Portugal and Germany are gaining attention because of simpler visa requirements and growing economies.
Ageing populations and a shrinking workforce in many countries have also driven up demand for Indian blue-collar migrants.
Last year, over 7.6 lakh Indians went to study abroad, primarily in fields such as STEM and AI, although it was a slight dip from the previous year. According to a 2022 survey by education company INTO University Partnerships, 75 per cent of Indians who go to study abroad do so with migration as their long-term plan.
But even as millions of people eye distant horizons, how likely are they to get a warm welcome?
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Who is opening their arms?
There is increasingly vocal hostility to immigrants, especially South Asians, in countries such as the US and UK. It’s a potent mix of xenophobia, cultural protectionism, economic anxieties, and racism. But attitudes may not have hardened as much as it might seem.
A Gallup International poll released earlier this year asked people whether they generally trust members of their own ethnic group more than those from other groups in their country. The shifts in the answer have been subtle.
In 2025, 56 per cent agreed with the statement, compared with 54 per cent in 2024. But fewer people strongly agreed, dropping from 28 per cent to 21 per cent, suggesting that certainty about this trust is softening.
On the international stage, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United States, and Germany rank among the most ethnically tolerant countries. People in higher-income nations also tend to trust others more than those in lower-income countries.
The poll added that in 2011, 34 per cent of respondents could see the positives of immigration, which has now fallen to 30 per cent.
“Our survey shows that, globally, more people tend to view immigration negatively than positively,” noted Michael Nitsche, president of Gallup International. “Yet in major host countries like the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Germany — which welcome significant numbers of immigrants who contribute to their economies — positive views still outweigh negative ones.”
(Edited by Asavari Singh)