Immigration Data Matters

This useful online guide links users directly to the most credible, high-quality data on immigrants and immigration in the United States and internationally. The easy-to-use publication includes more than 250 data resources compiled by governmental and authoritative nongovernmental sources.

The guide covers a wide range of topics, among them foreign-born population stocks and flows, humanitarian and labor migration, naturalization, education and language attainment, labor force participation, income and poverty rates, remittance size and flow, immigration enforcement actions, public opinion, religious affiliation, and development indicators.

Data sources in the guide, created by the Migration Policy Institute and the Population Reference Bureau, are organized into two sections, one U.S., one international. The international section features data sources by world region, as well as for the European Union (and select countries in Europe) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. The guide also offers tips on how to access more complex data sources, lists the frequency of updates, and offers other resources, including a glossary of commonly used immigration terms.

This guide was originally published in March 2018 and was updated most recently in November 2020.