What Proportion Of People Working Abroad Return?

For many reasons, ranging from professional to personal, many who work abroad end up returning to their home country at some point in their career. This could have been the plan from the start, or it could reflect some relative dissatisfaction with the country they’ve migrated to.

There are many questions that fascinate us about the ways in which people return to their home country. What proportion of migrants return home at all? How many years does it take when they do? Where are the most popular destinations?

By tracking those who have worked in at least two countries using Revelio Labs workforce intelligence, we’re able to answer some of these questions. Below, we can see the rate that migrants return to their home country:

Below, we can see the the amount of time that migrants spend abroad:

And below are the top destination countries that people work by those that stay permanently and temporarily:

Takeaways:

• Nordic countries, like Denmark, Finland, and Sweden appear to win back the highest share of their migrants who move abroad at some point. Iran and Venezuela appear to be losing their residents for good.
• French migrants return home faster than migrants of any other country, along with countries who also don’t have many popular destinations who do not speak the same language. Migrants from English-speaking countries tend to spend a longer time abroad.
• While the US and the UK are both popular destinations, it looks like the US attracts relatively more permanent residents, while the UK attracts relatively more temporary migrants.

If you have any ideas of other metrics to track or would like to hear more about Revelio Labs workforce intelligence, please feel free to reach out. You can also check out some of our other coverage of international talent flows, such as our newsletters on H-1B Visas here and here.